CI Financial Inc. announced that at today’s special meeting, shareholders overwhelmingly approved the plan of arrangement to convert CI into an income trust to be known as CI Financial Income Fund.

“This vote is one of the last steps required to complete the conversion and we are pleased with shareholders’ overwhelming support for the proposal,” said Bill Holland, CI’s CEO. “This strong endorsement reinforces our view that the income trust structure is particularly well suited and beneficial to CI and its shareholders.”

Now that shareholder approval has been obtained, a final order of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approving the plan of arrangement for the conversion will be sought with a hearing scheduled for June 27.

In addition to court approval, the conversion remains subject to the receipt of a satisfactory tax ruling and certain other approvals. CI anticipates that the conversion will be completed between June 28 June 30, 2006.

CI expects that the initial monthly distribution will be 16.75¢ per unit (representing an annualized rate of $2.01 per unit), payable on July 14 to unitholders of record on July 10, and that the same monthly rate would apply until the end of calendar 2006 (representing the new fiscal year end of the income trust.).

The units have been conditionally approved for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “CIX.UN”.