International Equity Growth 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 $17.1 million to $228. million from March 31, 217 to September 3, 217. The Fund had net redemptions of $2.9 million during. The portfolio s performance increased assets by $2.3 million. The Fund paid distributions totalling $.3 million. Class A shares returned 8.2% after fees and expenses for the six-month period ended September 3, 217. Over the same time period, the Fund s benchmark returned 5.2%. The benchmark is the MSCI EAFE 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. Overseas markets posted positive performance during, as the MSCI EAFE Index rose 12% (5.2% in Canadian dollars). Financials and industrials were the top-performing sectors. Underlying economic data has improved throughout the year, reinforcing the notion that a synchronized global economic expansion is underway for the first time in years. Leading economic indicators in Germany and France improved, while their British counterparts bottomed, improving the outlook for growth in Europe. The MSCI Europe Index gained nearly 15% (7.6% in Canadian dollars). The trend was similar in Asia, with notable improvements in Japan and China, as the MSCI Far East Index rose nearly % (3% in Canadian dollars). Emerging markets produced the best returns of all, rising nearly 15% (7.8%). Canadian and U.S. equities also made, although these were not broadbased, as losses in the energy sector pulled down overall returns. The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) maintained its slow and steady approach to normalizing interest rates by hiking them in March and June. Although inflation has been persistently low, the tightening labour market was enough to give the Fed confidence in rising inflation trends in the future. The Bank of Canada, meanwhile, raised rates twice during the summer which, in turn propelled the Canadian dollar to above 8 cents U.S., after spending much of the year in the mid-7-cent range. The loonie fell to about.68 euros from above.7 at the beginning of. The portfolio outperformed its benchmark due to holdings in the industrials, consumer discretionary and health care sectors. Its high cash position detracted from performance. Financials, information technology and materials made strong contributions to absolute returns. Sector positioning evolved throughout, highlighted by reductions in consumer discretionary and health care. Industrials and consumer discretionary remained the largest sector weights. The portfolio continued to have significant underweight exposure to financials and was also underweight in consumer staples and energy. It had overweight exposures to industrials, consumer discretionary and information technology. Cash levels remained the same at about 16%. Japan continued to be the portfolio s largest geographic position, little changed at 19%, just ahead of the United Kingdom, which saw its exposure increase to 16% from 13%. The Japanese and Danish holdings made the largest contributions to relative performance. Among individual securities, Randgold Resources Ltd. was the portfolio s largest holding. DSV AS made the largest contribution to relative performance, while Whitbread PLC was the biggest detractor. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS As we head into the final quarter of 217, the portfolio remains conservatively positioned. Although the economic backdrop has been improving, we remain cognizant that we are in the latter stage of the economic cycle and valuations have expanded accordingly. As central banks around the world continue to normalize their respective interest rate policies after years of near-zero interest rates, the risk of a policy error is a concern. The Fed has been raising rates gradually, with at least one more hike before the end of the year. We will continue to follow a disciplined investment process with the objective to deliver strong risk-adjusted returns to clients over the long term. Effective April 3, 217, 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. CIG

2 fee and fixed administration fee rates as at September 3, 217, 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.9.22 F3 Shares F4 Shares F5 Shares.77. FT8 Shares.9.22 F3T8 Shares F4T8 Shares F5T8 Shares.77. I Shares Paid directly by investor - IT8 Shares Paid directly by investor - OF Shares W Shares Paid directly by investor.22 WT8 Shares Paid directly by investor.22 The Fund paid the Manager $.2 million in management fees and $.1 million in administration fees for ended September 3, 217. 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. and conditions. The Independent Review Committee reviews such transactions during scheduled meetings. During ended September 3, 217 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; 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. Portfolio Sub-Advisor CI Global Investments Inc., an affiliate of CI Investments Inc., provides investment advice to the Fund. 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

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 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, 27 Sept. 3, (.19) Mar. 31, (.35) (.4) (.54) - (.58) Mar. 31, (.35) 1.37 (1.34) (.9) - (.7) (.49) - (.56) Mar. 31, (.33) (.6) (.46) - (.52) Mar. 31, (.3) (.12) - - (.12).79 Mar. 31, 213^ (.23) (.4) - - (.4) 8.97 E Shares Commencement of operations September 25, 28 Sept. 3, (.22) Mar. 31, (.4) (.6) (.75) - (.81) Mar. 31, (.39) 1.82 (1.76) (.1) - (.9) (.68) - (.77) Mar. 31, (.35) (.8) (.64) - (.72) Mar. 31, (.33) (.16) - - (.16) Mar. 31, 213^ (.25) (.6) - - (.6) E3 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).32 (.19) E4 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).3 (.19) E5 Shares Sept. 3, (.11).3 (.19) ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, (.12) (.35) (.35) 9.2 Mar. 31, (.23) (.3) (.41) (.79) (1.23) 8.64 Mar. 31, (.23) 1.5 (1.17) (.17) - (.6) (.41) (.79) (1.26) 9.17 Mar. 31, (.23) (.5) (.41) (.83) (1.29).45 Mar. 31, (.24) (.11) - (.71) (.82).31 Mar. 31, 213^ (.2) (.5) - (.62) (.67) 9.15 *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. 3

4 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. 3, (.11).29 (.37) (.13) (.33) (.33) E4T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.11) (.33) (.33) E5T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.).3 (.1) (.33) (.33) F Shares Sept. 3, (.8).34 (.2) F3 Shares Sept. 3, (.8) F4 Shares Sept. 3, (.7) *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Net Assets per Share section of the Financial Highlights. 4

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) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ F5 Shares Sept. 3, (.6).3 (.1) FT8 Shares Sept. 3, (.7) (.33) (.33) F3T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.7).3 (.1) (.33) (.33) F4T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.6).3 (.1) (.33) (.33) F5T8 Shares Sept. 3, (.6).3 (.1) (.33) (.33) I Shares Commencement of operations September 8, 28 Sept. 3, (.3) Mar. 31, (.3) (.7) (.89) - (.96) Mar. 31, (1.98).37 - (.11) (.79) - (.9) Mar. 31, (.9) (.72) - (.81) Mar. 31, (.17) - - (.17) Mar. 31, 213^ (.6) - - (.6) 13.2 *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

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) $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, (.2) (.47) (.47) Mar. 31, (.2) (.5) (.55) (1.4) (1.64) Mar. 31, (1.41).21 - (.7) (.53) (1.2) (1.62) 12.7 Mar. 31, (.6) (.49) (1.4) (1.59) Mar. 31, (.81) (.14) - (.87) (1.1) Mar. 31, 213^ (.6) - (.74) (.8) OF Shares Commencement of operations May 22, 28 Sept. 3, (.19) Mar. 31, (.33) (.6) (.75) - (.81) Mar. 31, (.31) 1.49 (1.78) (.31) - (.9) (.68) - (.77) Mar. 31, (.29) (.8) (.63) - (.71) 16.5 Mar. 31, (.26) (.15) - - (.15) Mar. 31, 213^ (.2) (.6) - - (.6) W Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 27 Sept. 3, (.4) Mar. 31, (.6) (.6) (.69) - (.75) Mar. 31, (.4) 1.59 (1.57).26 - (.8) (.62) - (.7) Mar. 31, (.3) (.7) (.57) - (.64) Mar. 31, (.3) (.14) - - (.14) Mar. 31, 213^ (.2) (.5) - - (.5).39 WT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, (.3) (.43) (.43) Mar. 31, (.4) (.4) (.51) (.96) (1.51).72 Mar. 31, (.3) 1.31 (1.16).35 - (.7) (.49) (.94) (1.5) Mar. 31, (.3) (.6) (.49) (.96) (1.51) Mar. 31, (.3) (.13) - (.82) (.95) Mar. 31, 213^ (.2) (.5) - (.7) (.75).41 ^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. 6

7 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) $ s s % % % % % % A Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 27 Sept. 3, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 213^ E Shares Commencement of operations September 25, 28 Sept. 3, , Mar. 31, ,427 1, Mar. 31, ,485 1, Mar. 31, 215 2,569 1, Mar. 31, ,962 1, Mar. 31, 213^ 12,541 1, E3 Shares Sept. 3, 217 4, E4 Shares Sept. 3, 217 1, E5 Shares Sept. 3, ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 213^ *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. 7

8 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) $ s s % % % % % % E3T8 Shares Sept. 3, E4T8 Shares Sept. 3, E5T8 Shares Sept. 3, F Shares Sept. 3, F3 Shares Sept. 3, F4 Shares Sept. 3, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. 8

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) $ s s % % % % % % F5 Shares Sept. 3, FT8 Shares Sept. 3, F3T8 Shares Sept. 3, F4T8 Shares Sept. 3, F5T8 Shares Sept. 3, I Shares Commencement of operations September 8, 28 Sept. 3, ,867 6, Mar. 31, ,13 6, Mar. 31, ,339 4, Mar. 31, ,547 3, Mar. 31, ,22 2, Mar. 31, 213^ 24,416 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 6. 9

10 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) $ s s % % % % % % IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, 217 3, Mar. 31, 217 2, Mar. 31, 216 1, Mar. 31, 215 1, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 213^ OF Shares Commencement of operations May 22, 28 Sept. 3, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 213^ W Shares Commencement of operations October 22, 27 Sept. 3, ,328 4, Mar. 31, ,895 4, Mar. 31, ,487 3, Mar. 31, ,78 3, Mar. 31, ,145 2, Mar. 31, 213^ 22,323 2, WT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, 211 Sept. 3, 217 3, Mar. 31, 217 2, Mar. 31, 216 1, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, Mar. 31, 213^ ^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 % 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 3, 217 and the years ended March 31. (6) For financial periods 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.

11 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. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 2 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 Mar. 29 Mar. 2 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 Mar. 212 Mar. 29 Mar. 2 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 IT8 Shares OF Shares W Shares WT8 Shares Mar. 212 Mar. 29 Mar. 2 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 2 Mar. 211 Mar. 212 Mar return is for from October 22, 27 to March 31, return is for from September 25, 28 to March 31, return is for from June 22, 211 to March 31, return is for from September 8, 28 to March 31, return is for from May 22, 28 to March 31, 29.

12 Summary of Investment Portfolio as at September 3, 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 Japan Cash & Equivalents U.K Denmark....4 Germany Switzerland Sweden Spain Norway Italy Ireland Austria Luxembourg France Hong Kong Australia Netherlands....8 New Zealand....8 South Africa....8 Israel....4 Other Net Assets (Liabilities)....4 Cayman Islands.... Foreign Currency Forward Contracts... (.4) Sector allocation Industrials Cash & Equivalents Consumer Discretionary Health Care Consumer Staples....8 Information Technology....8 Financials Materials Telecommunication Services Energy....4 Other Net Assets (Liabilities)....4 Foreign Currency Forward Contracts... (.4) Cash & Equivalents Randgold Resources Ltd Keyence Corp Skandiabanken ASA Novo Nordisk AS Thule Group AB DSV AS Abertis Infraestructuras S.A Stabilus S.A Brembo SpA Pigeon Corp Seria Co., Ltd Tsuruha Holdings Inc Disco Corp Henkel AG & Co., KGaA Hastings Group Holdings Ltd Chr Hansen Holding AS Geberit AG Aon PLC Roche Holding AG FANUC Corp KDDI Corp Linde AG Smith & Nephew PLC CVS Group PLC Net Assets (in $ s) $228,49 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.