CI Financial announced Oct. 2 that it has completed its $780 million acquisition of Sentry Investments, which was announced August 10.

CI says the acquisition has increased its assets under management to approximately $140 billion and total assets (assets under management plus assets under advisement) to approximately $181 billion.

New advisor and client relationships

"We are very excited by the opportunities presented by the combined strength of two of Canada's largest independent asset managers," said Peter W. Anderson, CI's Chief Executive Officer. "The addition of Sentry expands our product offering and brings new advisor and client relationships to our firm. Our greater size and scale will allow for additional investments in operations, product development and enhanced service to our clients."

CI says its balance sheet remains strong and CI forecasts that its debt-to-EBITDA ratio will be approximately 1:1 by the end of the year. “This level leaves the company with the capacity for leverage to finance additional initiatives,” says the company.