International Equity Value Currency Hedged Corporate Class

Transcription

1 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 This semi-annual management report of fund performance contains financial highlights but does not contain the complete semi-annual or annual financial statements of the investment fund. You can get a copy of the semi-annual or 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. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The net asset value of the Fund decreased by $.1 million to $38.6 million from March 31, 218 to September 3, 218. The Fund had net redemptions of $1.4 million during. The portfolio s performance increased assets by $1.7 million. The Fund paid distributions totalling $.4 million. Class E shares returned 3.9% after fees and expenses for the six-month period ended September 3, 218. Over the same time period, the Fund s benchmark returned 6.3%. The benchmark is the MSCI EAFE Total Return Index in local currency. In information technology, Cielo SA underperformed due to ongoing concerns about competition in the merchant acquiring market and uncertainty prior to the Brazilian presidential elections. Also, Yahoo Japan s plans to increase investment future pressured operating profits. In energy, Schlumberger Ltd., an oilfield service provider, underperformed on near-term demand weakness for U.S. shale-related services. In consumer staples, Heineken NV reported strong first-half organic revenue growth but reduced full-year margin guidance due to substantial foreign exchange headwinds and profit growth in Brazil that is dilutive to margins. The performance of the Fund s other classes is substantially similar to that of Class E shares, except for differences in fees and expenses structure. For the returns of the Fund s other classes, please refer to the Past performance section. The following commentary pertains to the results of operations of the underlying fund. The Fund underperformed the MSCI EAFE Total Return Index for the six months ending September 3, 218. Narrow leadership by high priced growth stocks, primarily the FAANGs (Facebook Inc., Apple Inc., Amazon Inc., Netflix and Alphabet Inc. (Google)) has persisted for several years and recently has become even more pronounced. This is typically a late cycle phenomenon and reminds us in many ways of the final stage of the dot-com bubble. Although valuations are not as stretched as they were during the dotcom bubble in 2, they are elevated by historical standards, underlying profit margins are near historical peak levels, and policy regimes are reversing. The proliferation of passive and factor-based methodologies have grown to dominate liquidity in markets. The condition of certain ETFs further complicates this as the mismatch in the real liquidity in the underlying assets is much less than the liquidity that is promised to holders of the ETF. The inherent pro-cyclicality resulting from these buyers presents risk, as they have little or no regard for underlying fundamentals or valuation. This is not healthy. Under these conditions, we prefer to be among the few rather than the many. Holdings in the health care, financial, and consumer discretionary sectors were sources of positive attribution, while information technology, energy, and consumer staples weighed on relative performance. Currency hedging added to performance as the Canadian dollar appreciated against most major currencies. In the health care sector, Medtronic Inc. outperformed when, after several quarters of inconsistent growth and margin expansion, it reported a quarter that beat on both metrics. Also, Astellas Pharma Inc. has expanded the addressable market of its key prostate drug Xtandi. In financials, sell-side analysts have been increasing Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. s earnings expectations due to an improving outlook on underwriting margins. This led Tokio Marine s shares to outperform. In the consumer discretionary sector, shares of Grupo Televisa SAB recovered in Q2 due to early signs that the turnaround in its core advertising business was taking shape following recent strategy changes. Positions sold during : THK, a maker of linear-motion guides and other critical industrial components, TDC Group, the incumbent Danish telecommunications operator, acquired by a consortium of Danish pension funds, WPP PLC, the largest advertising agency holding company in the world, Deutsche Börse Group, a leading European derivatives exchange, MS&AD Insurance Group, a leading Japanese property and casualty insurance company, XL Group, a global property and casualty insurance company, acquired by AXA, Trivago, a leading hotel metasearch company, and Anglo American PLC, an international mining group. New positions during this 6-month period: Liberty Global, a cable operator providing pay-tv, broadband data, and voice telephony services, ING Group, a financial conglomerate operating in banking and insurance throughout Europe, the U.S., and Asia, Siam Commercial Bank, a leading commercial bank in Thailand, Garanti Bankasi, a Turkish bank, Dufry AG, the world leader in travel retail, Julius Bär Group AG, one of the world s largest high-net-worth private banks, Shinhan Financial Group, one of Korea s largest financial conglomerates, and SMC Corp., specializing in pneumatic control engineering to support industrial automation. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS The 1-year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. bankruptcy recently passed, yet debt levels are even higher today. In the U.S., total debt to GDP levels are higher while the amounts of outstanding high yield and leveraged loans has doubled. Private credit, an alternative form of non-bank lending has ballooned, presenting new hazards. More broadly, considerable global imbalances remain at a time when central bank policies are reversing course. It seems sensible to us that those areas that benefited most from quantitative easing would be the most susceptible to its reversal. This has been the case recently in emerging markets, primarily those with large current account deficits and foreign debt exposure. Cracks have appeared in a growing number of areas, in some cases presenting opportunity, leading us to add to certain emerging market bank holdings or China-reliant industrial names. In others, the cracks could become canyons, as is the case with Italy. CIG

2 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 Effective September 2, 218, Tom Eisenhauer became a member of the Board of Governors ( BOG ) and Independent Review Committee ( IRC ), and effective October 15, 218, Mary Robertson resigned as a member of the BOG and IRC. 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. 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 Fund s Independent Review Committee with respect to the following related party transactions: Management fee and fixed administration fee rates as at September 3, 218, for each of the classes are shown below: Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) E Shares E3 Shares E4 Shares E5 Shares ET8 Shares E3T8 Shares E4T8 Shares E5T8 Shares F Shares.9.22 F3 Shares F4 Shares F5 Shares.77.1 FT8 Shares.9.22 F3T8 Shares 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; and c) purchases or sales of other investment funds managed by the Manager or their affiliates. The applicable standing instructions require that related party transactions be conducted in accordance with the Manager s policies and procedures and that the Manager advise the IRC of any material breach of a condition of the standing instructions. The standing instructions require, among other things, that investment decisions in respect of related party transactions (a) are free from any influence by an entity related to the Manager and without taking into account any consideration relevant to an entity related to the Manager; (b) represent the business judgment of the Manager uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the Fund; (c) are made in compliance with the Manager s policies and procedures; and (d) achieve a fair and reasonable result for the Fund. Transactions made by the Manager under the standing instructions are subsequently reviewed by the IRC on a quarterly basis to monitor compliance. The Fund relied on the IRC s standing instructions regarding related party transactions during this reporting period. Except as otherwise noted above, the Fund was not a party to any related party transactions during ended September 3, 218. F4T8 Shares F5T8 Shares.77.1 I Shares Paid directly by investor - IT8 Shares Paid directly by investor - The Manager received $.2 million in management fees and $.2 million in fixed administration fees for. Management Fees Approximately 17% of total management fees were used to pay for sales and trailing commissions and other services required. The remaining 83% of management fees were used to pay for investment management and other general administration.

3 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 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 six periods, as applicable. Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (4) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Total Realized Unrealized Total increase From net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) Total revenue expenses (excluding distributions) gains (losses) for gains (losses) for (decrease) from operations (2) income (excluding dividends) From dividends From capital gains Return of capital Total (2, 3) dividends at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ E Shares Commencement of operations September 26, 28 Sept. 3, (.16).77 (.13) (.13) - (.13) Mar. 31, (.35) (.6) (.42) - (.48) Mar. 31, (.31) (.7) (.6) - (.67) Mar. 31, (.3) 1.14 (2.27) (1.1) - (.6) (.53) - (.59) Mar. 31, (.28) (.5) (.33) - (.38) Mar. 31, (.26) (.9) - - (.9) E3 Shares Sept. 3, (.12).6 (.11) (.1) - (.1) 1.21 Mar. 31, (.25).23 (.11).8 - (.4) (.32) - (.36) 9.94 E4 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).6 (.12) (.1) - (.1) 1.24 Mar. 31, (.23).25 (.9).13 - (.4) (.32) - (.36) 9.95 E5 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).6 (.1) (.1) - (.1) 1.25 Mar. 31, (.23) (.44).11 (.15) - (.4) (.32) - (.36) 9.96 ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 2, 211 Sept. 3, (.4) (.12) (.12) - Mar. 31, (.23) (.4) (.27) (.71) (1.2) 8.15 Mar. 31, (.22) (.5) (.41) (.77) (1.23) 8.77 Mar. 31, (.24).84 (1.79) (.95) - (.4) (.4) (.8) (1.24) 8.56 Mar. 31, (.24) (.4) (.27) (.83) (1.14) 1.71 Mar. 31, (.24) (.8) - (.74) (.82) 1.22 E3T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).54 (.1) (.9) (.39) (.48) 9.9 Mar. 31, (.24) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.23 The Fund had no Class ET8 shares outstanding as at September 3, 218. *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights.

4 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (4) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Total Realized Unrealized Total increase From net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) Total revenue expenses (excluding distributions) gains (losses) for gains (losses) for (decrease) from operations (2) income (excluding dividends) From dividends From capital gains Return of capital Total (2, 3) dividends at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ E4T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).55 (.1) (.9) (.39) (.48) 9.1 Mar. 31, (.23) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.24 E5T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.1).55 (.1) (.9) (.39) (.48) 9.12 Mar. 31, (.22) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.25 F Shares Sept. 3, (.6).66 (.14) (.11) - (.11) 1.36 Mar. 31, (.14).25 (.48) (.9) - (.4) (.33) - (.37) 1.3 F3 Shares Sept. 3, (.7).51 (.2) (.11) - (.11) 1.37 Mar. 31, (.16) (.1) (.4) (.33) - (.37) 1.3 F4 Shares Sept. 3, (.6).63 (.17) (.11) - (.11) 1.39 Mar. 31, (.14).23 (.5).27 - (.4) (.33) - (.37) 1.5 F5 Shares Sept. 3, (.5).61 (.11) (.11) - (.11) 1.41 Mar. 31, (.12) (.4) (.33) - (.37) 1.6 *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights.

5 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (4) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Total Realized Unrealized Total increase From net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) Total revenue expenses (excluding distributions) gains (losses) for gains (losses) for (decrease) from operations (2) income (excluding dividends) From dividends From capital gains Return of capital Total (2, 3) dividends at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ FT8 Shares Sept. 3, (.6).55 (.1) (.1) (.4) (.5) 9.24 Mar. 31, (.14) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.32 F3T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.6).55 (.1) (.1) (.4) (.5) 9.24 Mar. 31, (.14) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.32 F4T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.5).55 (.1) (.1) (.4) (.5) 9.26 Mar. 31, (.13) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.34 F5T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.5).55 (.1) (.1) (.4) (.5) 9.27 Mar. 31, (.12) (.4) (.3) (.73) (1.7) 9.35 I Shares Commencement of operations October 1, 28 Sept. 3, (.21) (.2) - (.2) 2.3 Mar. 31, (.6) (.9) (.63) - (.72) Mar. 31, (.3) (.11) (.87) - (.98) Mar. 31, (3.28) (1.14) - (.8) (.76) - (.84) Mar. 31, (.8) (.46) - (.54) Mar. 31, (.13) - - (.13) IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, (.9) (.1) (.43) (.53) 1.6 Mar. 31, (.3) (.5) (.33) (.86) (1.24) 1.9 Mar. 31, (.2) (.6) (.5) (.9) (1.46) 1.59 Mar. 31, (2.2) (.7) - (.5) (.47) (.91) (1.43) 1.9 Mar. 31, (.5) (.31) (.93) (1.29) Mar. 31, (.9) - (.81) (.9) *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights.

6 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 (1) This information is derived from the Fund s semi-annual and 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 period. (3) Dividends are automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Fund. (4) This information is provided for ended September 3, 218 and the years ended March 31.

7 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * Total net assets (5) Number of shares outstanding (5) Management expense ratio before taxes (2) Management expense ratio after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (2) Harmonized Trading Portfolio sales tax (2) expense ratio (3) turnover rate (4) $ s s % % % % % % E Shares Commencement of operations September 26, 28 Sept. 3, ,85 1, Mar. 31, ,442 1, Mar. 31, ,59 1, Mar. 31, ,231 1, Mar. 31, 215 3,274 2, Mar. 31, 214 3,18 2, E3 Shares Sept. 3, 218 5, Mar. 31, 218 5, E4 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, 218 1, E5 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 2, 211 Sept. 3, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, E3T8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, The Fund had no Class ET8 shares outstanding as at September 3, 218. *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section.

8 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * Total net assets (5) Number of shares outstanding (5) Management expense ratio before taxes (2) Harmonized sales tax (2) Management expense ratio after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (2) Trading expense ratio (3) Portfolio turnover rate (4) $ s s % % % % % % E4T8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, E5T8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F3 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F4 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F5 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section.

9 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * Total net assets (5) Number of shares outstanding (5) Management expense ratio before taxes (2) Harmonized sales tax (2) Management expense ratio after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (2) Trading expense ratio (3) Portfolio turnover rate (4) $ s s % % % % % % FT8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F3T8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F4T8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, F5T8 Shares Sept. 3, Mar. 31, I Shares Commencement of operations October 1, 28 Sept. 3, , Mar. 31, , Mar. 31, , Mar. 31, , Mar. 31, ,43 1, Mar. 31, ,754 1, IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section.

10 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 (1) This information is derived from the Fund s semi-annual and annual financial statements. (2) 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, including the Fund s proportionate share of any underlying fund(s) expenses, if applicable. The Effective HST tax rate is calculated using the attribution percentage for each province based on shareholder residency and can be different from 13%. (3) The trading expense ratio represents total commissions and other portfolio transaction costs expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net assets during, including the Fund s proportionate share of such expenses of any underlying fund(s), if applicable. (4) 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 period. The higher a Fund s portfolio turnover rate in a period, the greater the trading costs payable by the Fund in, and the greater the chance of an investor receiving taxable capital gains in. 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, 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. (5) This information is provided for ended September 3, 218 and the years ended March 31.

11 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 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 s 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 semi-annual and annual performance for each of s shown and illustrate how the Fund s performance has changed from period to period. In percentage terms, the charts show how much an investment made on the first day of each financial period would have grown or decreased by the last day of each financial period, except where noted. E Shares E3 Shares E4 Shares E5 Shares Mar. 29 Mar. 21 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 Mar. 213 Mar. 214 Mar. 215 Mar. 216 Mar. 217 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 E3T8 Shares E4T8 Shares E5T8 Shares F Shares Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 F3 Shares F4 Shares F5 Shares FT8 Shares Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 F3T8 Shares F4T8 Shares F5T8 Shares I Shares Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 218 Sept. 218 Mar. 29 Mar. 21 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 Mar. 213 Mar. 214 Mar. 215 Mar. 216 Mar. 217 Mar. 218 Sept. 218

12 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, IT8 Shares Mar. 212 Mar. 213 Mar. 214 Mar Mar Mar Mar. 218 Sept return is for from September 26, 28 to March 31, return is for from May 1, 217 to March 31, return is for from October 1, 28 to March 31, return is for from June 22, 211 to March 31,

13 Management Report of Fund Performance for ended September 3, 218 SUMMARY OF INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO as at September 3, 218 Category % of Net Assets Category % of Net Assets Top 25 Holdings* % of Net Assets Country allocation* Japan Switzerland U.K France Germany Netherlands Cash & Equivalents Ireland Jersey Island Brazil Thailand Israel Hong Kong Curacao Sweden Cayman Islands India....9 Luxembourg....8 South Korea....8 Mexico....7 Turkey....5 Russia....3 Other Net Assets (Liabilities)....2 Sector allocation* Financials Health Care Information Technology Consumer Staples Cash & Equivalents Telecommunication Services Consumer Discretionary Materials Energy Industrials Utilities....5 Other Net Assets (Liabilities)....2 Cash & Equivalents Astellas Pharma Inc Chubb Ltd Aon PLC GlaxoSmithKline PLC Tokio Marine Holdings Inc Zurich Financial Services AG Sanofi S.A Novartis AG, Registered Shares Medtronic PLC Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc Shire PLC Roche Holding AG Willis Towers Watson PLC Nestle S.A., Registered Shares Yahoo! Japan Corp Linde AG Vodafone Group PLC, ADR Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd Akzo Nobel N.V Heineken N.V Japan Exchange Group Inc Henkel AG & Co., KGaA, Preferred, Non-Voting Shares Nintendo Co., Ltd Total Net Assets (in $ s) $38,642 *These are holdings and the breakdown of the underlying fund. 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. 13