CI Financial reports drop in net income

Toronto-based CI Financial Corp. reported net income of $119.9 million in the first quarter of 2020, down 14% from the same period last year and 19% from the previous quarter.

First quarter earnings per share were $0.55, compared to $0.66 in the fourth quarter of 2019 and $0.58 in Q1 2019, the firm said Wednesday in an earnings release.

In a statement, CEO Kurt MacAlpine said CI had adapted to the pandemic.

“Today, over 97% of our employees are working from home and, after eight weeks, we continue to operate efficiently and effectively, including achieving high levels of service and engagement with advisors and clients,” he said.

CI’s assets under management on March 31 totalled $111.1 billion, compared with $131.7 billion on Dec. 31 and $130.9 billion at the end of Q1 2019. Assets under administration were $44.6 billion on March 31, down 12% from the previous quarter and down 4% year over year.

The firm reported $2.7 billion in net redemptions in the quarter, $1.3 billion of which came from the retail business. That marked a $0.8 billion increase in redemptions from the fourth quarter of 2019 and an improvement of $0.4 billion from the same period last year.

MacAlpine said the firm benefited from “outstanding cost discipline,” with selling, general and administrative expenses for the first quarter down $11.1 million, or 9%, compared to the previous quarter. Those expenses were up 1% from Q1 2019.

The firm generated $143.7 million in free cash flow during the quarter, down from $168.3 million in Q4 2019 and up from $143.5 million in the same period last year.

MacAlpine said the pandemic hasn’t stalled the firm’s progress on its strategic priorities of modernizing the asset management business, expanding the wealth-management platform and globalizing the company.

CI closed its acquisition of WisdomTree Canada’s ETF business in February, adding 14 ETFs with roughly $1 billion in assets to its lineup.

Last month, the firm announced that it was acquiring a stake in Fayetteville, Ark.-based registered investment advisor The Cabana Group, LLC. CI has also recently partnered with private markets investment management firm Adams Street Partners, LLC and Los Angeles-based DoubleLine Capital LP.

In March, as markets plunged in response to Covid-19, rating agency S&P Global Ratings downgraded CI to to BBB from BBB+, saying  it expects the firm’s leverage to increase in 2020 due to “persistent net outflows coupled with adverse equity markets.”

Mark Burgess

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Mark was the managing editor of Advisor.ca from 2017 to 2024.