Mackenzie Investments partners with Paris-based asset management firm TOBAM to launch innovative Smart Beta ETFs

TORONTO, June 21, 2016 /CNW/ - Mackenzie Financial Corporation (Mackenzie Investments) announced today the launch of two smart beta index Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) designed to offer investors a more diversified portfolio to reduce portfolio biases.

Mackenzie Investments has partnered with TOBAM, a global award-winning asset manager and index provider to some of the world's largest pension funds, to utilize their investment process in the new ETFs. TOBAM's methodology is designed to protect portfolios from structural bias and unmanaged risks often found in cap-weighted indices. The new Mackenzie ETFs are designed to track the performance of select rules-based indices from the TOBAM Maximum Diversification Index Series. Each index aims to create a more diversified portfolio relative to a market capitalization weighted benchmark across Canadian and U.S. markets.

"Mackenzie Investments' commitment to finding innovative and unique investment solutions in the marketplace has us looking around the globe. TOBAM's team in Paris brings a unique and differentiated strategy to diversification that we are pleased to offer advisors and investors," said Jeff Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of IGM Financial Inc.

"In today's financial environment, investors are looking for additional ways to position their portfolios to help them keep pace with constantly changing markets," said Michael Cooke, Head of Exchange Traded Funds at Mackenzie Investments.  "This announcement follows the recent launch of four fixed income ETFs and highlights our commitment to the ETF space. Our maximum diversification index ETFs represent an exciting new chapter in the evolution of smart beta ETFs in Canada. For investors rethinking their core holdings, these funds aim to enhance diversification that may help achieve superior performance with lower risk over reasonable periods of time."

The offering of the following two ETFs has closed, and they will begin trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange today:

MKC: Mackenzie Maximum Diversification Canada Index ETF seeks to replicate the performance of the TOBAM Maximum Diversification Canada Index, or any successor thereto. It invests primarily in Canadian equity securities.

MUS: Mackenzie Maximum Diversification US Index ETF seeks to replicate the performance of the TOBAM Maximum Diversification USA Index, or any successor thereto. It invests primarily in U.S. equity securities.

"TOBAM's core investment philosophy is to enhance diversification in order to benefit from all the potential opportunities available in equity markets," said Yves Choueifaty, CEO of TOBAM and creator of the Maximum Diversification Index Series. "Our research indicates that the systematic returns available from equity markets are higher than using market-cap weighted benchmarks', and seem to be far more stable over time. Using a biased benchmark as a reference carries implicit bets, potentially costly, which evolve dynamically. On the contrary, TOBAM's Maximum Diversification approach is designed to reduce explicit and implicit biases in terms of sector, styles, market cap and to collect the risk premium available in the investment universe. We are very excited to be partnering with Mackenzie Investments to make our strategies available to Canadian investors."

For more information on Mackenzie Investment ETFs, visit www.mackenzieinvestments.com/etfs.

About Mackenzie Investments

Mackenzie Investments was founded in 1967, and is a leading investment management firm providing investment advisory and related services. With $61.4 billion in assets under management as at May 31, 2016, Mackenzie Investments distributes its investment services through multiple distribution channels to both retail and institutional investors. Mackenzie Investments is a member of the IGM Financial Inc. (TSX: IGM) group of companies. IGM Financial is one of Canada's premier financial services companies with over $135 billion in total assets under management as at May 31, 2016. For more information, visit mackenzieinvestments.com.

About TOBAM

TOBAM is an asset management company offering innovative investment capabilities designed to maximize diversification. TOBAM's Maximum Diversification approach, supported by original, patented research and a mathematical definition of diversification, provides clients with diversified core exposure, in both the equity and fixed income markets. TOBAM currently manages C$ 10.5 billion (at March 31, 2016) across its Anti-Benchmark strategies and a family of indices, the TOBAM Maximum Diversification Index Series. TOBAM's team is composed of 43 professionals based in New York, Paris, Zürich and Hong Kong.

SOURCE Mackenzie Financial Corporation

Trish Tervit, Director, Communications and Media Relations, Mackenzie Investments, 416-967-2166, [email protected]