CI Investments Inc. plans to streamline its mutual fund lineup by merging 16 mutual funds into
other funds, the company said Thursday.

In addition, CI intends to reduce the annual management fees and modify the investment objectives of Signature Corporate Bond Fund and Signature Corporate Bond Corporate Class.

“The current economic environment obliges us to seek improved efficiencies wherever possible,” says Peter Anderson, CI CEO.

“Through these mergers, CI will simplify its fund lineup, while continuing to provide an industry-leading choice of investment mandates.”

“Furthermore,” Anderson says, “we believe that investors will benefit from a clearer set of choices and from being invested in larger funds with potentially greater access to a broader set of investment opportunities.”

The proposed mergers are as follows:

• Blackmont Corporate Bond Fund into Signature Corporate Bond Corporate Class;
• CI Global Balanced Corporate Class into CI International Balanced Corporate Class;
• CI Global Biotechnology Corporate Class into CI Global Health Sciences Corporate Class;
• CI Global Consumer Products Corporate Class into CI Global Value Corporate Class’
• CI Global Financial Services Corporate Class into CI Global Value Corporate Class;
• Knight Bain Canadian Bond Fund into Signature Canadian Bond Fund;
• Knight Bain Corporate Bond Fund into Signature Canadian Bond Fund;
• Knight Bain Diversified Monthly Income Fund into Signature Global Income & Growth Fund;
• Knight Bain Pure Canadian Equity Fund into Signature Select Canadian Fund;
• Knight Bain Small Cap Fund into CI Can-Am Small Cap Corporate Class;
• Signature Canadian Asset Allocation Fund into Signature Canadian Balanced Fund;
• Synergy Canadian Style Management Corporate Class into Synergy Canadian Corporate Class;
• Synergy Focus Canadian Equity Fund into Synergy Canadian Corporate Class;
• Synergy Focus Global Equity Fund into Synergy Global Corporate Class;
• Synergy Global Style Management Corporate Class into Synergy Global Corporate Class; and
• Signature Long-Term Bond Fund into Signature Canadian Bond Fund.

The funds being merged have small asset bases and/or similar mandates to the respective continuing fund, CI says.

With the mergers, CI will no longer offer funds under the Knight Bain name. As previously announced, the Knight Bain funds’ portfolio management team, KBSH Capital Management, has been integrated into Signature Global Advisors. The Knight Bain funds were formerly offered by Rockwater Capital
Corp., which CI Financial acquired in April 2007.

The mergers will indirectly affect the following segregated funds, which invest in units of CI mutual funds: SunWise CI Global Balanced Corporate Class, CI Global Balanced Guaranteed Investment Fund, SunWise CI Signature Canadian Asset Allocation Fund, and SunWise Elite CI Signature Canadian Asset Allocation Fund.

CI also will reduce the annual management fees of Signature Corporate Bond Fund and Signature Corporate Bond Corporate Class to 1.70% from 2.0% for Class A, and to 0.85% from 1.50% for Class F.

CI is also seeking the approval of securityholders of these funds to modify their investment objectives by permitting increased exposure to investment-grade corporate bonds and by removing the restriction to invest mainly in Canadian securities.

The new investment objectives will be: “To achieve a yield advantage by using fundamental value analysis to evaluate investments. The fund will invest mainly in fixed-income securities that are investment grade and below nvestment grade.”

CI says the new mandates will benefit the funds by allowing for greater diversification and investment opportunities through increased access to investment-grade securities and U.S. and global corporate bond markets.

The change will indirectly affect one segregated fund, Clarica SF CI Signature Corporate Bond Fund.

The changes require the approval of securityholders in Signature Corporate Bond Fund, Signature Corporate Bond Corporate Class, 13 of the terminating mutual funds and two of the continuing mutual funds.

Meetings of securityholders in these funds have been scheduled for August 10 and investors will be sent a notice of meeting, management information circular and proxy form in mid-July.

Securityholder approval is not required for the mergers of CI Global Biotechnology Corporate Class, CI Global Balanced Corporate Class, and Synergy
Global Style Management Corporate Class. Investors in these funds will be notified of the mergers.

CI says the Board of Governors, acting in its capacity as the independent review committee “has determined that the mergers achieve a fair and reasonable result to investors.”

Following required securityholder and regulatory approvals, the changes will take effect on or about August 14.

IE