Atlantic Trust Named Best Multi-Family Office—Client Service and Best Private Wealth Manager—New Product

Firm Recognized by Private Asset Management (PAM) Magazine for the Firm's Excellence in Investments and Client Service

ATLANTA, March 4, 2014 /CNW/ - Atlantic Trust, the U.S. private wealth management division of CIBC (CM: NYSE) (CM: TSX)—has been recognized by Private Asset Management (PAM), a financial services industry trade publication, as Best Private Wealth Manager—New Product and Best Multi-Family Office—Client Service among firms over $2.5 billion in assets under management (AUM). The 2014 PAM Awards were announced last week at a ceremony in New York.

"This recognition is a nice acknowledgement of our growing reputation for delivering the highest quality client experience," said Eric Propper, CFA, president of Atlantic Trust. "We strive to remain innovative with investments yet still achieve attractive returns for our clients. These awards underscore Atlantic Trust's ongoing commitment to keep our clients' interests at the center of all we do and emphasize our unique wealth management approach based on transparency, objectivity and trust."

In addition to these awards, Atlantic Trust has also been short-listed for the Lifetime Achievement award from Family Wealth Report (FWR) with the nomination of former chairman and managing director Edward I. "Ed" Rudman . Mr. Rudman, co-founder of Boston-based Pell Rudman, which merged with Atlantic Trust in 2001, has long been recognized as a leader in the field of wealth management, most recently being named by Family Office Exchange (FOX) as an Industry Pioneer and Thought Leader at its 20-year anniversary forum.

PAM annually invites firms to compete for awards in several categories and then a panel of independent industry experts selects the nominees and winners. PAM says that it considers the following criteria when selecting the winners of these awards:

• Financial progress: Candidates must be able to demonstrate performance track-records over the course of the last twelve months
• Growth: Client numbers, internal hires and geographic expansion
• Client satisfaction: Provide evidence of client satisfaction, including anecdotes and direct client statements
• Product innovation: Details of new services and products launched over the course of the year prior to the award date

This award follows Atlantic Trust's previous PAM wins as Best Wealth Manager: Long-Term Performance (3 years) in 2013, Best Private Client Investment Platform—Performance in 2012 and Best Private Wealth Manager in Overall Client Service in 2011.

Any reference to a ranking, a rating or an award provides no guarantee of future performance results, and is not necessarily indicative of any particular client's experience and is not constant over time.

Private Asset Management (PAM) annually invites firms to compete for awards in several categories. Each year a panel of independent industry experts selects the nominees and winners, considering the following criteria: 1) Financial progress: Candidates must be able to demonstrate performance track-records over the course of the last twelve months; 2) Growth: Client numbers, internal hires and geographic expansion; 3) Client satisfaction: Provide evidence of client satisfaction; 4) Product innovation: Details of new services and products launched over the course of the year prior to the year the award is given. For more information, visit www.pammagazine.com.

In 2014, Atlantic Trust was selected by PAM for the award of "Best Private Wealth Manager - New Product." The detailed information provided by Atlantic Trust for the award included information on a mutual fund that Atlantic Trust launched in 2013. Three firms were shortlisted for this award and Atlantic Trust was the only firm selected for the recognition. In 2014, Atlantic Trust was selected by PAM for the award of "Best Multi-Family Office - Client Service - Over $2.5 Billion." The detailed information provided by Atlantic Trust for the award included information on both internal and external strategies. Five firms were shortlisted for this award and Atlantic Trust was the only firm selected for the recognition.

In 2013, Atlantic Trust was selected by PAM for the award of "Best Wealth Manager: Long-Term Performance (3 years). The detailed information provided by Atlantic Trust for the award included information on both internal and external strategies. Of the six firms shortlisted by PAM in this category, Atlantic Trust was the only firm selected for the award.

In 2012, Atlantic Trust was selected by PAM for the award of "Best Private Client Investment Platform—Performance" based on information provided by Atlantic Trust. Ten firms entered the category for this award and four firms were shortlisted, of which Atlantic Trust was the only firm selected for the award. In response to PAM's question about "how [we] have developed our [investment] offering in 2011" regarding "product innovation, performance and how [we] dealt with the challenges of the last year," Atlantic Trust provided an overview of our investment approach and recent asset allocation recommendations, as well as highlights of proprietary performance. Atlantic Trust provided detailed performance information for the Atlantic Trust Disciplined Equity Strategy. Atlantic Trust did not provide detailed performance information with respect to the more than 50 other proprietary and externally managed strategies available on our platform. Thus, the reference to "investment platform—performance" in the award should not be misconstrued as suggesting that PAM conducted a comprehensive review of all of the strategies on our platform.

In 2011, of the five firms shortlisted by PAM for the "Best Private Wealth Manager in Overall Client Service" rating, Atlantic Trust was the only firm selected for the award.

About Atlantic Trust

Atlantic Trust is one of the nation's leading private wealth management firms, offering integrated wealth management for high-net-worth individuals, families, foundations and endowments. The firm considers clients' financial, trust, estate planning and philanthropic needs in developing customized asset allocation and investment management strategies. Experienced professionals deliver a broad range of solutions, including proprietary investment offerings and a robust open architecture platform of traditional and alternative managers. Atlantic Trust operates in 12 full-service locations throughout the U.S. with $24.0 billion in assets under management (as of December 31, 2013). For more information, visit www.atlantictrust.com.

About CIBC

CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution. Through our Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking businesses, CIBC provides a full range of financial products to individual, small business, commercial, corporate and institutional clients in Canada and around the world.

CIBC Wealth Management provides relationship-based advisory services and an extensive suite of leading investment solutions to meet the needs of personal, institutional and high-net-worth clients through an extensive distribution network that includes CIBC Private Wealth Management, CIBC Wood Gundy and CIBC Investor's Edge. Our asset management, retail brokerage and private wealth management businesses combine to create an integrated offer, delivered through nearly 1,500 advisors across Canada. In addition, CIBC Asset Management provides global money manager services to institutional and high-net-worth clients and industry-leading retail investment solutions through our two mutual fund families—CIBC and Renaissance—and the CIBC family of managed portfolio solutions.

SOURCE: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce

Media inquiries: Caroline Van Hasselt, Director, CIBC External Communications and Media Relations, [phone], [email protected] or Carolyn Donnelly, Atlantic Trust Director of Marketing, (404) 881-3417, [email protected].