CI Financial reports sales and assets for January

TSX Symbol: CIX

TORONTO , Feb. 1 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") today reported gross retail sales of $759 million and net sales of $100 million for the month of January. Total fee-earning assets at January 31, 2010 were $86.6 billion .

Net sales consisted of $116 million in net sales of long-term funds and $16 million of net redemptions in money market funds.

Assets under management at January 31, 2009 , were $65.0 billion , consisting of investment funds at CI Investments Inc. of $61.2 billion and institutional assets of $3.9 billion . CI also reported assets under administration at Assante Wealth Management ( Canada ) Ltd. of $20.8 billion , and other fee-earning assets of $727 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.
                               January 31, 2010
                             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                         $693          $577          $116
    Short-term funds                         $66           $82          -$16
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    TOTAL RETAIL FUNDS                      $759          $659          $100
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    FEE-EARNING ASSETS               Dec. 31/09    Jan. 31/10
                                      (millions)    (millions)     % Change
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    Retail assets under management       $62,773       $61,160          -2.6%
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    Institutional managed assets           3,890         3,870          -0.5%
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    TOTAL assets under management        $66,663       $65,030          -2.4%
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    Assante assets under
     administration*                    21,489        20,828          -3.1%
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    CI other fee-earning assets              741           727          -1.9%
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    TOTAL FEE-EARNING ASSETS             $88,893       $86,585          -2.6%
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    MONTHLY AVERAGE RETAIL
     ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT         Dec. 31/09    Jan. 31/10
                                      (millions)    (millions)     % Change
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    Monthly average retail assets        $62,007       $62,718           1.1%
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    QUARTERLY AVERAGE RETAIL
     ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT         Dec. 31/09    Jan. 31/10
                                      (millions)    (millions)     % Change
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    Quarterly average retail assets      $61,186       $62,718           2.5%
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    FISCAL AVERAGE RETAIL
     ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT         Fiscal 2009   Fiscal 2010
                                      (millions)    (millions)     % Change
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    Fiscal year average retail assets    $55,430       $62,718          13.1%
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    EQUITY                                 FINANCIAL POSITION
                                           (millions)
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    Total outstanding
     shares             291,623,777  Bank debt                          $644
    QTD weighted avg.
     shares             291,664,433  Cash and marketable securities      (44)
                                     ----------------------------------------
    Yield at $21.83            3.3%  Net debt outstanding               $600
                                     ----------------------------------------
    In-the-money options  5,899,934  In-the-money option liability
                                      (net of tax)                       $22
    Percentage of all options  100%  Terminal redemption value of funds $803
    All options % of shares    2.0%  Quarter-to-date equity-based
                                      compensation(xx)                    $1
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    *  Includes CI Investments 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
         ($22.00) to January 31, 2010 ($21.83)

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    GEOGRAPHIC EXPOSURE OF AUM
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    Canada                         52%            Asia                     3%
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    United States                  22%            Other                    3%
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    Europe                         10%            Cash                    10%
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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]