IG Wealth Management Introduces New iProfile Portfolios and Liquid Alternatives Pools

Firm also announces management fee reductions and streamlines mutual fund lineup

WINNIPEG, March 11, 2020 /CNW/ - IG Wealth Management today announced the introduction of four new iProfile Portfolios and two liquid alternative pools. The firm also put forward the following proposed changes to its mutual fund lineup:

• Management fee reductions for certain Funds and Classes
• Fund mergers
• Changes to investment objectives, investment strategies, sub-advisors and name changes for certain Funds and Classes

"The iProfile Portfolios we're introducing today are a new suite of managed solutions with low pool advisory fees and are well diversified to meet the needs of different investor profiles and preferences," said Jon Kilfoyle, Senior Vice-President Investments, IG Wealth Management. "They will engage the investment expertise and talent of several leading global asset managers and will also include exposure to passive ETFs, liquid alternatives and real assets."

"Additionally, the management fee reductions and proposed fund changes announced today will deliver lower costs and further simplify our mutual fund lineup for our clients."

iProfile Portfolios
The following four portfolio funds are anticipated to be available for purchase on or about May 4, 2020:

iProfile Portfolios	Fund Advisory Fees
iProfile Portfolio – Global Fixed Income Balanced	Up to 0.15%
iProfile Portfolio – Global Neutral Balanced	Up to 0.19%
iProfile Portfolio – Global Equity Balanced	Up to 0.21%
iProfile Portfolio – Global Equity	Up to 0.24%

Global asset managers within the above portfolio funds are expected to include:

• Aristotle Capital Boston, LLC (Aristotle Boston)
• BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited
• China Asset Management Co., Ltd. (ChinaAMC)
• Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited
• JPMorgan Asset Management (Canada) Inc.
• Mackenzie Financial Corporation
• Mackenzie International Europe Limited (MIEL)
• PanAgora Asset Management, Inc.
• PIMCO Canada Corp.
• Putnam Investments Canada ULC
• Wellington Management Canada ULC

New Liquid Alternative Pools
The iProfile Portfolios will invest in liquid alternative strategies.  This will initially include Mackenzie Global Macro Fund, which is focused on an absolute return target of 5% - 9% above cash and an annualized expected volatility of 7% - 11% over a five-year rolling period. Additionally, two new non-retail pools will be added:

JP Morgan – IG U.S. Equity Long/Short Pool
The pool, sub-advised by JPMorgan Asset Management (Canada) Inc., aims to provide long-term capital appreciation with lower volatility than the market. The Fund seeks to participate in the market's upside while attempting to limit losses in declining markets by taking long and short exposures, primarily to U.S. companies, investing in equity securities that are expected to increase in value (long) and simultaneously selling equity securities that are expected to decrease in value (short). Fundamental research is conducted, following a bottom-up approach, to select and value securities.

Wellington – IG Global Equity Hedge Pool
The pool, sub-advised by Wellington Management Canada ULC, combines a primarily long equity approach with risk management strategies in pursuit of its investment objective. The equity approach consists of multiple independent equity strategies which are actively managed with the goal of maintaining equity exposure to benefit in up markets, while the hedging strategies are designed to help dampen downside volatility in adverse market environments.

Management Fee Reductions
Effective on or about April 1, 2020 or June 1, 2020, as applicable, the annual management fee rates for the following Funds/Classes will be reduced, as indicated in the chart below:

Fund name	Series	Existing management fee	New management fee
IG Putnam U.S. Growth Fund^1	C	2.00%	1.90%
IG AGF U.S. Growth Class^1	A and B	1.90%	1.85%
	JDSC and JNL	1.65%	1.60%
	U	0.80%	0.75%
IG Fiera Canadian Small Cap Fund & Class^2	A, B and C	2.15%	2.00%
	JDSC and JNL	1.90%	1.75%
	U	1.05%	0.90%
IG AGF Global Equity Fund & Class^1	A, B and C	2.00%	1.95%
	JDSC and JNL	1.75%	1.70%
	U	0.90%	0.85%

Fund Mergers
IG Wealth Management is proposing the following fund mergers, which are expected to provide investors with a streamlined and simplified product line-up, and the potential for broader investment management diversification opportunities with the aim of improved long-term performance.

The fund merger described below was reviewed and approved by the Investors Group Funds Independent Review Committee (IRC)³, and will take effect as of the close of business on or about June 19, 2020:

Existing fund (merging fund)	To be merged into (continuing Fund)	Continuing Fund Performance (Series U)^4
IG AGF U.S. Growth Fund	IG Putnam U.S. Growth Fund	Five star 1 yr: 19.91%, 3 yr: 18.1%, 5 yr: 14.29%, Since inception: 19.22%

The fund mergers described below are expected to be effective on or about the close of business on June 19, 2020, subject to regulatory approval and approval by securityholders:

Existing fund (merging fund)	To be merged into (continuing Fund)	Continuing Fund Performance (Series U)^4
IG Mackenzie Low Volatility Canadian Equity Fund	IG FI Canadian Equity Fund	Four star 1 yr: 8.96%, 3 yr: 6.49%, 5 yr: 5%, Since inception: 8.7%
IG Irish Life Low Volatility Global Equity Fund	IG Mackenzie Global Fund	Four star 1 yr: 10%, 3 yr: 7.63%, 5 yr: 6.24%, Since inception: 10.35%

Investment Objective, Investment Strategy, Sub-Advisor and Class Name Changes
IG Wealth Management is proposing to change the investment objectives, investment strategies, sub-advisors and names of the following Classes. They are expected to be effective on or about the close of business on June 19, 2020, subject to regulatory approval and approval by securityholders:

Class		Fund	Fund name change	New sub-advisor
IG Mackenzie Low Volatility Canadian Equity Class	To invest into	IG FI Canadian Equity Fund	IG FI Canadian Equity Class II	Fidelity Investments Canada ULC
IG Irish Life Low Volatility Global Equity Class	To invest into	IG Mackenzie Global Fund	IG Mackenzie Global Class IV	Mackenzie Financial Corporation

Further, to leverage existing relationships and the investment management capabilities of Mackenzie Financial Corporation and Putnam Investments Canada ULC, changes to the investment strategies, names and sub-advisors of the Funds/Classes listed below are being proposed. They are expected to be effective on or about the close of business on April 9 or June 8, 2020, as indicated:

Fund	New fund name	New sub-advisor
IG Fiera Canadian Small Cap Fund	IG Mackenzie Canadian Small/Mid Cap Fund II^5	Mackenzie Financial Corporation
IG Fiera Canadian Small Cap Class	IG Mackenzie Canadian Small/Mid Cap Class III^5	Mackenzie Financial Corporation
IG AGF U.S. Growth Class	IG Putnam U.S. Growth Class II^6	Putnam Investments Canada ULC
IG AGF Global Equity Class	IG Mackenzie Global Class III^6	Mackenzie Financial Corporation
IG AGF Global Equity Fund	IG Mackenzie Global Fund II^6	Mackenzie Financial Corporation

The Funds/Classes listed above will be closed to new investments (effective on the dates of their investment objective changes), other than for reinvested distributions and dividends, investments through existing pre-authorized contribution arrangements, and switches between series within the same Fund/Class. All of these will be allowed to continue subject to the usual eligibility requirements.

Securityholder Meetings:
Some of the above fund mergers and investment objective changes are subject to securityholder approval and/or regulatory approval. Where applicable, securityholders of record as at April 2, 2020 will be asked to approve the merger or objective change involving their Funds at meetings scheduled at 10 a.m. (CDT) on June 1, 2020 at IG Wealth Management's head office in Winnipeg. 

About IG Wealth Management
Founded in 1926, IG Wealth Management is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of Consultants located across Canada. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds and other investment vehicles, IG offers a wide range of other financial services. IG Wealth Management has over $90 billion in assets under management as of February 29, 2020 and is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies. IGM Financial is one of Canada's leading diversified wealth and asset management companies with approximately $162 billion in total assets under management as of February 29, 2020.

Commissions, fees and expenses may be associated with mutual fund investments and the use of an asset allocation service. Read the prospectus and speak to an IG Consultant before investing.  Recommendations relate only to IG Wealth Management mutual funds. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated

¹ Changes effective on or about June 1, 2020

² Changes effective on or about April 1, 2020

³ In considering the merger, the IRC determined that the merger:

• Represents the business judgment of IG Wealth Management, uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the merging funds and continuing fund

• Complies with IG Wealth Management' s written policies and procedures

• Achieves a fair and reasonable result for the merging funds and continuing fund

This merger qualifies as a 'pre-approved' merger under securities regulations because it does not involve a substantive change in investment objectives or investment strategies for securityholders of the merging fund; the continuing fund will have a reduced maximum management fee as compared to the merging fund; and the merger will occur on a tax-deferred basis

Accordingly, as permitted by securities regulations, and as mentioned in the simplified prospectus of the merging fund and continuing fund, it is not necessary to seek approval from the securityholders of the merging fund, as the IRC has approved this merger based on certain conditions being met (including that securityholders receive written notice about the merger at least 60 days in advance)

⁴ Morningstar Star Ratings reflect performance of Series U as of February 29, 2020 and are subject to change monthly. The ratings are an objective, quantitative measure of a fund's historical risk-adjusted performance relative to other funds in its category. Only funds with at least a three-year track record are considered. The overall star rating for a fund is a weighted combination calculated from a fund's 3, 5, and 10-year returns, as available, measured against the 91-day treasury bill and peer group returns. A fund can only be rated if there are a sufficient number of funds in its peer group to allow comparison for at least three years. If a fund scores in the top 10% of its fund category, it gets 5 stars; if it falls in the next 22.5%, it receives 4 stars; a place in the middle 35% earns a fund 3 stars; those in the next 22.5% receive 2 stars; and the lowest 10% receive 1 star. Ratings are just one factor to consider when investing. For more information about this rating, contact Morningstar at 1-800-531 4725/www.morningstar.ca or your IG Wealth Management Consultant. Quartile rankings and peers beaten are calculated by IG Wealth Management based on the fund series-level data Morningstar provides. The CIFSC categories, Star Ratings and number of funds in each category, for the standard periods, respectively, are IG Putnam U.S. Growth Fund Series U, U.S. Equity category: 1 year – n/a stars (1,595 funds) 19.91%, 3 years - 5 stars (1,268 funds) 18.10%, 5 years - 5 stars (817 funds) 14.29%. IG FI Canadian Equity Fund Series U, Canadian Equity category: 1 year – n/a stars (741 funds) 8.96%, 3 years - 5 stars (607 funds) 6.49%, 5 years - 4 stars (410 funds) 5.00%. IG Mackenzie Global Fund Series U, Global Equity category: 1 year – n/a stars (2,130 funds) 10.00%, 3 years - 4 stars (1,470 funds) 7.63%, 5 years - 4 stars (987 funds) 6.24%. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns as of February 29, 2020 including changes in unit value and reinvestment of all distributions and does not take into account sales, redemption, distribution, or optional charges or income taxes payable by any security holder that would have reduced returns. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. © Investors Group Inc. 2020

⁵ Changes effective on or about April 9, 2020

⁶ Changes effective on or about June 8, 2020

SOURCE IG Wealth Management

For further information: Media Contact: Nini Krishnappa, IGM Financial, 647-828-2553, [email protected]