Emerging Markets Equity Corporate Class

Transcription

1 This annual management report of fund performance contains financial highlights but does not contain the complete annual financial statements of the investment fund. You can get a copy of the annual financial statements at your request, and at no cost, by calling , by writing to us at United Financial, 2 Queen Street East, Twentieth Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 3G7 or by visiting our website at or SEDAR at Securityholders may also contact us using one of these methods to request a copy of the investment fund s proxy voting policies and procedures, proxy voting disclosure record, or quarterly portfolio disclosure. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND STRATEGIES The primary investment objective of the Emerging Markets Equity Corporate Class (the Fund ) is to obtain maximum long-term capital growth through direct and indirect investments in equity and equity-related securities of companies that the portfolio advisor believes have the potential for positive total return. These companies will include those that are located in, or with significant economic exposure to, emerging market countries. This Fund also may invest in other mutual funds. The portfolio advisor utilizes a bottom-up investment approach focusing on quality, financially productive companies that are undervalued relative to their global industry peers. As part of this evaluation, the portfolio advisor may use techniques such as fundamental analysis to assess growth and value potential. This means evaluating the financial condition and management of a company, its industry and the overall economy. As part of this evaluation, the portfolio advisor analyzes financial data and other information sources relevant to the issuer, assesses the quality of company management and conducts company interviews. This Fund may also enter into securities lending transactions, repurchase transactions and reverse repurchase transactions, to the extent permitted by securities regulations, to earn additional income. The Fund may use derivatives, but only as permitted by securities regulations. In the event of adverse market, economic and/or political conditions, the portfolio advisor may invest in cash and cash equivalent securities. return for Class A shares, Class E shares, Class ET8 shares, Class OF shares, Class I shares, Class IT8 shares, Class W shares and Class WT8 shares was 17.3%, 18.%, 17.8%, 18.6%, 2.9%, 2.8%, 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively, compared to the returns of the MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index 2.3% for the same year. The outcome of the U.K. referendum in June 216, which was generally expected to be a major risk-off event, turned out to be a huge boon for cyclical assets as major central banks re-confirmed their commitment to provide more liquidity if needed. As global yields declined further following the Brexit vote, inflows into emerging assets recovered to near record levels. The outcome of the U.S. elections late in 216 changed the sentiment towards emerging market assets quite dramatically, but despite the Trump scare, which saw emerging market equities falling 7% in less than a week after the elections, emerging market equities closed the year up more than 1% in U.S. dollar terms. The strong returns resumed during the first quarter of 217 and were supported by a number of technical and short-term cyclical factors that should fade as the year progresses. These factors include: Trump trade fears waning, strong growth momentum in China in the second half of 216 carrying over into the early part of 217, global economic surprise indexes reaching multi-year highs and global survey-based data continuing to improve in a synchronized fashion. For the 12-month period ended March 217, emerging market equities were up closer to 2% in U.S. dollar terms. The Fund may, from time to time, engage in active and frequent trading of investments. This increases the possibility that an investor will receive taxable capital gains dividends. This can increase trading costs, which will reduce the Fund s performance. RISK There were no changes to the Fund over the period of this report that materially affected the overall level of risk associated with the Fund. This Fund is suitable for investors who can tolerate high risk, want an investment that is focused on generating capital growth and are planning to hold their investment for the medium and/or long term. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The net asset value of the Fund increased by $11.5 million to $284.3 million from March 31, 216 to March 31, 217. The Fund had net redemptions of $31.4 million during the year. The portfolio s performance increased assets by $52.7 million. The Fund paid distributions totalling $9.8 million. The one-year The Fund ended the period slightly below the benchmark. Shifting positioning from defensive to more cyclical to reflect our increasingly constructive view on emerging markets contributed to relative outperformance in the latter part of 216 and early 217 but the relative underperformance in the early part of the period and again in February 217 prevented the Fund from closing the period in a position of relative outperformance. The relative underperformance of the Fund was mainly driven by cash allocation (i.e. being defensively positioned going into 216) and country allocation, while stock and sector selection added to performance. Although the defensive positioning was significantly reduced late in the summer of 216, the defensive stance heading into the Brexit vote weighed on performance in July and early August. Cash was reduced from above % at the start of the review period to below 5% in August 216. Despite this adjustment, cash levels continued to be a drag on relative performance as emerging market equities and other cyclical assets continued to rally. In early August, all gold holdings were CIG

2 sold and converted to emerging market equity holdings. A number of country ETFs were added during the period as a method to quickly deploy cash and align actual country weights with country target weights. ETFs are considered bridging facilities and not long-term investments. The underweights in Russia (zero weight politics and sanctions), Brazil (due to a weakening political and economic environment at the start of 216 and our continued doubt about the effectiveness of the new administration) and China (concerns about the business cycle) were responsible for the vast majority of the underperformance that came through country allocation. An overweight in India (improving policy decision-making), underweights in Malaysia (due to politics, corruption scandals and weak fiscal situation) and Turkey (especially in the second half of 216 politics, attempted coup in July, weak policy making and vulnerable economy) contributed to performance, as did the overweight in Peru (strong economic fundamentals). Most sector allocation decisions added to performance, but the underweights in consumer staples (valuation concerns), telecommunications (structural underweight due to the lack of regulatory certainty and political interferences) and consumer discretionary (concerns about debt overhang and slow growth) made significant positive contributions to relative performance. The only meaningful detraction on a sector basis came from our underweight in the information technology sector, with minor detractions coming from the overweight in health care. Reducing underweights in materials and technology during the second half of 216 assisted in the move towards a more cyclical bias. Stock selection made a meaningful contribution to overall performance, with positive contributions coming from stocks across various sectors. Junior miner, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd., with assets in Africa, was the biggest single contributor and benefited from both positive drilling results and improving sector fundamentals. Despite the setback of the Note 7 battery, the stock of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. continued to perform, and as the biggest weight in the portfolio, Samsung was also one of the top stock selection contributors to the Fund. Another technology company, Largan Precision Co Ltd., was also a meaningful contributor, followed by the paper and pulp company, Suzano and an Indian finance company, Housing Development Finance Corp Ltd. The three biggest drags on performance from a single stock basis also came from different sectors. Shanghai Airports came under pressure from both the lack of near-term triggers and regulatory concerns regarding on-time performance. The share price of Grupo Financiero Banorte, one of the biggest and most liquid stocks in the Mexican equity index, came under selling pressure late in November as investors reduced their investments in Mexico following the U.S. elections. As such, Grupo Financiero Banorte, became a meaningful drag on the overall performance of the Fund. Unfortunately, the weight was reduced before the recovery late in the period. Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., the power tool maker, also weighed on performance. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS A number of underlying factors continue to support emerging market equities going forward. First, the economic growth gap between emerging and developed market economies, an important driver of emerging market equity outperformance, is once again widening in favour of emerging markets. 216 was the first year since 211 that the growth gap widened and not surprisingly, also the first year since 212 that emerging market equities outperformed its developed market peers. Last year also marked the first year of positive earnings after multi-year declines. Gap widening, positive earnings and positive earnings revisions are expected to continue. Secondly, commodities bottomed late in 2 and early 216. We do not see commodities retesting the 2 lows soon but rather to remain range-bound with an upward bias as global growth continues to improve. Coal and iron ore, which rallied aggressively last year on the back of Chinese policies, might undergo a more bumpy adjustment but like the rest of the commodity complex, even these commodities are unlikely to retest their cyclical lows in the foreseeable future. Stable to higher commodity prices are an essential ingredient for a constructive emerging market outlook. Thirdly, even though higher U.S. interest rates and a significantly higher U.S. dollar will pose a threat to emerging economies, gradualism seems to be the more likely path given the muted economic recovery in the U.S., the slow pace of policy decision-making of the Trump administration, well-behaved inflation expectations and a U.S. Federal Reserve that continues to be more comfortable with gradual tightening as opposed to aggressive changes. In a world of cheap and ample liquidity, a gradual tightening of U.S. monetary policy is unlikely to derail a constructive investment outlook for emerging markets. Against this backdrop and acknowledging a number of policy and political risks to our outlook, we continue to be fully invested with a cyclical bias. Effective March 13, 217, shares initially issued as Class F Shares were renamed as Class OF Shares. Effective January 3, 217, James Werry became a member of the Independent Review Committee of the Fund. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Manager, Portfolio Advisor and Registrar CI Investments Inc. is the Manager, Portfolio Advisor and Registrar of the Fund. CI Investments Inc. is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. The Manager, in consideration for management fees, provided management services required in the day-to-day operations of the Fund. The Manager bears all of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than taxes, borrowing costs and new governmental fees) in return for a fixed administration fee. Management fee and fixed administration fee rates as at March 31, 217, for each of the classes are shown below: Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) A Shares E Shares ET8 Shares OF Shares I Shares Paid directly by investor -

3 Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) The Fund relied on the IRC s standing instructions regarding Related Party Transactions during this reporting year. IT8 Shares Paid directly by investor - W Shares Paid directly by investor.22 WT8 Shares Paid directly by investor.22 The Manager received $.5 million in management fees and $.4 million in fixed administrative fees for the year. Management Fees Approximately 25% of total management fees were used to pay for sales and trailing commissions and other services required. The remaining 75% of management fees were used to pay for investment management and other general administration. Principal Distributor The Manager has the exclusive right to arrange for the distribution of shares of the Fund. Pursuant to a series of agreements, the right to distribute such shares has been granted, on a collective basis, to the following dealers, each of which is an affiliate of the Manager. Assante Capital Management Ltd. Assante Financial Management Ltd. Independent Review Committee The Fund received standing instructions from the Board of Governors ( BoG ) in its capacity as the Independent Review Committee ( IRC ) with respect to the following Related Party Transactions: a) trades in securities of CI Financial Corp.; b) purchases or sales of securities of an issuer from or to another investment fund managed by the Manager (referred to as Inter-Fund Trades ); c) purchases or sales of other investment funds managed by the Manager or their affiliates; and d) mergers of funds with another fund that is subject to National Instrument ( Fund Mergers ). The applicable standing instructions require that Related Party Transactions be conducted in accordance with the Manager s policies and procedures. The Manager is required to advise the IRC of any material breach of a condition of the standing instructions. The standing instructions require, among other things, that the investment decisions in respect to Related Party Transactions (a) are made by the Manager free from any influence by any entities related to the Manager and without taking into account any consideration to any affiliate of the Manager; (b) represent the business judgment of the Manager uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the Fund; and (c) are made in compliance with the Manager s policies and procedures. Transactions made by the Manager under the standing instructions are subsequently reviewed by the IRC on a quarterly basis to monitor compliance. 3

4 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following tables show selected key financial information about the Fund and are intended to help you understand the Fund s financial performance for the past five years, as applicable. Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * A Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 27 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.29) (.28) (.29) (.27) (.25).7 (.37) (1.14) (1.63) (.3) (.3) (.2) (.) - (.13) - - (.) - (.16) (.3) (.2) E Shares Commencement of operations September 16, 28 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.31) (.) (.31) (.28) (.26).23 (.56) (1.32) (1.97) (.4) (.4) (.3) (.41) - (.18) - - (.41) - (.22) (.4) (.3) ,38 26,62 21,226 18,657 14,186 1,751 2,283 1,551 1,47 1, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

5 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.17) (.17) (.2) (.2) (.21).11 (.51) (.44) (1.1) (.2) (.3) (.2) (.22) - (.11) - - (.58) (.63) (.67) (.7) (.68) (.8) (.63) (.8) (.73) (.7) OF Shares Commencement of operations May 22, 28 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.2) (.18) (.19) (.18) (.17).14 (.69) (.53) (1.25) (.3) (.3) (.3) (.32) - (.14) - - (.32) - (.17) (.3) (.3) *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

6 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * I Shares Commencement of operations September 8, 28 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.2) (.67) (1.34) (1.79) (.4) (.4) (.3) (.46) - (.19) - - (.46) - (.23) (.4) (.3) , ,54 77,251 53,968 33,722 8,7 9,364 5,2 4,88 2, IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.1) (.57) (.87) (.7) 1.68 (1.) (.3) (.3) (.3) (.29) - (.14) - - (.74) (.8) (.82) (.84) (.8) (1.3) (.8) (.99) (.87) (.83) ,863 2, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

7 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * W Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 27 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.5) (.3) (.3) (.3) (.2).22 (.51) (1.21) (1.56) (.3) (.3) (.3) (.39) - (.16) - - (.39) - (.19) (.3) (.3) , ,83 94,293 77,43 63,639 9,639 1,465 7,664 6,925 6, WT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Total net assets ($ s) (8) Number of shares outstanding ( s) (8) Mar. 31, 217 Mar. 31, 216 Mar. 31, 2 Mar. 31, 214 Mar. 31, 213^ (.3) (.2) (.2) (.2) (.2).17 (.42) (.8) (1.9) (.3) (.3) (.3) (.26) - (.13) - - (.67) (.72) (.74) (.75) (.72) (.93) (.72) (.9) (.78) (.75) , 12,131 7,491 4,695 2,966 1,556 1, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

8 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) (1) This information is derived from the Fund s audited annual financial statements. (2) Net assets per share and dividends per share are based on the actual number of shares outstanding for the relevant class at the relevant time. The increase (decrease) in net assets from operations per share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the relevant class over the fiscal year. (3) Dividends are automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Fund. (4) Management expense ratio is calculated based on expenses charged to the Fund (excluding commissions and other portfolio transaction costs) and is expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net assets for the year. The Effective HST tax rate is calculated using the attribution percentage for each province based on shareholder residency and can be different from 13%. (5) The Fund s portfolio turnover rate indicates how actively the Fund s portfolio advisor manages its portfolio investments. A portfolio turnover rate of 1% is equivalent to the Fund buying and selling all of the securities in its portfolio once in the course of the fiscal year. The higher a Fund s portfolio turnover rate in a year, the greater the trading costs payable by the Fund in the year, and the greater the chance of an investor receiving taxable capital gains in the year. There is not necessarily a relationship between a higher turnover rate and the performance of a Fund. Portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of the cost of purchases and the proceeds of sales of portfolio securities for the year, and excluding cash and short-term investments maturing in less than one year, and before assets acquired from a merger, if applicable, by the average of the monthly fair value of investments during the year. (6) The trading expense ratio represents total commissions and other portfolio transaction costs disclosed in the statements of comprehensive income expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net assets of the Fund during the year. (7) For financial years beginning on or after April 1, 213 the financial highlights are derived from the financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). IFRS allows net assets to be calculated based on the last traded market price for financial assets and financial liabilities where the last traded price falls within the day s bid-ask spread. There are no differences between the net assets calculated for purpose of processing shareholders transactions and the net assets attributable to holders of redeemable shares used for financial statement reporting purposes. For financial years before April 1, 213, the financial highlights are derived from the financial statements prepared in accordance with Canadian GAAP. Under Canadian GAAP net assets for financial statement purposes were calculated based on bid/ask price while for purpose of processing shareholder transactions net assets were calculated based on the closing market price. (8) This information is provided as at March 31 of the years shown. 8

9 PAST PERFORMANCE This section describes how the Fund has performed in the past. Remember, past returns do not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. The information shown assumes that dividends made by the Fund in the years shown were reinvested in additional shares of the relevant classes of the Fund. In addition, the information does not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or other optional charges that would have reduced returns or performance. Year-by-Year Returns The following charts show the Fund s annual performance for each of the years shown and illustrate how the Fund s performance has changed from year to year. In percentage terms, the charts show how much an investment made on the first day of each financial year would have grown or decreased by the last day of each financial year, except where noted. A Shares E Shares ET8 Shares OF Shares Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar I Shares IT8 Shares W Shares WT8 Shares Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar. 28 Mar Mar. 21 Mar Mar Mar This figure is for the period from October 22, 27 to March 31, This figure is for the period from May 22, 28 to March 31, This figure is for the period from September 8, 28 to March 31, This figure is for the period from September 16, 28 to March 31, This figure is for the period from June 22, 211 to March 31, 212.

10 Annual Compound Returns The following table shows the Fund s annual compound returns for each year indicated, compared to the MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index. The MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of emerging markets. The Index consists of the following 23 emerging market country indices: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates. A discussion of the performance of the Fund as compared to the benchmark is found in the Results of Operations section of this report. One Year (%) Three Years (%) Five Years (%) Ten Years (%) Since Inception (%) A Shares n/a.4 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 2.5 E Shares n/a 4.2 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 7.7 ET8 Shares n/a 2.7 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 5.2 OF Shares n/a 1.1 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 3.1 I Shares n/a 5.6 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 7.7 IT8 Shares n/a 7.8 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 5.2 W Shares n/a 3.1 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 2.5 WT8 Shares n/a 6.1 MSCI Emerging Markets Total Return Index n/a 5.2 1

11 Summary of Investment Portfolio as at March 31, 217 Portfolio Breakdown Percentage of Portfolio Breakdown (cont d) Percentage of Top 25 Holdings Percentage of Category Net Assets (%) Category Net Assets (%) Security Name Net Assets (%) Country allocation Cayman Islands India South Korea Canada U.S.A Taiwan Hong Kong Brazil China Bermuda Austria U.K Philippines Indonesia Mexico Cash & Equivalents Chile Thailand Panama Israel Singapore Norway Jersey Island Portugal....7 Poland....5 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts....1 Other Net Assets (Liabilities)... - Sector allocation Financials Information Technology Materials Energy Industrials Consumer Discretionary Consumer Staples Exchange-Traded Funds Utilities Health Care Telecommunication Services Cash & Equivalents Real Estate Private Placements....7 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts....1 Other Net Assets (Liabilities)... - Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Tencent Holdings Ltd Housing Development Finance Corp., Ltd Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., ADR Erste Group Bank AG AIA Group Ltd Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ICICI Bank Ltd Credicorp Ltd Ivanhoe Mines Ltd China Mobile Ltd. (Hong Kong) Cash & Equivalents Largan Precision Co., Ltd Royal Dutch Shell PLC ishares MSCI India ETF Noble Energy Inc Intercorp Financial Services Inc Gazit-Globe Ltd Bank Central Asia Tbk PT PICC Property & Casualty Co., Ltd., Shares H SK Hynix Inc Lundin Mining Corp Catcher Technology Co., Ltd Torex Gold Resources Inc Raia Drogasil S.A Total Net Assets (in $ s) $284,283 The summary of investment portfolio may change due to ongoing portfolio transactions of the Fund and updates will be available on a quarterly basis. A NOTE ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This report may contain forward-looking statements about the Fund, its future performance, strategies or prospects, and possible future Fund action. The words may, could, should, would, suspect, outlook, believe, plan, anticipate, estimate, expect, intend, forecast, objective, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both about the Fund and general economic factors, so it is possible that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution you not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statement made by the Fund. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic, political and market factors in Canada, the United States and internationally, interest and foreign exchanges rates, global equity and capital markets, business competition, technological changes, changes in laws and regulations, judicial or regulatory judgments, legal proceedings and catastrophic events. The above list of important factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. Before making any investment decisions, we encourage you to consider these and other factors carefully. All opinions contained in forward-looking statements are subject to change without notice and are provided in good faith but without legal responsibility.