Canadian Equity Small Cap Corporate Class

Transcription

1 This annual management report of fund performance contains financial highlights but does not contain the complete annual financial statements of the investment fund. You can get a copy of the annual financial statements at your request, and at no cost, by calling , by writing to us at United Financial, 2 Queen Street East, Twentieth Floor, Toronto, ON, M5C 3G7 or by visiting our website at or SEDAR at Securityholders may also contact us using one of these methods to request a copy of the investment fund s proxy voting policies and procedures, proxy voting disclosure record, or quarterly portfolio disclosure. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND STRATEGIES The primary investment objective of the Canadian Equity Small Cap Corporate Class (the Fund ) is to provide long-term capital growth together with the preservation of capital by investing primarily in common shares of Canadian corporations, diversified over a broad range of companies. The primary emphasis will be on small market capitalization. This Fund also may invest in other mutual funds. The portfolio advisor employs a disciplined management style designed to capture the returns and the diversification benefits of a broad cross section of Canadian small companies. Specifically, the portfolio advisor will invest primarily in common shares of Canadian companies having a relatively small market capitalization at the time of the initial investment. In addition, the portfolio advisor will manage this Fund using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to select securities that it believes offer superior prospects for long-term capital appreciation. The Fund may invest up to 3% of its assets in foreign securities. The Fund may also use derivatives such as options, futures, forward contracts and swaps. The Fund may, from time to time, engage in active and frequent trading of investments. This increases the possibility that an investor will receive taxable capital gains dividends. This can increase trading costs, which will reduce the Fund s performance. RISK There were no changes to the Fund over the period of this report that materially affected the overall level of risk associated with the Fund. This Fund is suitable for investors who want a medium risk investment focused on generating capital growth and are planning to hold their investment for the medium and/or long term. Almost all global equity markets continued their upward march. Investors remain optimistic that the changes U.S. President Donald Trump promised during his campaign will continue to be a tailwind for both the economy and stock market. The Bank of Canada held its policy rate steady at.5% throughout the period. The nation remains fragile with some regions exhibiting strong economic growth and others still struggling to rebalance themselves in a lower energy price environment. Inflation pressure has yet to show sustained growth above the target rate, suggesting that Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz will remain patient and keep the overnight rate low for a while longer. Resource stocks, including energy and materials, dominated Canadian market performance over the last year, contributing over 6% of the benchmark s return. The Fund s positioning within the energy and materials sectors, particularly the lack of gold exposure, detracted from performance over the period. Positive market performance was broad-based with all benchmark sectors advancing during the period. Financials, energy and utilities contributed the most to the Fund s return. The Fund s only negative sector contribution was consumer staples. Although absolute returns were sound, the Fund underperformed the benchmark. As an outcome of the opportunity set, the Fund has a higher than average cash balance, contributing to underperformance. In terms of sectors, materials, energy and industrials were the most significant detractors from relative performance. The lack of gold exposure and the Fund s bias toward balance sheet strength and enduring cash flow generation within the resource sectors contributed to underperformance during the period, but are expected to remain beneficial over the long term. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS The net asset value of the Fund decreased by $1.9 million to $29.8 million from March 31, 216 to March 31, 217. The Fund had net redemptions of $42.6 million during the year. The portfolio s performance increased assets by $42.9 million. The Fund paid distributions totalling $11.2 million. The one-year return for Class A shares, Class E shares, Class ET8 shares, Class OF shares, Class I shares, Class IT8 shares, Class W shares and Class WT8 shares was 16.7%, 17.4%, 17.4%, 17.9%, 2.2%, 2.%, 19.9% and 19.7%, respectively, compared to the return of the BMO Small Cap Total Return Index of 29.8% for the same year. Despite strong absolute returns, the Fund lagged its benchmark in the 12 months ending March 31, 217 due to underperformance in the energy and materials sectors. The largest individual contributors to performance were Industrial Alliance, Atco Ltd. and Canadian Western Bank. The largest individual detractors from performance were Home Capital Group Inc., Macdonald, Dettwiler & Associates Ltd. and Empire Co. Investments in Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp., Aritzia Inc., CI Financial Corp., Knight Therapeutics Inc., Linamar Corp., Superior Plus Corp. and DH Corp. were made during the reporting period. Algonquin Power & Utilities is a growing renewable energy and regulated utility company with assets across North America. The business provides a combination of cash flow stability and dividend income, while adding to the Fund s growth and balance sheet characteristics. Aritzia is a retailer of women s apparel and accessories designed under exclusive internal brands. Aritzia has an impressive record of sales growth while achieving top decile revenue per square foot metrics. The company is methodically growing sales internationally and online. CI Financial is one of CIG

2 Canada s largest independent asset management companies. It has a below-average valuation while maintaining a very attractive return on equity. Knight is a specialty pharmaceuticals company that carries no debt and has a large cash balance ready to be deployed toward the right opportunities. CEO Jonathan Goodman has a strong track record in the industry. Linamar is a diversified global manufacturer of highly engineered vehicle parts and industrial equipment. The company has a long track record of double-digit return on invested capital and book value per share growth. Linamar generates strong cash flow, supporting deleveraging and dividend growth. The valuation is reasonable today, and growth from new business wins provides protection as we move deeper into the auto sales cycle. Superior Plus has a leading market position in propane distribution and generates significant free cash flow. Management is improving the focus of the company while reducing debt, enhancing profitability and paying a healthy dividend to share owners. The Fund sold out of investments in Empire Co., Manitoba Telecommunication Services Inc., Open Text Corp., WSP Global Inc. and DH Corp. Empire, the food retailer operating under the Sobeys, Safeway and IGA banners, has been under pressure as it tries to cope with structural and competitive challenges. The difficult economic environment in Western Canada has exacerbated issues related to the integration of its Canada Safeway assets and exposed weaknesses in the company s positioning relative to peers. The Fund sold its investments in Manitoba Telecom as the value of BCE s acquisition offer became increasingly reflected in the share price. The investment in Open Text was exited as the firm s market capitalization grew to exceed the strategy guidelines. WSP Global was a successful investment, as the company expanded globally via a series of effective acquisitions. As a result of its success, WSP began to trade at a premium to its historical valuation levels. Shares of DH Corp. have risen significantly since November 216 when execution challenges and disappointing operating results provided an opportunity to own the transitioning financial technology firm at attractive value. Rapid share price appreciation made the risk-reward profile less compelling. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Elevated equity valuations are making it challenging to find new investments offering attractive value. In this environment, we continue to look for investment opportunities that have the ability to compound into appealing value characteristics over time. These businesses should have the ability to generate above-average cash flow and visibility into several years of low risk expansion. We also remain focused on managing downside risk while preserving the balance sheet and profitability advantages of the portfolio over the benchmark. The strategy is well-positioned to take advantage of additional opportunities as the year unfolds. Effective March 13, 217, shares initially issued as Class F Shares were renamed as Class OF Shares. Effective January 3, 217, James Werry became a member of the Independent Review Committee of the Fund. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Manager, Portfolio Advisor and Registrar CI Investments Inc. is the Manager, Portfolio Advisor and Registrar of the Fund. CI Investments Inc. is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. The Manager, in consideration for management fees, provided management services required in the day-to-day operations of the Fund. The Manager bears all of the operating expenses of the Fund (other than taxes, borrowing costs and new governmental fees) in return for a fixed administration fee. Management fee and fixed administration fee rates as at March 31, 217, for each of the classes are shown below: Annual management fee rate (%) Annual fixed administration fee rate (%) A Shares E Shares ET8 Shares OF Shares I Shares Paid directly by investor - IT8 Shares Paid directly by investor - W Shares Paid directly by investor.2 WT8 Shares Paid directly by investor.2 The Manager received $.4 million in management fees and $.3 million in fixed administrative fees for the year. Management Fees Approximately 25% of total management fees were used to pay for sales and trailing commissions and other services required. The remaining 75% of management fees were used to pay for investment management and other general administration. Principal Distributor The Manager has the exclusive right to arrange for the distribution of shares of the Fund. Pursuant to a series of agreements, the right to distribute such shares has been granted, on a collective basis, to the following dealers, each of which is an affiliate of the Manager. Assante Capital Management Ltd. Assante Financial Management Ltd. Independent Review Committee The Fund received standing instructions from the Board of Governors ( BoG ) in its capacity as the Independent Review Committee ( IRC ) with respect to the following Related Party Transactions: a) trades in securities of CI Financial Corp.; b) purchases or sales of securities of an issuer from or to another investment fund managed by the Manager (referred to as Inter-Fund Trades ); c) purchases or sales of other investment funds managed by the Manager or their affiliates; and d) mergers of funds with another fund that is subject to National Instrument ( Fund Mergers ).

3 The applicable standing instructions require that Related Party Transactions be conducted in accordance with the Manager s policies and procedures. The Manager is required to advise the IRC of any material breach of a condition of the standing instructions. The standing instructions require, among other things, that the investment decisions in respect to Related Party Transactions (a) are made by the Manager free from any influence by any entities related to the Manager and without taking into account any consideration to any affiliate of the Manager; (b) represent the business judgment of the Manager uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the Fund; and (c) are made in compliance with the Manager s policies and procedures. Transactions made by the Manager under the standing instructions are subsequently reviewed by the IRC on a quarterly basis to monitor compliance. The Fund relied on the IRC s standing instructions regarding Related Party Transactions during this reporting year. 3

4 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS The following tables show selected key financial information about the Fund and are intended to help you understand the Fund s financial performance for the past five years, as applicable. Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * A Shares Commencement of operations October 22, (.44) (.4) (.45) (.4) (.32) (1.47) (.92) (.65) (.34) (.15) (.14) (.14) (.37) (.16) (.58) (.52) (.4) - - (.73) (.66) (.54) (.37) (.16) E Shares Commencement of operations September 16, (.42) (.37) (.41) (.37) (.29) (1.67) (1.4) (.62) (.24) (.18) (.17) (.16) (.42) (.19) (.69) (.61) (.47) - - (.87) (.78) (.63) (.42) (.19) ,627 19,953 21,3 21,458 16, ,38 1,275 1,219 1, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

5 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * ET8 Shares Commencement of operations June 2, (.23) (.21) (.26) (.26) (.22) (.79) (.65) (.12) (.14) (.9) (.1) (.1) (.29) (.14) (.36) (.35) (.29) - - (.71) (.83) (.91) (.79) (.73) (1.16) (1.28) (1.3) (1.8) (.87) OF Shares Commencement of operations May 22, (.37) (.31) - (.31) (.25) (.73) (1.66) (.43) (.19) (.18) (.17) (.44) (.19) (.72) (.64) (.49) - - (.91) (.82) (.66) (.44) (.19) *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

6 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * I Shares Commencement of operations September 8, (.3) (1.81) (1.21) (.15) (.21) (.2) (.18) (.47) (.2) (.82) (.71) (.53) - - (1.3) (.91) (.71) (.47) (.2) ,371 91,647 76,582 62,722 36,989 4,252 5,159 4,28 3,24 2,427 IT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, (.2) (1.2) (.92) 2.6 (.39) (.7) (.12) (.12) (.12) (.33) (.15) (.45) (.42) (.34) - - (.87) (.99) (1.6) (.9) (.8) (1.44) (1.53) (1.52) (1.23) (.95) ,686 1, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

7 FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (cont d) Net Assets per Share ($) (1) (2) (8) * W Shares Commencement of operations October 22, (.7) (.4) (.4) (.4) (.3) (1.73) (1.6) (.27) (.19) (.18) (.17) (.43) (.18) (.74) (.65) (.48) - - (.93) (.83) (.65) (.43) (.18) ,12 95,768 92,153 82,33 66,738 5,158 5,928 5,318 4,64 4, WT8 Shares Commencement of operations June 22, (.4) (.2) (.3) (.3) (.2) (.93) (.71) (.2) (.1) (.1) (.11) (.29) (.14) (.4) (.38) (.31) - - (.78) (.89) (.95) (.81) (.73) (1.28) (1.37) (1.37) (1.1) (.87) ,72 11,434 8,54 5,965 3,333 1,77 1, *Footnotes for the tables are found at the end of the Financial Highlights section. ^Historical figures are based on Canadian GAAP, for more details refer to footnote 7.

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

9 PAST PERFORMANCE This section describes how the Fund has performed in the past. Remember, past returns do not indicate how the Fund will perform in the future. The information shown assumes that dividends made by the Fund in the years shown were reinvested in additional shares of the relevant classes of the Fund. In addition, the information does not take into account sales, redemption, distribution or other optional charges that would have reduced returns or performance. Year-by-Year Returns The following charts show the Fund s annual performance for each of the years shown and illustrate how the Fund s performance has changed from year to year. In percentage terms, the charts show how much an investment made on the first day of each financial year would have grown or decreased by the last day of each financial year, except where noted. A Shares E Shares ET8 Shares OF Shares Mar Mar. 29 Mar Mar Mar Mar. 213 Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar Mar. 29 Mar Mar Mar Mar. 213 Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar Mar Mar. 213 Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar Mar. 29 Mar Mar Mar Mar. 213 Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar I Shares IT8 Shares W Shares WT8 Shares Mar. 29 Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar Mar. 216 Mar This figure is for the period from October 22, 27 to March 31, This figure is for the period from May 22, 28 to March 31, This figure is for the period from September 16, 28 to March 31, This figure is for the period from September 8, 28 to March 31, This figure is for the period from June 2, 211 to March 31, This figure is for the period from June 22, 211 to March 31, 212.

10 Annual Compound Returns The following table shows the Fund s annual compound returns for each year indicated, compared to the BMO Small Cap Total Return Index. The BMO Small Cap Total Return Index measures the performance of the 4 largest stocks and trusts trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange or the Montreal Exchange with a market capitalization at the beginning of each month below.1% of the total market capitalization of the S&P/TSX Composite Index. A discussion of the performance of the Fund as compared to the benchmark is found in the Results of Operations section of this report. One Year (%) Three Years (%) Five Years (%) Ten Years (%) Since Inception (%) A Shares n/a 6.1 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 3.3 E Shares n/a 8.9 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 8.4 ET8 Shares n/a 9.6 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 1.9 OF Shares n/a 9.2 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 4.4 I Shares n/a 11.3 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 8.4 IT8 Shares n/a 13.3 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 3. W Shares n/a 9.1 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 3.3 WT8 Shares n/a 11.3 BMO Small Cap Total Return Index n/a 3. 1

11 Summary of Investment Portfolio as at March 31, 217 Portfolio Breakdown Percentage of Portfolio Breakdown (cont d) Percentage of Top 25 Holdings Percentage of Category Net Assets (%) Category Net Assets (%) Security Name Net Assets (%) Country allocation Canada Short-Term Investments Cash & Equivalents U.S.A Other Net Assets (Liabilities) Sector allocation Energy Financials Industrials Consumer Discretionary Utilities Materials Short-Term Investments Cash & Equivalents Health Care Consumer Staples Information Technology Other Net Assets (Liabilities) Private Placements....4 Atco Ltd., Class I Short-Term Investments Canadian Western Bank AltaGas Ltd Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc E-L Financial Corp., Ltd Laurentian Bank of Canada Superior Plus Corp Cash & Equivalents Parkland Fuel Corp MacDonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd Secure Energy Services Inc Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp Leon s Furniture Ltd SNC-Lavalin Group Inc Labrador Iron Ore Royalty Corp Pason Systems Inc Mullen Group Ltd Toromont Industries Ltd Artizia Inc Domtar Corp Gibson Energy Inc Richelieu Hardware Ltd Cineplex Inc Home Capital Group Inc Total Net Assets (in $ s) $29,81 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.