TORONTO, Jan. 23, 2019 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp. ("CI") (TSX: CIX) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of a majority stake in WealthBar Financial Services Inc. ("WealthBar"), a leading Canadian online wealth management and financial planning platform.

"We welcome WealthBar to the CI Financial group and are looking forward to a very productive partnership," said Peter W. Anderson, CI's Chief Executive Officer. "CI's scale and resources will support the continued rapid growth of the WealthBar business, while WealthBar's experience and industry-leading online tools and services will fuel the development of our own comprehensive digital strategy and continued innovation across the CI group of companies."

WealthBar will continue to operate as a stand-alone business under its current leadership of Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Tea Nicola, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer Chris Nicola, and Chief Investment Officer and Chief Compliance Officer Neville Joanes, all of whom are retaining an ownership interest in the firm. The acquisition was first announced on December 14, 2018. Terms were not disclosed.

About WealthBar Financial Services Inc.

WealthBar is a leading Canadian online wealth management and financial planning platform offering premium online investing portfolios and low-fee ETFs, along with unlimited commission-free advice. Founded by Tea and Chris Nicola in 2014, WealthBar offers a diverse service and product offering that combines technology with human advisors for a personalized experience. This "hybrid model" provides the opportunity for engagement between clients and advisors depending on the wealth planning services required. Further information is available at www.wealthbar.com.

About CI Financial Corp.

CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX) is an independent Canadian company offering global asset management and wealth management advisory services. It has approximately $166.1 billion in fee-earning assets as of December 31, 2018. The firm's primary operating businesses are CI Investments Inc., Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd., CI Private Counsel LP, Grant Samuel Funds Management Pty Ltd. of Australia, First Asset Investment Management Inc., and BBS Securities Inc. Further information is available at www.cifinancial.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, performance or expectations with respect to CI Financial Corp. ("CI") and its products and services, including its business operations, strategy and financial performance and condition. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "goal", "plan" and "project" and similar references to future periods, or conditional verbs such as "will", "may", "should", "could" or "would". These statements are not historical facts but instead represent management beliefs regarding future events, many of which by their nature are inherently uncertain and beyond management's control.  Although management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements involve risks and uncertainties. The material factors and assumptions applied in reaching the conclusions contained in these forward-looking statements include that the investment fund industry will remain stable and that interest rates will remain relatively stable.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, among other things, general economic and market conditions, including interest and foreign exchange rates, global financial markets, changes in government regulations or in tax laws, industry competition, technological developments and other factors described or discussed in CI's disclosure materials filed with applicable securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The foregoing list is not exhaustive and the reader is cautioned to consider these and other factors carefully and not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Other than as specifically required by applicable law, CI undertakes no obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statement after the date on which it is made, whether to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE CI Financial Corp.

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