CI Financial said on today its first-quarter profit rose 12% from the year-earlier period, as fee-earnings assets grew 11%.

Net income was $91 million, or 32¢ a share, in the quarter ended Aug. 31, 2005 compared with $81.3 million, or 28¢ a share, a year ago.

Net fund sales jumped 732% to $879.1 million in the quarter, up from $105.6 million in the year-before period.

Revenue rose 14% to $333.2 million, while total fee-earning assets were $71.1 billion at the end of August, up 11% from $63.9 billion a year earlier.

Fee-earning assets were comprised of $52.1 billion of retail managed assets (including $9.0 billion of managed assets at Assante Corp. and $1.4 billion of structured products and other funds), and $19.0 billion of administered assets net of the managed assets at Assante and IQON Financial Management Inc.

In a release, CI said “Favourable market conditions in fiscal 2005 and 2006 combined with positive net sales of $879.1 million of CI, Assante and Skylon funds contributed significantly to CI’s growth.”

Shares of CI were down 5¢ at $21.10 on the TSX after the results were released.