CI Mutual Funds Inc. announced today that it has received regulatory approval to mail copies of its funds’ annual financial reports only to those unitholders who request them.

As a result of this decision, CI says it will dispense with the mass mailing of the annual financial reports.

“The decision to forgo the automatic distribution of printed copies of our annual financial reports will result in substantial savings for our unitholders,” said Peter Anderson, CI president. “Information technology has progressed to a stage where unitholders can readily access this information electronically. And of course, we will mail a paper copy to any client who makes that request.”

CI expects that most of its 1.5 million unitholders will choose not to receive the printed annual financial reports, saving about $1.6 million in printing, distribution and other costs that would have been paid by the funds.

CI’s request was approved by all applicable provincial regulatory authorities, including Quebec.

This change applies to unitholders who hold their accounts directly with CI. Those clients who hold CI funds through nominee accounts (at investment dealers) already have the option not to receive annual reports.

It is already standard industry practice that unitholders must request semi-annual financial reports for their funds and CI has found that less than 1% of its unitholders do so. The annual financial reports contain the financial statements for the funds for the year ended December 31, 2002, the list of each fund’s portfolio holdings at the end of the year, and other information about the funds.

CI unitholders are being informed of the decision through their annual account statements. They can request a copy of the annual financial report for their funds by calling CI Client Services at 1-800-563-5181 or by e-mailing service@cifunds.com. The reports will also be posted to CI’s website, www.cifunds.com, and to the SEDAR site at www.sedar.com.