Emerging Markets Equity Corporate Class

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 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 increased by $.0 million to $294.3 million from March 31, 17 to September, 17. The Fund had net redemptions of $.1 million during. The portfolio s performance increased assets by $.7 million. The Fund paid distributions totalling $0.6 million. Class A shares returned 9.5% after fees and expenses for the six-month period ended September, 17. Over the same time period, the Fund s benchmark returned 7.8%. The benchmark is the MSCI Emerging Markets Return Index. The performance of the Fund s other Classes is substantially similar to that of Class A 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. Emerging markets equities sustained their strong momentum in the second quarter but lost some momentum in June. Despite the lull spilling over into the early part of the third quarter, emerging market assets continued their stellar performance. Emerging market equities were up 17% during the six months under review, led by the real estate and tech sectors, both up more than %. a country and regional perspective, Asia and, more specifically China, led. The Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMA) region was a laggard but most markets in the region still recorded positive returns. Hungary was a clear outlier with returns of more than % during. A combination of low interest rates and quantitative easing in developed economies (so-called push factors), stable-to-higher commodity prices and a cyclical recovery in most emerging markets (so-called pull factors) continued to attract capital flows into emerging market assets. Capital inflows into both emerging market bonds and equities are on track toward record, or close to record, annual inflows. Although the pace of inflows has been very strong during the first nine months of 17, foreign ownership of emerging market debt has not yet reached the highs recorded a few years ago. For equities, the inflow recorded in 16 and 17 has not yet surpassed the outflows recorded during the three years between 13 and 15. The gain in the technology sector was driven by upbeat expectations about the iphone 8 launch due in the second half of 17, tight memory capacity and a general rotation into global growth stocks. The portfolio ended the 6-month period outperforming its benchmark. A clear cyclical bias reflecting our increasingly constructive view on emerging markets and stock selection contributed to relative outperformance during. The relative outperformance was mainly driven by stock selection, with country and sector allocations also contributing to outperformance. Cash and cash proxies subtracted from performance. Cash balances continued to be a drag on performance as the equity market rallied and the U.S. dollar, the base currency for the portfolio, came under broad-based downward pressure. Cash levels remained below 5% of the portfolio for most of. ETFs were used to assist with country allocation and keep cash levels below 5% during periods of switching underlying securities. With the exception of one ETF, South Korea, all the ETFs outperformed cash for. The underweights in Taiwan (economic structure), South Korea (geopolitical risks), Russia (politics and sanctions) and South Africa (politics) were important contributors to performance during period. The Russian underweight had been reduced during, but the other three underweights remain meaningful. The Mexico underweight (politics and trade) also added to performance. The overweight in the Philippines subtracted from performance as the government continued its aggressive and violent anti-drug campaign and the expected pace of tax reforms slowed meaningfully. The overweight in India (reforms and positive political momentum) continues to add to performance. Net sector allocation added to performance, but the underweight in real estate - the best performing sector during became the biggest sector drag on performance. However, this was more than offset by the underweights in telecommunications and consumer staples. The overweight in technology continued to add to overall and relative performance. Health care was cut to 0% of the portfolio during. Stock selection made a meaningful contribution to overall performance, with positive contributions coming from stocks across various sectors although the top list was dominated by technology stocks. The Taiwanese electrical component manufacturer, FIT Hon Teng Ltd. (a spinoff company from a major Apple supply chain manufacturer, Hon Hai Precision Industries), together with the Chinese e-commence giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and the Chinese-language internet media company, Sina Corp., made significant positive contributions to relative returns. Erste Group Bank AG performed well on the back of positive forward guidance and improving economic conditions in Eastern Europe, while the Russian bank, Sberbank, also rallied as investors became more confident about the economic recovery and political environment in Russia. On the consumer side, two Chinese stocks stood out on positive performance: the automaker, Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. and the sportswear manufacturer, Anta Sports Products Ltd. The most significant stock drag was from Mexican gold company, Torex Gold Resources Inc., which experienced a wall collapse in their pit. Even though the real estate company Gazit-Globe Ltd. was down only 3% during, the overall performance of the sector made Gazit one of the more meaningful drags on relative performance. Torex had been sold and Gazit is under review. CIG

2 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS The tailwinds from easy monetary policy in developed markets are expected to slowly dissipate during 18 but are unlikely to turn into outright headwinds as the major central banks around the globe continue to emphasize the importance of a gradual pace of removing easy monetary conditions. Unlike the push factors, pull factors continue to strengthen as the nascent emerging market recovery is gaining momentum, growth in China is stabilizing above 6%, commodity prices are off their lows and positive earnings have returned after an earnings recession in 15. Although earnings are not expected to increase at the same blistering pace next year as in 17, future earnings growth of just more than % should be enough to justify current valuations. We continue to prefer the financial and technology sectors at the cost of health care and telecommunications. Even though India is currently experiencing a growth hiccup, the outlook for the Asia region looks the most promising compared to Eastern Europe and Latin America. F5 Shares FT8 Shares F3T8 Shares F4T8 Shares F5T8 Shares I Shares Paid directly by investor - IT8 Shares Paid directly by investor - OF Shares W Shares Paid directly by investor 0.22 WT8 Shares Paid directly by investor 0.22 The Fund paid the Manager $0.2 million in management fees and $0.2 million in administration fees for ended September, 17. Effective April 3, 17, William Harding ceased to be a member of the Independent Review Committee. 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. fee and fixed administration fee rates as at September, 17, for each of the classes are shown below: Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) A Shares E Shares E3 Shares E4 Shares E5 Shares ET8 Shares E3T8 Shares E4T8 Shares E5T8 Shares F Shares Fees Approximately 24% of total management fees were used to pay for sales and trailing commissions and other services required. The remaining 76% of management fees were used to pay 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 ended September, 17 the Fund executed inter-fund trades. 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 Ltd. Assante Financial Ltd. 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; Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) F3 Shares F4 Shares

3 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. 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.

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 six periods, as applicable. Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (5) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Realized Unrealized increase net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) revenue expenses distributions) (decrease) from operations (2) income ) capital Return of capital (2, 3) at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ A Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 07 Sept., (0.17) Mar. 31, (0.29) (0.) - (0.) 9.67 Mar. 31, (0.28) (0.37) (1.14) (1.63) Mar. 31, (0.29) (0.03) (0.13) - (0.16).05 Mar. 31, (0.27) (0.03) - - (0.03) 9.39 Mar. 31, 13^ (0.25) (0.02) - - (0.02) 8.97 E Shares Commencement of operations September 16, 08 Sept., (0.19) Mar. 31, (0.31) (0.41) - (0.41) Mar. 31, (0.) (0.56) (1.32) (1.97) Mar. 31, (0.31) (0.04) (0.18) - (0.22) Mar. 31, (0.28) (0.04) - - (0.04) Mar. 31, 13^ (0.26) (0.03) - - (0.03) E3 Shares Sept., (0.11) 0.41 (0.02) E4 Shares Sept., (0.11) E5 Shares Sept., (0.11) 0.41 (0.03) ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 11 Sept., (0.) (0.27) (0.27) 7.51 Mar. 31, (0.17) (0.22) (0.58) (0.80) 7.08 Mar. 31, (0.17) (0.51) (0.44) (1.01) (0.63) (0.63) 6.73 Mar. 31, (0.) (0.02) (0.11) (0.67) (0.80) 8.59 Mar. 31, (0.) (0.03) - (0.70) (0.73) 8.61 Mar. 31, 13^ (0.21) (0.02) - (0.68) (0.70) 8.89 *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 6.

5 Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (5) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Realized Unrealized increase net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) revenue expenses distributions) (decrease) from operations (2) income ) capital Return of capital (2, 3) at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ E3T8 Shares Sept., (0.12) 0.42 (0.07) (0.33) (0.33) E4T8 Shares Sept., (0.11) (0.33) (0.33) E5T8 Shares Sept., (0.11) (0.33) (0.33) F Shares Sept., (0.08) F3 Shares Sept., (0.08) F4 Shares Sept., (0.07) *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights.

6 Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (5) * Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Realized Unrealized increase net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) revenue expenses distributions) (decrease) from operations (2) income ) capital Return of capital (2, 3) at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ F5 Shares Sept., (0.06) FT8 Shares Sept., (0.07) (0.33) (0.33) F3T8 Shares Sept., (0.07) (0.33) (0.33) F4T8 Shares Sept., (0.07) (0.33) (0.33) F5T8 Shares Sept., (0.06) (0.33) (0.33).17 I Shares Commencement of operations September 8, 08 Sept., (0.03) Mar. 31, (0.02) (0.46) - (0.46) Mar. 31, (0.67) (1.34) (1.79) Mar. 31, (0.04) (0.19) - (0.23) Mar. 31, (0.04) - - (0.04) 13. Mar. 31, 13^ (0.03) - - (0.03) *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 6.

7 Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (5) Increase (decrease) from operations: Dividends: Realized Unrealized increase net investment Net assets Net assets at the beginning of period (2) revenue expenses distributions) (decrease) from operations (2) income ) capital Return of capital (2, 3) at the end of shown (2) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 11 Sept., (0.02) (0.36) (0.36).05 Mar. 31, (0.01) (0.29) (0.74) (1.03) 9.37 Mar. 31, (0.57) (0.87) (1.) (0.80) (0.80) 8.68 Mar. 31, (0.03) (0.14) (0.82) (0.99).81 Mar. 31, (0.03) - (0.84) (0.87).58 Mar. 31, 13^ (0.07) (0.03) - (0.80) (0.83).64 OF Shares Commencement of operations May 22, 08 Sept., (0.13) Mar. 31, (0.) (0.32) - (0.32).31 Mar. 31, (0.18) (0.69) (0.53) (1.25) Mar. 31, (0.19) (0.03) (0.14) - (0.17).48 Mar. 31, (0.18) (0.03) - - (0.03) 9.68 Mar. 31, 13^ (0.17) (0.03) - - (0.03) 9.16 W Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 07 Sept., (0.04) Mar. 31, (0.05) (0.39) - (0.39) Mar. 31, (0.03) (0.51) (1.21) (1.56) Mar. 31, (0.03) (0.03) (0.16) - (0.19) 12. Mar. 31, (0.03) (0.03) - - (0.03) Mar. 31, 13^ (0.02) (0.03) - - (0.03).39 WT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 11 Sept., (0.02) (0.32) (0.32) 8.96 Mar. 31, (0.03) (0.26) (0.67) (0.93) 8.36 Mar. 31, (0.02) (0.42) (0.80) (1.09) (0.72) (0.72) 7.77 Mar. 31, (0.02) (0.03) (0.13) (0.74) (0.90) 9.70 Mar. 31, (0.02) (0.03) - (0.75) (0.78) 9.52 Mar. 31, 13^ (0.02) (0.03) - (0.72) (0.75) 9. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 6. (1) This information is derived from the Fund s semi-annual and annual financial statements. (2) Net assets per share and 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.

8 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * Number of shares outstanding (5) before taxes (2) after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (%) (2) net Harmonized Trading Portfolio assets (5) sales tax (2) (3) turnover rate (4) $000 s 000 s % % % % % % A Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 07 Sept., Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 13^ E Shares Commencement of operations September 16, 08 Sept., 17 15,087 1, Mar. 31, 17 23,380 1, Mar. 31, 16 26,6 2, Mar. 31, 15 21,226 1, Mar. 31, 14 18,657 1, Mar. 31, 13^ 14,186 1, E3 Shares Sept., 17 4, E4 Shares Sept., 17 1, E5 Shares Sept., 17 1, ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 11 Sept., Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 13^ *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 6.

9 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * net assets (5) Number of shares 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) $000 s 000 s % % % % % % E3T8 Shares Sept., E4T8 Shares Sept., E5T8 Shares Sept., F Shares Sept., F3 Shares Sept., F4 Shares Sept., *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section.

10 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) * net assets (5) Number of shares 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) $000 s 000 s % % % % % % F5 Shares Sept., FT8 Shares Sept., F3T8 Shares Sept., F4T8 Shares Sept., F5T8 Shares Sept., I Shares Commencement of operations September 8, 08 Sept., ,463 7, Mar. 31, ,785 8, Mar. 31, ,054 9, Mar. 31, 15 77,251 5, Mar. 31, 14 53,968 4, Mar. 31, 13^ 33,722 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 6.

11 Ratios and Supplemental Data (1) (5) Number of shares outstanding (5) before taxes (2) after taxes (2) Effective HST rate for the period (%) (2) net Harmonized Trading Portfolio assets (5) sales tax (2) (3) turnover rate (4) $000 s 000 s % % % % % % IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 11 Sept., 17 3, Mar. 31, 17 2, Mar. 31, 16 2, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 13^ OF Shares Commencement of operations May 22, 08 Sept., Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 13^ W Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 07 Sept., ,743 8, Mar. 31, 17 1,713 9, Mar. 31, ,083, Mar. 31, 15 94,293 7, Mar. 31, 14 77,3 6, Mar. 31, 13^ 63,639 6, WT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 11 Sept., 17 13,342 1, Mar. 31, 17 13,015 1, Mar. 31, 16 12,131 1, Mar. 31, 15 7, Mar. 31, 14 4, Mar. 31, 13^ 2, ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 6. (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 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 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 0% 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 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, 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 shareholders transactions and the net assets attributable to holders of redeemable shares 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 shareholder transactions net assets were calculated based on the closing market price.

12 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 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. A Shares E Shares ET8 Shares I Shares Mar. 08 Mar. 09 Mar. Mar. 11 Mar. 09 Mar. Mar. 11 Mar. 09 Mar. Mar. 11 IT8 Shares OF Shares W Shares WT8 Shares Mar. 09 Mar. Mar. 11 Mar. 08 Mar. 09 Mar. Mar return is for from October 22, 07 to March 31, return is for from September 16, 08 to March 31, return is for from June 22, 11 to March 31, return is for from September 8, 08 to March 31, return is for from May 22, 08 to March 31, 09.

13 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 Cayman Islands South Korea India Taiwan China Brazil Canada Hong Kong Other Net Assets (Liabilities) U.S.A U.K Indonesia Russia Bermuda Panama Mexico Argentina Israel Czech Republic Norway Jersey Island Cash & Equivalents Germany Thailand South Africa Singapore Philippines Austria Portugal Chile Malaysia Foreign Currency Forward Contracts Sector allocation Financials Information Technology Consumer Discretionary....2 Energy Materials Other Net Assets (Liabilities) Industrials Utilities Consumer Staples Exchange-Traded Funds Telecommunication Services Real Estate Cash & Equivalents Foreign Currency Forward Contracts Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., ADR Tencent Holdings Ltd Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., ADR AIA Group Ltd Housing Development Finance Corp., Ltd ICICI Bank Ltd Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd., Shares H Sberbank of Russia, ADR (London) SK Hynix Inc China Longyuan Power Group Corp., Ltd., Shares H Largan Precision Co., Ltd Intercorp Financial Services Inc Royal Dutch Shell PLC Lundin Mining Corp ishares MSCI India ETF Globalwafers Co., Ltd Raia Drogasil S.A SINA Corp Ivanhoe Mines Ltd Gazit-Globe Ltd Moneta Money Bank AS Parex Resources Inc Statoil ASA Rio Tinto PLC Net Assets (in $000 s) $294,281 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.