Signature Diversified Yield II Fund

Transcription

1 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 CI Investments Inc., 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 $416.3 million to $3,18.2 million from March 31, 17 to September, 17. The Fund had net redemptions of $325.1 million during the period. The portfolio s performance increased assets by $.3 million. The Fund paid distributions totalling $111.5 million. Class A units returned.2% after fees and expenses for the six-month period ended September, 17. Over the same time period, the Fund s benchmark returned -.8%. The benchmark is a combination of the Bank of America Merrill Lynch U.S. High Yield Total Return Index - 4%, the MSCI ACWI Global High Dividend Yield Total Return Index - %, the MSCI ACWI Infrastructure Total Return Index - % and the MSCI World Real Estate Total Return Index - %. The performance of the Fund s other Classes is substantially similar to that of Class A units, except for differences in fees and expenses structure. For the returns of the Fund s other Classes, please refer to the Past performance section. So far 17 has surprised many investors. Missteps and the checks and balances of the U.S. legislative system have stymied U.S. President Donald Trump s agenda in health care, diminishing the hope for aggressive tax reform to stimulate the U.S. economy and unleash the animal spirits. Nonetheless, equity indexes have hit all-time highs, volatility across a number of asset classes is at record lows, yet government bond yields are lower year-to-date. There is still concern that the tightening monetary policy associated with the upcoming reduction in the U.S. Federal Reserve s (Fed) balance sheet will derail U.S. economic growth. Looking domestically, just as the Fed turned dovish about future tightening given the lack of inflation, the Bank of Canada tacked hawkish, quickly raising overnight interest rates by 5 basis points. We felt caution may have been warranted given the preceding currency appreciation, mortgage regulatory reform, pending NAFTA re-negotiation and minimum wage increases in two large provinces. Corporate borrowers continue to demonstrate credit quality improvement via earnings growth and, to a lesser extent, debt reduction. The Fund slightly outperformed the index over the period as strong security selection mitigated the impact from the stronger Canadian dollar. Contributing positively to performance were the Fund s positions in financials, especially Citigroup Inc. and European transportation infrastructure, notably Abertis Infraestructuras SA and Fraport AG. On the fixed-income side of the Fund, financials sector preferred shares were meaningful contributors to performance, especially RBS and Lloyds Bank. Detractors from relative performance were the real estate sector and a few specific telecommunication stocks. New positions in the Fund include Cheniere Energy Inc. and American Homes 4 Rent LP in the equity sleeve and the Canada Goose L+4 term loan and Rite Aid 6.125% bonds due 23 on the fixed-income side. Our positions in General Growth Properties Inc. was exited while our positions in Transurban Group, and Citigroup were reduced. Exiting the Fund due to early calls and tenders included Wynn Macau 5.375% bonds due, Mattamy Homes 6.875% and C$6.5% bonds due. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS We are slightly more optimistic than last period. Valuations across most asset classes are challenging but supported by durable economic growth and central bank caution on further tightening actions. Spreads for example are still basis points wide of the all-time tights experienced between 4 and 7. Nonetheless, they are on the expensive side of historical averages so crowded but not dangerous may be the best turn of phrase. Easy access to cheap credit should fuel further mergers and acquisitions and, should the animal spirits catch, a capital expenditure cycle on renewed optimism for growth. As a result, we believe we are at an inflection point between companies pursuing balancesheet repair strategies and shareholder-friendly, re-leveraging behaviour. This has us inclined to tilt the portfolio more towards equities, although we remain vigilant in the long-term on when this behaviour will become egregious and counter-productive. Effective April 3, 17, William Harding ceased to be a member of the Independent Review Committee. Fund Mergers On August 23, 17, CI Investments Inc. announced Fund mergers. The mergers, subject to receiving all necessary unitholder and regulatory approvals, will take effect no later than November 3, 17 and if approved Marret Strategic Yield Fund will merge into Signature Diversified Yield II Fund. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Manager, Portfolio Advisor, Trustee and Registrar CI Investments Inc. is the Manager, Portfolio Advisor, Trustee and Registrar of the Fund. CI Investments Inc. is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. The Manager, in consideration for management fees, provides 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. fee and fixed administration rates as at September, 17, for each of the classes are shown below: Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) Class A 1.9. CIG

2 Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) Class A Class A Class A Class A Class A Class E Class EF Class F.9. Class F Class F Class F 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. Class F Class I Paid directly by investor - Class O Paid directly by investor.15 Class P Paid directly by investor. The Fund paid the Manager $24.4 million in management fees and $2.8 million in administration fees for the period ended September, 17. Fees Approximately 26% of total management fees were used to pay for sales and trailing commissions. The remaining 74% of management fees were used for investment management and other general administration. Inter-Fund Trading Inter-fund trading occurs when a Fund purchases or sells a security of any issuer from or to another Fund managed by the Manager. These transactions are executed through market intermediaries and under prevailing market terms and conditions. The Independent Review Committee reviews such transactions during scheduled meetings. During the period ended September, 17 the Fund executed inter-fund trades. Independent Review Committee The Fund received standing instructions from the Fund s 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; c) purchases or sales of other investment funds managed by the Manager or their affiliates; and d) mergers involving the Fund and another fund managed by the Manager that is subject to National Instrument Investment Funds.

3 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 Unit ($) (1) (2) (5) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Distributions: Total Realized Unrealized Total increase From net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning Total expenses (excluding (decrease) from income (excluding From From capital Total at the end of the period of period (2) revenue distributions) the period the period operations (2) dividends) dividends (2, 3) Return of capital distributions shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Class A Commencement of operations February 14, 11 Sept., (.12).29 (.38).3 (.12) - - (.18) (.) 9.78 Mar. 31, (.23) (.26) - - (.39) (.65).6 Mar. 31, (.24) (.32) (.79) (.84) (.26) (.1) - (.33) (.6) 9.72 Mar. 31, (.25) (.26) - - (.39) (.65) Mar. 31, (.24) (.) (.31) (.1) - (.28) (.6).65 Mar. 31, 13^ (.) (.17) (.) - (.28) (.17) (.75).26 Class A1 Sept., 17.. (.9).47 (.67) (.9) (.) - - (.15) (.25) 9.55 Class A2 Sept., 17.. (.9).48 (.67) (.8) (.) - - (.15) (.25) 9.56 Class A3 Sept., (.8).51 (.71) (.7) (.) - - (.16) (.26) 9.56 Class A4 Sept., 17.. (.8).46 (.69) (.11) (.) - - (.16) (.26) 9.55 Class A5 Sept., 17.. (.8).46 (.75) (.17) (.) - - (.17) (.27) 9.55 *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Unit section of the Financial Highlights.

4 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Unit ($) (1) (2) (5) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Distributions: Total Realized Unrealized Total increase From net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning Total expenses (excluding (decrease) from income (excluding From From capital Total at the end of the period of period (2) revenue distributions) the period the period operations (2) dividends) dividends (2, 3) Return of capital distributions shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Class E Commencement of operations August 29, 12 Sept., (.11).32 (.43).4 (.13) - - (.18) (.31).9 Mar. 31, (.23) (.28) - - (.38) (.66).36 Mar. 31, (.23) (.39) (.72) (.8) (.28) (.1) - (.32) (.61). Mar. 31, (.24) (.28) - - (.38) (.66) Mar. 31, (.24) (.33) (.32) (.1) - (.28) (.61).91 Mar. 31, 13^..31 (.13) (.48) (.15) - (.16) (.) (.41).5 Class EF Commencement of operations December 5, 14 Sept., (.5). (.41).7 (.17) - - (.16) (.33) 9.15 Mar. 31, (.) (.35) - - (.35) (.7) 9.4 Mar. 31, (.11) (.4) (.62) (.65) (.34) (.2) - (.) (.66) 9.8 Mar. 31, (.4) (.17).76.7 (.8) - - (.19) (.27).4 Class F Commencement of operations February 14, 11 Sept., (.6). (.4).8 (.17) - - (.19) (.36) 9.71 Mar. 31, (.12) (.36) - - (.4) (.76) 9.99 Mar. 31, (.13) (.35) (.74) (.72) (.36) (.2) - (.35) (.73) 9.67 Mar. 31, (.13) (.37) - - (.4) (.77) Mar. 31, (.13) (.33) (.39) (.1) - (.32) (.72).61 Mar. 31, 13^ (.17) (.36) - (.34) (.) (.9).22 Class F1 Sept., (.5).43 (.58).1 (.) - - (.19) (.29) 9.56 Class F2 Sept., (.4).53 (.67).3 (.) - - (.) (.) 9.55 Class F3 Sept., (.4).5 (.76) (.9) (.) - - (.) (.) 9.56 *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Unit section of the Financial Highlights.

5 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Unit ($) (1) (2) (5) Increase (decrease) from operations: Distributions: Total Realized Unrealized Total increase From net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning Total expenses (excluding (decrease) from income (excluding From From capital Total at the end of the period of period (2) revenue distributions) the period the period operations (2) dividends) dividends (2, 3) Return of capital distributions shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Class F4 Sept., 17.. (.4).47 (.9) (.27) (.) - - (.) (.) 9.55 Class I Commencement of operations February 14, 11 Sept., (.39).18 (.26) - - (.16) (.42) 11.8 Mar. 31, (.55) - - (.34) (.89) Mar. 31, (.33) (.86) (.62) (.52) (.3) - (.29) (.84).87 Mar. 31, (.53) - - (.35) (.88) Mar. 31, (.17) (.5) (.2) - (.33) (.85) Mar. 31, 13^ (.25) (.42) - (.37) (.22) (1.1) Class O Commencement of operations August 29, 12 Sept., (.1).33 (.45).12 (.24) - - (.17) (.41).13 Mar. 31, (.2) (.49) - - (.37) (.86).4 Mar. 31, (.2) (.42) (.69) (.61) (.47) (.2) - (.32) (.81).3 Mar. 31, (.2) (.48) - - (.38) (.86) Mar. 31, (.2) (.4) (.47) (.2) - (.33) (.82).91 Mar. 31, 13^..29 (.1) (.61) (.) - (.22) (.13) (.55).48 Class P Sept., 17.. (.1).47 (.85) (.19) (.) - - (.23) (.33) 9.56 (1) This information is derived from the Fund s semi-annual and annual financial statements. (2) Net assets per unit and distributions per unit are based on the actual number of units outstanding for the relevant class at the relevant time. The increase (decrease) in net assets from operations per unit is based on the weighted average number of units outstanding for the relevant class over the fiscal period. (3) Distributions are automatically reinvested in additional units of the Fund.

6 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * Number of units outstanding (5) before taxes (2) after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (%) (2) Total net Harmonized Trading Portfolio assets (5) sales tax (2) (3) turnover rate (4) $ s s % % % % % % Class A Commencement of operations February 14, 11 Sept., 17 1,957,792, Mar. 31, 17 2,29,6 227, Mar. 31, 16 1,347, , Mar. 31, 15 1,45,9 1, Mar. 31, ,191 93, Mar. 31, 13^ 48,732 4, Class A1 Sept., 17 1,177 12, Class A2 Sept., 17 33,443 3, Class A3 Sept., 17 16,246 1, Class A4 Sept., 17 2, Class A5 Sept., *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section.

7 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * Total net assets (5) Number of units outstanding (5) before taxes (2) Harmonized sales tax (2) after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (%) (2) Trading (3) Portfolio turnover rate (4) $ s s % % % % % % Class E Commencement of operations August 29, 12 Sept., 17 2,577 22, Mar. 31, ,, Mar. 31, ,17 12, Mar. 31, 15 86,962 7, Mar. 31, 14 41,749 3, Mar. 31, 13^ 1, Class EF Commencement of operations December 5, 14 Sept., 17 51,726 5, Mar. 31, 17 45,634 4, Mar. 31, 16 21,48 2, Mar. 31, 15 9, Class F Commencement of operations February 14, 11 Sept., 17 9,673 21, Mar. 31, 17 2,37 21, Mar. 31, ,695 13, Mar. 31, ,363, Mar. 31, 14 6,99 5, Mar. 31, 13^ Class F1 Sept., 17,41 1, Class F2 Sept., 17 2, Class F3 Sept., 17 1, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section.

8 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) Number of units outstanding (5) before taxes (2) after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (%) (2) Total net Harmonized Trading Portfolio assets (5) sales tax (2) (3) turnover rate (4) $ s s % % % % % % Class F4 Sept., Class I Commencement of operations February 14, 11 Sept., ,596 31, Mar. 31, ,147 59, Mar. 31, ,169 54, Mar. 31, 15 8,562 66, Mar. 31, ,364 49, Mar. 31, 13^ 394,6 35, Class O Commencement of operations August 29, 12 Sept., ,925 19, Mar. 31, ,433 15, Mar. 31, 16 9,749 9, Mar. 31, 15 5,641 4, Mar. 31, 14 23,258 2, Mar. 31, 13^ Class P Sept., (1) This information is derived from the Fund s semi-annual and annual financial statements. (2) 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 period, 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 unitholder residency and can be different from 13%. (3) The trading represents total commissions and other portfolio transaction costs expressed as an annualized percentage of daily average net assets during the period, 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 % 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 the period, and the greater the chance of an investor receiving taxable capital in the period. 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 period, 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 period. (5) This information is provided for the period ended September, 17 and the years ended March 31. (6) For financial periods beginning on or after April 1, 13 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 unitholders transactions and the net assets attributable to holders of redeemable units used for financial statement reporting purposes. For financial years before April 1, 13, 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 unitholder transactions net assets were calculated based on the closing market price.

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 distributions made by the Fund in the periods shown were reinvested in additional units 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 the periods 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. Class A Class E Class EF Class F Dec. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 16 Mar. 17 Sept. 17 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 16 Mar. 17 Sept. 17 Mar. 15 Mar. 16 Mar. 17 Sept. 17 Dec. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 16 Mar. 17 Sept. 17 Class I 4 Class O Dec. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 16 Mar. 17 Sept. 17 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 16 Mar. 17 Sept return is for the period from February 14, 11 to December 31, return is for the period from January 1, 12 to March 31, return is for the period from August 29, 12 to March 31, return is for the period from December 5, 14 to March 31, 15.

10 Summary of Investment Portfolio as at September, 17 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 U.S.A Canada U.K Australia Spain Switzerland Cash & Equivalents Singapore France Bermuda Sweden Luxembourg Cayman Islands Netherlands....9 Jersey Island....7 Thailand....6 Taiwan....5 British Virgin Islands....5 Marshall Islands....2 Italy....2 Mexico....2 Hong Kong....2 Austria....1 Germany....1 Bahamas....1 Ireland....1 Brazil.... Israel.... St. Lucia.... Foreign Currency Forward Contracts... (.1) Other Net Assets (Liabilities)... (.1) Sector allocation Corporate Bonds Real Estate....6 Energy.... Financials Industrials Consumer Discretionary Consumer Staples Telecommunication Services Cash & Equivalents Utilities Exchange-Traded Funds Funds....9 Private Placements....7 Health Care....1 Materials....1 Warrants.... Preferred Shares.... Foreign Currency Forward Contracts... (.1) Other Net Assets (Liabilities)... (.1) Cash & Equivalents The Williams Co., Inc Singapore Telecommunications Ltd Colony NorthStar Inc., Class A Wells Fargo & Co Forest City Realty Trust Inc Brookfield Asset Inc., Class A Six Flags Entertainment Corp Sydney Airport MacQuarie Atlas Roads Group American Homes 4 Rent Pembina Pipeline Corp Ferrovial S.A Royal Dutch Shell PLC Transurban Group Cheniere Energy Inc Brookfield Office Properties Inc. (USD) VEREIT Inc Abertis Infraestructuras S.A Enbridge Inc First Asset Global Financial Sector ETF Enbridge Inc. (USD) Retail Opportunity Investments Corp Citigroup Inc Veresen Inc Total Net Assets (in $ s) $3,18,6 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.