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or Name
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Fiera Capital Corp
Symbol FSZ
Shares Issued 78,137,486
Close 2018-10-23 C$ 12.31
Market Cap C$ 961,872,453
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Fiera Capital to sell nine retail mutual funds

2018-10-23 11:29 ET - News Release

Mr. Jean-Phillippe Lemay reports

FIERA CAPITAL CORPORATION ANNOUNCES SALE OF FIERA CAPITAL'S RETAIL MUTUAL FUNDS TO CANOE FINANCIAL LP

Fiera Capital Corp. has reached an agreement with Canoe Financial LP, a Canadian mutual fund company with over $4.8-billion in assets across a diversified range of award-winning mutual funds and private energy equity products, pursuant to which Canoe Financial has agreed to acquire the rights to manage the nine following retail mutual funds:

  • Fiera Capital Diversified Bond Fund;
  • Fiera Capital Income and Growth Fund;
  • Fiera Capital High Income Fund;
  • Fiera Capital Core Canadian Equity Fund;
  • Fiera Capital Equity Growth Fund;
  • Fiera Capital U.S. Equity Fund;
  • Fiera Capital Global Equity Fund;
  • Fiera Capital International Equity Fund;
  • Fiera Capital Defensive Global Equity Fund.

Fiera Capital will continue to manage its Canadian closed-end funds as well as its alternative strategies, including the following funds:

  • Fiera Active Trading Fund;
  • Fiera Long/Short Equity Fund;
  • Fiera Market Neutral Equity Fund;
  • Fiera Capital Income Opportunities Fund.

As part of the agreement, Canoe Financial has agreed to retain Fiera Capital to act as subadviser for Fiera Capital Global Equity Fund, Fiera Capital Defensive Global Equity Fund, Fiera Capital International Equity Fund and Fiera Capital Equity Growth Fund. There will be no change in the current portfolio management team for these four funds. The transaction is expected to close during Q1 2019 and is subject to, among other matters, receiving all necessary unitholder and regulatory approvals, as well as satisfying other customary conditions of closing.

"This transaction will allow Fiera Capital to focus on its core strengths -- serving institutional markets and private wealth clients, as well as subadvisory via strategic partnerships," commented Jean-Phillippe Lemay, president and chief operating officer of Fiera Capital's Canadian division. "Fiera Capital subadvisory relationships, totalling close to $35-billion in AUM [assets under management], will be further enhanced by the new partnership with Canoe Financial."

Upon completion of the proposed transaction, as well as subject to receipt of all necessary approvals, Canoe Financial will become the trustee, manager and portfolio manager of the Fiera Capital mutual funds; all funds will undergo a name change to continue under the Canoe Financial banner.

Unitholders of the relevant Fiera Capital mutual funds will be asked to approve the change of manager/trustee and certain amendments to the master declaration of trust at special meetings. In addition, unitholders of certain Fiera Capital mutual funds will be asked to approve a merger into mutual funds managed by Canoe Financial, while unitholders of certain other Fiera Capital mutual funds will be asked to approve the adoption of the form of master declaration of trust used by the Canoe Financial mutual funds and replace the method in which certain operating expenses are charged to such Fiera Capital mutual fund with a fixed-rate administration fee.

Details about the changes will be contained in the meeting materials to be mailed to unitholders. Fiera Capital will refer the proposed transaction to the independent review committee of the Fiera Capital mutual funds, which acts in an advisory capacity representing the interests of the funds and unitholders with respect to conflict of interests matters. The independent review committee will be asked to review the proposals and determine that, if implemented, each proposal would achieve a fair and reasonable result for the Fiera Capital mutual funds.

The attached table is a summary of the proposed material changes to each of the Fiera Capital mutual funds.

Fiera Capital mutual funds                                                                Proposed material changes 

Fiera Capital Global Equity Fund                   Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe Global Equity Fund)                        Appointment of Fiera Capital as subadviser to Canoe
                                                       Amendment and restatement of the master declaration of trust
                                                                             Adoption of a fixed administration fee
Fiera Capital International Equity Fund            Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe International Equity Fund)                 Appointment of Fiera Capital as subadviser to Canoe
                                                       Amendment and restatement of the master declaration of trust
                                                                             Adoption of a fixed administration fee
Fiera Capital Equity Growth Fund                   Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe Canadian Small Mid Cap Fund)               Appointment of Fiera Capital as subadviser to Canoe
                                                       Amendment and restatement of the master declaration of trust
                                                                             Adoption of a fixed administration fee
Fiera Capital Diversified Bond Fund                Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe Diversified Bond Fund)                                   Merger into Canoe Bond Advantage Fund
Fiera Capital High Income Fund                     Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe High Income Fund)                                        Merger into Canoe Premium Income Fund
Fiera Capital Core Canadian Equity Fund            Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe Core Canadian Equity Fund)                            Merger into Canoe Equity Portfolio Class
Fiera Capital U.S. Equity Fund                     Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe U.S. Equity Fund)                         Merger into Canoe U.S. Equity Income Portfolio Class
Fiera Capital Income and Growth Fund               Change of trustee, investment fund manager and portfolio manager
(to be renamed Canoe Income and Growth Fund)                     Merger into Canoe Asset Allocation Portfolio Class

It is anticipated that certain investors in the Fiera Capital mutual funds that have a relationship with Fiera Capital will redeem their units in the funds on or about the closing date of the proposed transaction. Fiera Capital and Canoe Financial are working on ways to minimize the negative impacts of such redemptions on the Fiera Capital mutual funds. As part of the transaction, Canoe Financial has also agreed to acquire Fiera Capital's ownership interest in Fiera Capital Funds Inc., Fiera Capital's wholly owned subsidiary and registered mutual fund dealer.

About Fiera Capital Corp.

Fiera Capital is a leading independent asset management firm with approximately $143.5-billion in assets under management as of Sept. 30, 2018. The firm provides institutional, retail and private wealth clients with access to full-service integrated money management solutions across traditional and alternative asset classes. Clients and their portfolios derive benefit from Fiera Capital's expertise, diversified offerings and outstanding service.

In the United States, asset management services are provided by the Fiera Capital's U.S. affiliates, which are investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

We seek Safe Harbor.

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