Company's expansion continues with full ownership of Toronto-based asset manager
CI Financial Corp. and Lawrence Park Asset Management have today announced that they have reached an agreement in which CI will acquire full ownership of the alternative fixed-income investment firm.
CI currently holds a minority interest in Lawrence Park, a Toronto-based alternative asset manager founded in 2011. Lawrence Park manages approximately C$600 million of assets specializing in credit-focused strategies, including a hedge fund, a liquid alternatives fund and an ETF.
“The Lawrence Park team has decades of experience in fixed-income markets and alternative investing, and has been a valued partner for CI since 2012. We are thrilled to finally bring that expertise in-house,” said Kurt MacAlpine, CI Chief Executive Officer.
“Alternatives offer an array of benefits and are becoming increasingly embraced by advisors and investors. Building on CI’s leadership in this category is a priority for us as we modernize our asset management business.”
Andrew Torres, Founding Partner and CEO of Lawrence Park, said: “We share CI’s commitment to alternative investing and are excited to be part of the continued development of innovative mandates in this space.
“We look forward to integrating into the CI Global Asset Management organization, with its extensive resources, research capabilities and distribution opportunities.”
Following the completion of the transaction, the Lawrence Park team will continue to manage its current funds: CI Lawrence Park Alternative Investment Grade Credit Fund, which is available as a liquid alternative mutual fund and ETF (TSX: CRED, CRED.U), and Lawrence Park Credit Strategies Fund, a hedge fund available to accredited investors. The team’s investment approach will not change.
Lawrence Park employs a simple but proven relative value approach to identify and profit from inefficiencies in global corporate bond markets (Canada, U.S., and Europe) and utilizes a disciplined active portfolio management process. This involves extensive attention to risk management, including hedging strategies against rising interest rates, currency, and selected credit risk. Using this investment process, Lawrence Park seeks to enhance yield, reduce volatility, and deliver consistent returns to investors in varying interest rate and credit environments.
CI subsidiary CI Global Asset Management is Canada’s largest provider of liquid alternative investment strategies, managing $3.7 billion in assets as at February 28, 2021 in four strategies available in both mutual fund and ETF platforms. CI’s line-up of alternatives also includes a global private real estate fund and a global private markets fund, which are available to accredited investors.
The Lawrence Park transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.
