CI Financial Income Fund today reported a slight drip in profit for the first quarter ended March 31.

Net income for the quarter was $139.4 million, down 2% from $142.1 in the year ago period.

Earnings per unit for the quarter declined slightly to $0.50 per unit from $0.51 per unit for the three months ended March 31, 2007.

Gross sales and redemptions of investment funds during the first quarter totalled $3.4 billion and $3 billion, respectively, compared with $3.5 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively, in the same quarter a year earlier. The increased redemptions were mainly a result of deposit notes that use asset allocation strategies in which money is moved out of the underlying funds when related markets are declining. In addition, CI reported net sales of $170 million in April 2008, another solid month of sales with important contributions from the SunWise Elite Plus segregated funds and the Cambridge Funds.

Fee-earning assets at quarter end were $99.8 billion, up 6% from $94.5 billion a year earlier. The increase in fee-earning assets is attributable to positive net sales of funds, as well as the addition of Lakeview Asset Management Inc., KBSH Capital Management Inc., and Blackmont Capital Inc. through the acquisition of Rockwater Capital Corp. in April 2007. Fee-earning assets were comprised of $62.3 billion in investment funds and pools at CI Investments Inc. and United Financial Corp., $541 million in structured products, $2.9 billion in institutional managed assets, $32.5 billion in dealer assets under administration (at Assante Wealth Management and Blackmont), and $1.5 billion in other fee-earning assets.

As at May 12, 2008, CI’s retail assets under management totalled $66.6 billion, a gain of $4.8 billion or 8% from the average level of assets for the three months ended March 31, 2008, and CI’s highest asset level in 10 months. Total fee-earning assets exceeded $103 billion.

“Despite significant declines in equity markets during the quarter, we are pleased that our earnings and cash flows remained healthy,” says Stephen MacPhail, CI president. “In addition, we have experienced a significant rebound in assets under management since quarter-end. If positive market conditions continue, CI’s profitability should improve from first quarter levels.”