Asset and wealth management giant reports all-time high AUM levels following 'incredible progress' on strategic priorities
While 2020 has been a year for many companies to take stock and weigh their options, CI Financial has pursued its strategic priorities with phenomenal energy. Those efforts appear to be bearing fruit as the company announced its third-quarter financial results.
Commenting on unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, CI CEO Kurt MacAlpine touted the company’s “incredible progress” toward its three strategic priorities of modernizing asset management, expanding wealth management, and globalizing the firm.
“During the third quarter, we closed on the acquisition of two U.S. wealth management firms and have subsequently reached agreements to purchase another four high-quality firms in strategic locations across the United States,” MacAlpine said. “These transactions will boost our U.S. wealth assets to about $22 billion, giving us a significant presence in the United States in less than a year.”
As at September 30, the firm’s total assets under management stood at $128.3 billion, marking an increase of 2% from June 30, 2020. Underlying that growth, the firm’s U.S. assets under management underwent swelled by 10% to $4.7 billion.
Total wealth management assets stood at $66.1 billion at the end of Q3, representing a quarter-end record for CI. It also marked a $12.3-billion or 23% increase over June 30, 2020, as well as an $18 billion or 37% year-on-year rise.
Focusing on Canada, the firm’s wealth management assets at home amounted to $51.2 billion after increasing 4% during the quarter and 6% over the past year. That includes assets of Assante Wealth Management, CI Private Counsel, CI Direct Investing (formerly WealthBar), and Virtual Brokers.
U.S. wealth management assets, meanwhile, were recorded at $14.9 billion on September 30, 2020, which came following $10 billion growth in U.S. wealth assets over Q3.
“We have also started rolling out the new corporate branding for CI and our subsidiaries, including the introduction of CI Global Asset Management, CI Assante Wealth Management, CI Direct Investing and CI Investment Services, as well as launching a new CI Financial website,” MacAlpine said, emphasizing benefits such as consistency and reduced complexity of service and product offerings.
By all indications, the best is yet to come for the firm. With its acquisition of Aligned Capital Partners announced in August and closed in October, MacAlpine said CI’s Canadian wealth assets rose even further after Q3 to $61.5 billion. Other agreements to purchase four high-quality firms in strategic locations across the U.S., he said, will vault the firm’s U.S. wealth assets to approximately $22 billion.
According to preliminary figures, CI’s total assets under management on October 31, 2020 stood at $125.4 billion, and wealth-management assets totalling $77 billion; both figures represented all-time month-end highs for the firm. U.S. wealth-management assets, meanwhile, increased 4% to reach $15.5 billion.
The firm has also obtained approval to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares are anticipated to launch on November 17, 2020, under the ticker symbol CIXX. On the TSX, CI’s common shares are already trading under the symbol CIX.
“Consistent with our globalization strategy, we are listing our common shares on the New York Stock Exchange starting next week, which should broaden CI’s investor base and increase its corporate profile,” MacAlpine said.
