(April 4 – 14:20 ET) – C.I. Fund Management Inc. has released its results for the nine months ended February 28.

Total revenues for the nine months were $473.2 million, up 55% from the prior year. The primary contributors to the increase were management fee revenues, which rose 67% to $357.2 million, and administrative fees and other income, which rose 111% to $39.3 million.

Performance fee income fell by $18.2 million due to market declines. Average mutual fund assets were $24.2 billion for the nine months, up 66% from $14.6 billion in the prior year.

Selling, general and administrative expenses rose 38% to $76.2 million, below the increase in management fees and asset growth as C.I. was able to achieve operating economies of scale.

Investment adviser fees rose 57% for the period, at a rate slightly less than asset growth. Trailer fees rose 74% to $89.2 million, slightly outpacing asset growth as a greater proportion of units were purchased on a front-end- load basis, which pays higher trailer fees than units purchased on a deferred- load basis.

C.I.’s operating margin (management fees less net selling, general and administrative expenses, investment adviser fees and trailer fees, as a percentage of average mutual fund assets) was 1.19% for the nine months ended February 28, 2001, up from 1.14% in the prior year. C.I.’s operating margin for the period was boosted by improved management fees and lower net selling, general and administrative expenses.

Income before amortization of goodwill was $66.0 million or $0.36 per share for the nine months ended February 28, 2001, up 72% from the prior year. Improved margins, growth in assets and investment gains were the primary contributors to the increase.

Operating cash flow was $237.8 million or $1.30 per share for the nine months, up 57% from the prior year. The major use of cash flow was $165.1 million in sales commissions and a $70 million repayment of long-term debt. At February 28, 2001, C.I.’s long-term debt totalled $48 million.

C.I. recorded net sales of $749 million for the three months and $3 billion for the nine months ended February 28, 2001. Net sales have declined from the prior year due to investor nervousness about volatile equity markets.

The company says mutual fund assets totalled $22.3 billion at February 28, down 5% from $23.5 billion at November 30, 2000, and down 1% from $22.5 billion at the beginning of fiscal 2001.

Total fee-earning assets were $27.1 billion at February 28, 2001, down 4% for the quarter but up from $26.7 billion at the beginning of fiscal 2001. An increase in institutional assets managed by C.I.’s U.S. subsidiaries contributed to this gain.

For the quarter ended February 28, 2001, C.I.’s market share of industry net sales was 8.8%. This was considerably ahead of its market share of mutual fund assets, which was 5.42% at February 28, 2001, and ranked C.I. as the ninth- largest mutual fund company in Canada and sixth-largest of the independent load distributors.