CI Financial reports net sales of $191 million in October

TSX Symbol: CIX

TORONTO , Nov. 2 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") today reported net sales of $191 million for the month of October. Assets under management at October 31, 2009 , were $63.7 billion and total fee-earning assets were $92.3 billion .

During October, CI subsidiaries CI Investments Inc. and United Financial Corporation had combined retail gross sales of $771 million and net sales of $191 million , which consisted of net sales of $196 million in long-term funds and net redemptions of $5 million in money market funds.

At October 31, 2009 , assets under management consisted of investment funds and structured products at CI Investments and United Financial of $59.7 billion , and institutional assets of $4.0 billion . CI also reported assets under administration of $27.8 billion , which consisted of $20.4 billion in assets under administration at Assante Wealth Management ( Canada ) Ltd. and $7.4 billion in assets under administration at Blackmont Capital Inc. Other fee-earning assets totalled $752 million .

Additional information about CI's sales, assets and financial position can be found below in the tables of preliminary statistics and on its website, www.ci.com/cix, in the Statistics section. The sales and assets reported in this release are the only statistics authorized by CI and CI takes no responsibility for reporting by any external sources.

    
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                             CI FINANCIAL CORP.
                              October 31, 2009
                            MONTH-END STATISTICS
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    MONTHLY SALES DATA                 GROSS SALES  REDEMPTIONS    NET SALES
    RETAIL MANAGED FUNDS                 (millions)   (millions)   (millions)
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    Long-term funds                           $706         $510         $196
    Short-term funds                           $65          $70          -$5
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    TOTAL RETAIL FUNDS                        $771         $580         $191
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    FEE-EARNING ASSETS                  Sep 30/09    Oct 31/09           %
                                        (millions)   (millions)       Change
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    Retail assets under management        $60,612      $59,670         -1.6%
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    Institutional managed assets            4,142        4,028         -2.8%
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    TOTAL assets under management         $64,754      $63,698         -1.6%
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    Assante assets under
     administration*                     20,815       20,429         -1.9%
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    Blackmont assets under
     administration                         7,412        7,390         -0.3%
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    TOTAL assets under administration     $28,227      $27,819         -1.4%
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    CI other fee-earning assets               790          752         -4.8%
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    TOTAL FEE-EARNING ASSETS              $93,771      $92,269         -1.6%
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    MONTHLY AVERAGE RETAIL              Sep 30/09    Oct 31/09           %
    ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT             (millions)   (millions)       Change
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    Monthly average retail assets         $59,937      $60,412          0.8%
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    QUARTERLY AVERAGE RETAIL            Sep 30/09    Oct 31/09           %
    ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT             (millions)   (millions)       Change
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    Quarterly average retail assets       $57,963      $60,412          4.2%
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    FISCAL AVERAGE RETAIL               Dec 31/08    Oct 31/09           %
    ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT             (millions)   (millions)       Change
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    Fiscal year average retail assets     $60,208      $54,197        -10.0%
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                                          FINANCIAL POSITION
    EQUITY                                (millions)
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    Total outstanding shares 292,171,122  Bank debt                     $765
    QTD weighted avg. shares 292,336,593  Cash and marketable securities (29)
    Yield at $19.09                 3.1%  -----------------------------------
    In-the-money options       6,832,727  Net debt outstanding          $736
    Percentage of all options        99%  -----------------------------------
    All options % of shares         2.3%  In-the-money option liability
                                          (net of tax)                   $13
                                          Terminal redemption value
                                           of funds                     $800
                                          Quarter-to-date equity-based
                                           compensation(xx)              ($4)
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    *  Includes CI and United Financial investment fund assets administered
         by Assante advisors.
    (xx) Estimate partially based on marked-to-market pre-tax option expense
         accrual from change in share price and vesting from last quarter-end
         ($20.59) to October 31, 2009 ($19.09)

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    GEOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE OF AUM
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    Canada               50%                Asia              3%
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    United States        21%                Other             4%
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    Europe               10%                Cash             12%
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CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent, Canadian-owned wealth management company. CI offers a broad range of investment products and services, including an industry-leading selection of investment funds. CI is on the Web at www.ci.com/cix.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to CI and its products and services, including its business operations and strategy and financial performance and condition. Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market factors, including interest rates, business competition, changes in government regulations or in tax laws, and other factors discussed in materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time.

For further information: Stephen A. MacPhail, President, [phone]