CI Financial Income Fund announced late yesterday portfolio management changes affecting several mutual funds at CI Investments Inc.

Kim Shannon, president of Sionna Investment Managers Inc., has notified CI that Siona is terminating its contract with CI Investments after a 60-day notice period.

Sionna is portfolio advisor and Shannon is lead portfolio manager of the following CI mutual funds: CI Canadian Investment Fund; CI Canadian Investment Corporate Class; CI Canadian Small/Mid Cap Fund; and CI Canadian Asset Allocation Fund.

“While it is unfortunate that Kim has decided to move on, CI is clearly blessed with an abundance of top-ranked and award-winning Canadian equity managers,” said Bill Holland, CEO, in a news release. “We are positive that CI will continue to provide the same high quality of portfolio management expertise to the investors in these funds.”

Shannon and Oliver Murray, CEO of Brandes Investment Partners & Co. announced that their respective firms are forming a retail strategic alliance and plan to offer a new family of value funds.

The new alliance is expected to be operational before the end of the year. The plan is to offer a number of new funds.

“We are very pleased to be forming a retail alliance with Sionna and Kim, who is recognized as one the best investment managers in Canada. We are philosophically aligned and both believe that independence is an important part of putting client interests first,” said Murray, in a news release.

Murray added that the firms’ relationship will be formed as a unique structure that builds a long-term sustainable business model to serve their respective clients. He said Sionna, through Shannon and the team at Sionna, will provide investment advice for managing Canadian equities and Brandes will provide the service and operational infrastructure.

Holland said CI has already begun its analysis to determine the replacement portfolio managers and that the firm expects to make an announcement in short order.

“Our obligation to our fund investors is our most important duty and we are deploying our extensive resources to ensuring these portfolios are managed to the high standards our investors and their advisors have come to expect,” Holland said.