CI Investments Inc. has announced portfolio management and other changes to a number of its small-cap portfolios, effective immediately.

QVGD Investors Inc. has been named portfolio advisor to Signature Canadian Small Cap Corporate Class, and Leigh Pullen and Joe Jugovic are lead portfolio managers. In conjunction with this change, the fund will be renamed CI Can-Am Small Cap Corporate Class, and it has a new blended benchmark consisting of 50% of the S&P/Citigroup Canada Extended Market Index and 50% of the S&P/Citigroup U.S. Extended Market Index (in Canadian dollars).

In a release, CI said the new name and benchmark reflect the firm’s intention to further diversify the fund’s portfolio following the elimination earlier this year of the foreign content limit for registered plans. The investment strategies have been modified to permit QVGD to invest up to 49% of the fund in U.S. and international small-capitalization companies, while a minimum of 51% will remain invested in Canadian securities. Signature Canadian Small Cap Corporate Class has $64 million in assets (as of Dec. 21, 2005).

QVGD also has been named portfolio advisor to the small-cap portion of Select Canadian Equity Managed Corporate Class, a multi-manager, multi-style mutual fund that is part of Portfolio Select Series, a new investment program that will be available for purchase on January 3.

Calgary-based QVGD manages over $800 million in investment portfolios for institutional and private clients, and makes a specialty of small-cap equity and balanced fund management.

In addition, Epoch Investment Partners, Inc. has been named portfolio advisor to the $211 million CI Explorer Fund, and William Priest has been appointed lead portfolio manager. The investment strategies have been modified to contemplate that Epoch will invest up to 49% of the fund in U.S. and international small cap companies, with at least 51% of the fund continuing to be Canadian content. These changes indirectly affect CI Explorer Corporate Class and two segregated funds: CI Explorer Segregated Fund and Clarica MVP Growth Fund.

Epoch is a New York-based firm that manages approximately US$2 billion in assets. It manages a wide spectrum of investment mandates, including CI American Small Companies Fund and CI Global Small Companies Fund. Epoch is also portfolio advisor to CI American Value Corporate Class.

“We are pleased to have selected two top-notch small-cap managers in QVGD and Epoch,” said Peter Anderson, CI president and CEO. “Both firms have highly experienced portfolio management teams and excellent track records in the small-cap category.”

QVGD and Epoch replace CI Investments as portfolio advisor to the funds. CI has made the change as a result of portfolio manager Peter Hodson’s decision to leave CI.

In addition, Hodson managed portions of three multi-manager, multi- style funds: Synergy Canadian Style Management Corporate Class, Synergy Extreme Canadian Equity Fund and Synergy Tactical Asset Allocation Fund. Those assets are being reallocated to the other managers of the portfolios. Synergy Asset Management continues as the lead portfolio manager of the three funds.