Mr. Chris Enright reports

CI WEALTH PARTNERS WITH CONQUEST TO PROVIDE ADVISERS WITH AI-POWERED FINANCIAL PLANNING SOFTWARE

CI Financial Corp.'s Canadian wealth management division, CI Wealth, has struck a strategic partnership with Conquest Planning Inc., a technology platform modernizing financial planning with customized and convenient advice. Through this collaboration, advisers at CI Assante Wealth Management, CI Private Wealth (CIPW) and Aligned Capital Partners will gain access to Conquest's artificial intelligence-powered financial planning platform, which is making customized and convenient advice more accessible for all consumers.

Conquest's Strategic Advice Manager (SAM) leverages AI to enhance personalized financial plans that evolve with clients' needs in real time. SAM helps advisers model various financial scenarios, presenting clients with potential outcomes of different strategies for more informed decision-making. By considering multiple factors and possible trade-offs, SAM suggests optimized strategies that balance immediate needs with long-term objectives. With SAM handling complex calculations and data analysis, advisers can focus on client interaction and strategic discussions instead of manual processes.

"At CI, we are committed to helping our clients grow and protect their wealth with confidence," said Chris Enright, executive vice-president and co-head of wealth for CI Financial and president of Aligned Capital Partners. "Our partnership with Conquest affirms this commitment -- equipping our advisers with powerful tools to deliver custom, dynamic plans designed to support meaningful outcomes for every client. By combining human expertise with Conquest's AI-powered insights, our advisers can deliver curated plans that adapt in real time to each client's unique situation, preferences and goals."

Effective immediately, all Assante advisers will gain access to Conquest's platform, which includes two key components: an adviser-led offering that allows advisers to enhance and present financial plans directly to clients, and a solution for the Assante Wealth Planning Group.

"Leveraging emerging technologies is key to addressing client needs and delivering results," said Sean Etherington, executive vice-president and co-head of wealth for CI Financial and president of Assante and CIPW. "Our wealth planning group, a highly specialized team of experts and professionals, is a core part of our business that distinguishes Assante from other firms. Our partnership with Conquest will bolster the group's capabilities and deepen Assante's ability to deliver effective wealth planning solutions to our clients."

Over time, CI Wealth will expand the adoption of Conquest's solutions across its network, helping to enhance efficiency, consistency and accuracy, and enabling hundreds of advisers across Canada to deliver more personalized and impactful guidance to a greater number of Canadian families and business owners.

Conquest has recently introduced updates to enhance plan quality and provide deeper insights. Key features like SAM Insights help advisers identify gaps, opportunities and risks, offering proactive recommendations to stay on track. The platform auto-updates visuals to reflect goal and plan health, while SAM adapts to life events and suggests alternative strategies. Also, the new "Ask SAM" feature enables voice or text interactions for quick access to insights, reports and strategies, and the "SAM Score" delivers real-time updates aligned with client goals across scenarios.

"Conquest has long envisioned a future where financial advice is personalized and accessible," said Dr. Mark Evans, chief executive officer at Conquest Planning. "Partnering with industry-leading firms like CI helps us turn this vision into reality. By blending human expertise with our intuitive technology, we're able to offer clients the personalized guidance they need, while empowering advisers to deliver more impactful, efficient wealth management strategies."

For more information about Conquest's next-generation financial planning software solution, please visit the "conquestplanning" website. Those interested in learning more about CI Wealth's broad range of financial services can visit CI Financial's website.

About Conquest Planning

Conquest Planning is a leading financial planning software company with a purpose-driven approach to delivering financial advice. The product-led company is built on the foundational belief that every single person deserves access to great financial advice. Users of Conquest Planning leverage its intuitively designed product, simple onboarding process and data-driven artificial intelligence to accelerate the delivery of beautifully designed, hyperpersonalized financial plans. Established in 2018, Conquest Planning was founded by a team of financial technology veterans whose record of success spans over 30 years in the financial planning software space. For more information, follow Conquest on LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

About CI Financial Corp.

CI Financial is a diversified global asset and wealth management company operating primarily in Canada, the United States and Australia. Founded in 1965, CI has developed world-class portfolio management talent, extensive capabilities in all aspects of wealth planning and a comprehensive product suite. CI manages, advises on and administers approximately $532.7-billion in client assets as at Nov. 30, 2024. CI operates in three segments: Asset management, which includes CI Global Asset Management, which operates in Canada, and GSFM, which operates in Australia; Canadian wealth management, operating as CI Wealth, which includes CI Assante Wealth Management, Aligned Capital Partners, CI Assante Private Client, CI Private Wealth, Northwood Family Office, CI Coriel Capital, CI Direct Investing, CI Direct Trading and CI Investment Services; U.S. wealth management, which includes Corient Private Wealth, an integrated wealth management firm providing comprehensive solutions to ultrahigh-net-worth and high-net-worth clients across the United States.