CONNOR CLARK & LUNN FUNDS INC. LAUNCHES PCJ FOCUSED OPPORTUNITIES FUND AS LIQUID ALTERNATIVE, CC&L ALTERNATIVE INCOME FUND RENAMED AS CC&L ABSOLUTE RETURN BOND FUND

TORONTO, March 31, 2025 /CNW/ - Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc. ("CC&L Funds") is excited to provide an update on two liquid alternative funds: the launch of the PCJ Focused Opportunities Fund, and the renaming of CC&L Alternative Income Fund to CC&L Absolute Return Bond Fund (collectively, the "Funds").

PCJ Focused Opportunities Fund 

The new PCJ Focused Opportunities Fund is modeled after an existing institutional strategy that seeks to deliver an attractive long-term growth profile by taking long and short positions in North American Equities. This opportunistic fund incorporates many of the same themes and positions as the existing PCJ Absolute Return II Fund; however, without the requirement to be market neutral, it is able to pursue a higher level of returns. The portfolio manager is PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. ("PCJ"). Risk rating: Medium.

"While liquid alternative funds are still a relatively new structure, our PCJ investment team has been successfully managing alternative strategies for the past 15 years through different market conditions. In our PCJ Focused Opportunities Fund, our team aims to deliver long-term return levels similar to equities, but with less correlation and lower drawdowns," said Tim Elliott, President & CEO of CC&L Funds. "We view the launch of this fund as timely, as equity investors are faced with high valuations and potentially slowing economic growth. For investors seeking to diversify their equity exposure without reducing their expected return, we view this fund as an ideal solution."

CC&L Absolute Return Bond Fund

CC&L Absolute Return Bond Fund, formerly known as the CC&L Alternative Income Fund, is also modeled after an existing institutional portfolio that employs three unique and complementary fixed income absolute return strategies to target attractive risk/adjusted returns with low correlation to conventional bond portfolios. The portfolio manager is Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. ("CC&L Investment Management"). Risk rating: Low to Medium.

"Fund flow data suggests that individual investors have dramatically increased their exposure to corporate credit in recent years. Our CC&L Absolute Return Bond Fund provides a solution for investors who are looking to reduce that exposure/risk at a time when credit spreads, like equities, are quite expensive, without reducing their expected return from fixed income," said Tim Elliott.

Focused investment teams, strong and stable organization

CC&L Funds, CC&L Investment Management, and PCJ are affiliates of Connor, Clark and Lunn Financial Group Ltd. ("CC&L Financial Group"), whose multi-affiliate structure brings together the talents of diverse investment teams who offer a broad range of traditional and alternative investment solutions. CC&L Financial Group is one of Canada's largest independently owned asset managers, responsible for over $139 billion in assets on behalf of institutional and individual investors.

About the Funds

Available in A and F Series, the Funds conform with the regulatory framework related to alternative mutual funds offered by the Simplified Prospectus. The Funds are offered through licensed investment dealers, priced daily, with daily liquidity and available through FundServ.

About Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc.

Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc. partners with leading Canadian financial institutions and their investment advisors to deliver unique institutional investment strategies to individual investors through a select offering of funds, alternative investments and separately managed accounts.

By limiting the offering to a focused group of investment solutions, CC&L Funds is able to deliver unique and differentiated strategies designed to enhance traditional investor portfolios. For more information, please visit www.cclfundsinc.com.

About Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. is one of the largest independent partner-owned investment management firms in Canada with $76 billion in assets under management. Founded in 1982, CC&L Investment Management offers a diverse array of investment services including equity, fixed income, balanced and alternative solutions including portable alpha, market neutral and absolute return strategies. For more information, please visit cclinvest.cclgroup.com.

About PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd.

Founded in 1996, PCJ Investment Counsel Ltd. (PCJ) is an independent privately owned investment manager focused on large and small cap Canadian equities and alternative investments including equity market neutral and long/short strategies. With approximately $1 billion in total assets under management, the firm has a deep and stable portfolio management team focused on identifying and exploiting unique investment opportunities, and constructing portfolios with attractive risk return characteristics. For more information, please visit www.pcj.ca.

About Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group Ltd.

Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group Ltd. is an independently owned, multi-affiliate asset management firm that provides a broad range of traditional and alternative investment management solutions to institutional and individual investors. CC&L Financial Group brings significant scale and expertise to the delivery of non-investment management functions through the centralization of all operational and distribution functions, allowing talented investment managers to focus on what they do best. CC&L Financial Group's affiliates manage over $139 billion in assets. For more information, please visit www.cclgroup.com.

SOURCE Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc.

Joanna Lewis, Associate, Product & Client Service, Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc., 416-365-5296, [email protected]