CI Investments announces the launch of the Black Creek funds, a compelling new option in global investing

TSX SYMBOL: CIX

TORONTO, Aug. 15, 2011 /CNW/ - CI Investments Inc. today announced the launch of the Black Creek family of funds, offering the proven global investment expertise of Bill Kanko and Richard Jenkins of Black Creek Investment Management.

The new funds are Black Creek Global Leaders Corporate Class, Black Creek International Equity Corporate Class and Black Creek Global Balanced Corporate Class.

The funds, which are part of CI's tax-efficient corporate class structure, are modelled on three funds sub-advised by Black Creek for Castlerock Investments, a division of CI. The 21 Castlerock mutual funds are operated separately from the CI funds.

"The Black Creek funds are an outstanding option for global investing," said Derek J. Green, CI President. "Bill and Richard have consistently produced excellent results in their long careers as money managers, outperforming their benchmarks and peer groups. We are pleased to make this high-calibre investment team available through CI Investments as well as Castlerock."

"Black Creek is excited to have our global and international mandates available to a wider group of investors through the CI Investments platform," said Mr. Kanko, President of Black Creek Investment Management. "We are looking forward to a successful long-term relationship with Canada's premier independent investment fund company."

Black Creek, a privately owned, Toronto-based investment management firm specializing in global equity investing, was founded in 2004 by Mr. Kanko. Mr. Jenkins, Chairman and Managing Director, joined the firm in 2008. Mr. Kanko has 30 years of investment experience, which included managing global equity portfolios for Mackenzie Financial and AIM Trimark (now Invesco Trimark). As lead portfolio manager of Trimark Fund and Trimark Select Growth Fund, he managed over $13 billion in assets and achieved top-decile performance.

Mr. Jenkins has over 21 years of investment management experience, including more than 14 years at AIM Trimark, where he was responsible for funds with combined assets over $10 billion. He was lead portfolio manager of Trimark Europlus Fund and Trimark Global Balanced Fund and, under his guidance, these funds achieved strong returns and received a total of five Canadian Investment Awards.

"Based on the team's record of outperformance, Black Creek would be an excellent addition to virtually any portfolio," said Mr. Green. "However, the funds are ideal for investors seeking to increase the diversification of their portfolios, as Black Creek's portfolios have a low correlation to the Canadian market."

Their performance has been recognized through several Lipper Fund Awards, which honour funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted returns, relative to peers. Castlerock Global Leaders Fund was a winner in 2011 (global equity category, three-year returns), Castlerock Global Balanced Fund was a winner in 2011 (global balanced category, three years) and Castlerock International Equity Fund was recognized in 2010 (international equity, one year).

Also today, CI announced the introduction of Harbour Voyageur Corporate Class*, managed by the highly regarded Harbour Advisors portfolio management team. The fund will invest primarily in Canadian companies, with no restrictions on market capitalization. Harbour, a division of CI, currently manages about $15.4 billion in equity and balanced funds.

For more information about the Black Creek and Harbour funds, please contact your financial advisor or visit www.ci.com. Information about the Castlerock funds is available at www.castlerockinvestments.ca.

CI Investments Inc. is one of Canada's largest investment management companies. CI offers a broad range of investment products and services, including an industry-leading selection of investment funds, and is on the Web at www.ci.com. CI is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX), an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management firm with $95.4 billion in assets as of July 31, 2011.

The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence, a global family of awards that celebrate exceptional performance throughout the professional investment community. The Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence recognize the world's top funds, fund management firms, sell-side firms, research analysts, and investor relations teams. For more information, visit excellence.thomsonreuters.com.

* Formerly named Harbour All Cap Corporate Class.

For further information:

Derek J. Green
President
CI Investments
[phone]