Laurentian Bank of Canada, Laurentian Trust of Canada Inc. and BLC-Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management Inc. have signed an agreement regarding the reorganization of the IRIS Funds and R Funds, respectively managed by Laurentian Bank and BLC-Edmond de Rothschild. The purpose of the agreement is to group all funds currently sponsored by Laurentian Bank under the R Funds banner. The effective date of the transaction is December 31, 2001.

“The agreement transfers to BLC-Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management the administration of IRIS Funds, which LBC Financial Services will continue to sell to the Bank’s clients under the R Funds banner,” Henri-Paul Rousseau, President and CEO of Laurentian Bank.

Together, the two fund families will bring the mutual funds under administration by BLC-Edmond de Rothschild to more than $600 million.

The first part of the agreement concerns the acquisition by BLC-Edmond de Rothschild of the management rights to the IRIS group of funds and includes the purchase of the IRIS trademark by BLC-Edmond de Rothschild and the agreement by the Bank to provide the information technology services necessary to manage the R Funds commencing on the effective date of the transaction.

The second component concerns the undertaking to proceed with the following reorganisation:
– the merger of certain IRIS Funds and the transfer of the resulting funds to the R group of funds;
– the merger of certain IRIS Funds with the corresponding R Funds;
– the change of investment objectives and administrative procedures of certain IRIS Funds, followed by their transfer to the R Funds group;
– the change of the trustee for the R Funds, with BLC-Edmond de Rothschild assuming such functionsin the future.

The reorganisation will be submitted for approval by regulatory authorities and the unitholders. In this connection, simultaneous meetings will be held for IRIS Funds and R Funds unitholders on December 21, 2001. The record date for these meetings has been set for November 12, 2001.