First Asset Canadian Convertible Debenture Fund Announces Meeting of Unitholders

/NOT FOR DISSEMINATION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA./

TORONTO, Dec. 19, 2016 /CNW/ - First Asset Investment Management Inc. ("First Asset") announces that a special meeting of the unitholders of First Asset Canadian Convertible Debenture Fund (the "Fund") will be held on February 13, 2017. If required, an adjourned meeting will be held on February 23, 2017.  Unitholders of record on December 30, 2016 will be entitled to receive notice of and vote at the meeting. The Notice and Management Information Circular which details the matters to be considered at the meeting will be available on www.sedar.com on or about January 13, 2017.

At the meeting, unitholders of the Fund will be asked to approve a merger (the "Merger") of the Fund into First Asset Canadian Convertible Bond Fund (the "Continuing Fund"), an existing mutual fund also managed by First Asset with a substantially similar mandate to the Fund.  First Asset believes that, given the similarities of the investment mandates between the Fund and the Continuing Fund, the Merger would be in the best interests of the Fund and its unitholders for the following reasons: (a) the aggregate management fee payable on the Class A units of the Continuing Fund that the unitholders of the Fund will receive in connection with the Merger is lower (1.90% per year) than the aggregate management fee payable on the units of the Fund (2.25% per year); (b) the Merger will eliminate the operating and regulatory costs of operating the Fund as a separate mutual fund; (c) after the Merger, the Continuing Fund will have a portfolio of considerable size and will have the potential to grow an even larger portfolio, as the Continuing Fund is in continuous distribution; and (d) the Continuing Fund, as a result of its greater size, may over time benefit from a reduction of its management expense ratio as the non-trading portion of its operating costs and its regulatory costs will be spread over a larger asset base.

Pursuant to the Merger, units of the Fund will be exchanged for Class A Units (Initial Sales Charge Option) of the Continuing Fund at an exchange ratio calculated by dividing the net asset value per unit of the Fund by the net asset value per Class A Unit of the Continuing Fund, as determined at the close of business on the effective date of the Merger.

If unitholders of the Fund approve the Merger, the Merger is anticipated to be completed in early March 2017, subject to receipt of required approvals, if any.

First Asset – Smart Solutions^TM
First Asset, a CI Financial Company, is a Canadian investment firm delivering a comprehensive suite of smart ETF solutions. Rooted in strong fundamentals, First Asset's smart solutions strive to deliver better risk-adjusted returns than the broad market, while helping investors achieve their personal financial goals.

This press release contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the expressions "seeks", "expects", "believes", "anticipates", "estimates", "will", "target" and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect the current expectations of First Asset regarding future results or events and are based on information currently available to them. Certain material factors and assumptions were applied in providing these forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements. First Asset believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions; however, First Asset can give no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers, therefore, should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. Further, a forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. First Asset undertakes no obligation to publicly update any such statement or to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances except as required by securities laws. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release.

^TMFirst Asset and its logo are trademarks of First Asset Capital Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CIX". ®CI FINANCIAL is a registered trademark of CI Investments Inc., used under license.

SOURCE First Asset

please call Investor Relations, First Asset at 416-642-1289 or 1‐877‐642‐1289 or visit www.firstasset.com.