IGM Financial Inc. Reports Third Quarter Earnings

Readers are referred to the disclaimer regarding Forward-Looking Statements,
Non-IFRS Financial Measures and Additional IFRS Measures at the end of this Release.

WINNIPEG, Nov. 2, 2018 /CNW/ - IGM Financial Inc. (IGM or the Company) (TSX:IGM) today announced earnings results for the third quarter of 2018.

IGM Highlights

• Net earnings of $198.2 million or 82 cents per share compared to net earnings of $173.4 million or 72 cents per share in the third quarter of 2017.
• Adjusted net earnings, excluding other items,¹ of $222.7 million or 92 cents per share compared to adjusted net earnings of $173.4 million or 72 cents per share in the third quarter of 2017. This was the highest quarterly adjusted net earnings in the Company's history.
• A quarterly common share dividend of $0.5625 per share was declared in the third quarter of 2018, maintained from the prior quarter.
• Record high quarter end assets under management at September 30, 2018 were $159.7 billion, an increase of 0.4% in the quarter and 6.5% from the prior year driven by favourable investment returns.
• Investment fund net sales were $137 million, representing market share gains in a period of slower industry sales activity.    
• The Company has rebranded Investors Group as IG Wealth Management, reflecting its central focus on helping clients grow their wealth and has launched the IG Living Plan™, a holistic, client-centric approach to financial planning that reflects the evolving needs, goals and aspirations of Canadian families and individuals.

"IGM is well-positioned for the future as our transformation efforts build momentum," said Jeffrey R. Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of IGM Financial Inc. "Both IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie Investments continue to gain market share."

Net earnings available to common shareholders for the three months ended September 30, 2018 were $198.2 million or 82 cents per share compared to $173.4 million or 72 cents per share for the comparative period in 2017. Adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,¹ for the three months ended September 30, 2018 were $222.7 million or 92 cents per share compared to $173.4 million or 72 cents per share for the comparative period in 2017.

Net earnings available to common shareholders for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $587.4 million or $2.44 per share compared to $551.3 million or $2.29 per share for 2017.  Adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,¹ for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $611.9 million or $2.54 per share compared to adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,² of $536.4 million or $2.23 per share for 2017.

IG WEALTH MANAGEMENT 

Strong investment fund sales - Investment fund sales for the third quarter of 2018 were $2.0 billion, one of the best third quarter sales results, down 3.6% from the third quarter of 2017. Investment fund sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 were $7.0 billion, a decrease of 5.7% compared to $7.4 billion in the prior year.

Investment fund net sales - Investment fund net redemptions of $64 million for the third quarter of 2018 decreased $351 million, compared to net sales of $287 million a year ago. Investment fund net sales for the nine month period were $610 million compared to net sales of $1.6 billion a year ago.

Asset retention - The annualized quarterly redemption rate for long-term funds was 8.7% in the third quarter of 2018, up from 7.9% in the third quarter of 2017.   

Assets under management at an all-time quarter end high - Investment fund assets under management at September 30, 2018 were $89.0 billion, an increase of 4.4% compared to $85.2 billion at September 30, 2017.       

MACKENZIE INVESTMENTS

Investment fund net sales - Net sales for the third quarter of 2018 were $258 million,³ a decrease of $281 million compared to net sales of $539 million a year ago. Net sales for the nine month period were $1.5 billion³ compared to net sales of $1.3 billion a year ago.⁴

Mutual fund sales highest third quarter - Mutual fund sales for the third quarter were $2.3 billion,³ the best third quarter in Mackenzie's history, compared to $1.8 billion in 2017.  Mutual fund net redemptions for the third quarter were $57 million³ compared to net sales of $305 million in 2017.⁴

ETF business continued to experience strong growth in the quarter - ETF net creations were $377 million in the third quarter, including Mackenzie mutual fund investments in ETFs of $62 million, and assets under management totalled $3.0 billion at September 30, 2018, an all-time high for the company.

Investment fund assets under management at an all-time quarter end high - Mutual fund assets under management were $57.3 billion and ETF assets were $3.0 billion at September 30, 2018, resulting in consolidated investment fund assets under management of $59.5 billion compared to $54.2 billion a year ago.  Mackenzie's total assets under management at September 30, 2018 were $67.3 billion compared to $60.8 billion at September 30, 2017.

DIVIDENDS

The Board of Directors has declared a dividend of 56.25 cents per share on the Company's common shares and has declared a dividend of $0.36875 per share on the Company's 5.90% Non-Cumulative First Preferred Shares, Series "B". The common share dividend and the preferred share dividend are payable on January 31, 2019 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2018.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this Release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements based on certain assumptions and reflect IGM Financial's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are provided to assist the reader in understanding the Company's financial position and results of operations as at and for the periods ended on certain dates and to present information about management's current expectations and plans relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. These statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding the operations, business, financial condition, expected financial results, performance, prospects, opportunities, priorities, targets, goals, ongoing objectives, strategies and outlook of the Company, as well as the outlook for North American and international economies, for the current fiscal year and subsequent periods. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or include words such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "seeks", "intends", "targets", "projects", "forecasts" or negative versions thereof and other similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as "may", "will", "should", "would" and "could".

This information is based upon certain material factors or assumptions that were applied in drawing a conclusion or making a forecast or projection as reflected in the forward-looking statements, including the perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances.  While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, they may prove to be incorrect.

By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved.

A variety of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's and its subsidiaries' control, affect the operations, performance and results of the Company, and its subsidiaries, and their businesses, and could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations of estimated or anticipated events or results. These factors include, but are not limited to: the impact or unanticipated impact of general economic, political and market factors in North America and internationally, interest and foreign exchange rates, global equity and capital markets, management of market liquidity and funding risks, changes in accounting policies and methods used to report financial condition (including uncertainties associated with critical accounting assumptions and estimates), the effect of applying future accounting changes, operational and reputational risks, business competition, technological change, changes in government regulations and legislation, changes in tax laws, unexpected judicial or regulatory proceedings, catastrophic events, the Company's ability to complete strategic transactions, integrate acquisitions and implement other growth strategies, and the Company's and its subsidiaries' success in anticipating and managing the foregoing factors.

The reader is cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. The reader is also cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and potential events carefully and not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. 

Other than as specifically required by applicable Canadian law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statements are made, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

Additional information about the risks and uncertainties of the Company's business and material factors or assumptions on which information contained in forward-looking statements is based is provided in its disclosure materials filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, available at www.sedar.com.

NON-IFRS FINANCIAL MEASURES AND ADDITIONAL IFRS MEASURES

This release contains non-IFRS financial measures and additional IFRS measures.  Net earnings available to common shareholders, which is an additional measure in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), may be subdivided into two components consisting of:

• Adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders; and
• Other items, which include the after-tax impact of any item that management considers to be of a non-recurring nature or that could make the period-over-period comparison of results from operations less meaningful.

Terms by which non-IFRS financial measures are identified include but are not limited to "adjusted net earnings available to common shareholders", "adjusted earnings per share", "adjusted return on average common equity" and other similar expressions used to provide management and investors with additional measures to assess earnings performance.  However, non-IFRS financial measures do not have standard meanings prescribed by IFRS and are not directly comparable to similar measures used by other companies.  Please refer to the attached Financial Highlights for the appropriate reconciliations of these non-IFRS financial measures to measures prescribed by IFRS.

Terms by which additional IFRS measures are identified include "earnings before income taxes" and "net earnings available to common shareholders". Additional IFRS measures are used to provide management and investors with additional measures to assess earnings performance. These measures are considered additional IFRS measures as they are in addition to the minimum line items required by IFRS and are relevant to an understanding of the entity's financial performance.

THIRD QUARTER WEBCAST AND CONFERENCE CALL

IGM Financial Inc.'s Third Quarter 2018 results conference call and webcast will be held on Friday November 2, 2018 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The webcast and conference call can be accessed respectively through www.igmfinancial.com or by phone at 1-800-273-9672 or 416-340-2218.

The most recent interim unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) of operating results are available on IGM Financial Inc.'s website at www.igmfinancial.com.   

About IGM Financial Inc.

IGM Financial Inc. is one of Canada's premier personal financial services companies, and one of the country's largest managers and distributors of mutual funds and other managed asset products, with approximately $153 billion in total assets under management as of October 31, 2018. Its activities are carried out principally through IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie Investments and Investment Planning Counsel.

A MEMBER OF THE POWER FINANCIAL CORPORATION GROUP OF COMPANIES.

SOURCE IGM Financial Inc.

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