/EINPresswire.com/ -- WINNIPEG, MANITOBA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/12/16 -- Readers are referred to the disclaimer regarding Forward-Looking Statements, Non-IFRS Financial Measures and Additional IFRS Measures at the end of this Release. IGM Financial Inc. (IGM or the Company) (TSX: IGM) today announced earnings results for the fourth quarter of 2015 and for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Operating earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,(1) for the three months ended December 31, 2015 were $198.2 million or 81 cents per share compared to operating earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,(2) of $208.1 million or 83 cents per share in 2014.

Net earnings available to common shareholders for the three months ended December 31, 2015 were $173.9 million or 71 cents per share compared to net earnings available to common shareholders of $148.9 million or 59 cents per share for the comparative period in 2014.

Operating earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,(1) for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $796.0 million or $3.21 per share compared to operating earnings available to common shareholders, excluding other items,(2) of $826.1 million or $3.27 per share in 2014.

Net earnings available to common shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $771.7 million or $3.11 per share compared to net earnings available to common shareholders of $753.3 million or $2.98 per share for the comparative period in 2014.

Revenues for the three months ended December 31, 2015 were $752.1 million compared to $742.1 million a year ago. Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $3.03 billion compared to $2.93 billion a year ago. Expenses were $532.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to $557.0 million a year ago and $2.04 billion for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to $1.96 billion a year ago.

Total assets under management at December 31, 2015 were $133.6 billion compared to $141.9 billion at December 31, 2014. Mutual fund assets under management at December 31, 2015 were $127.5 billion compared to $126.0 billion at December 31, 2014.

Shareholders' equity at December 31, 2015 was $4.8 billion, unchanged from December 31, 2014. Return on average common equity based on operating earnings for the year ended December 31, 2015 was 17.0% compared to 17.8% for the comparative period in 2014.

Investors Group Operations

"The growth in our Consultant Network continued in the quarter, reaching an all-time high of 5,320," said Murray J. Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of Investors Group Inc. "Mutual fund sales for the year also reached a record high of $7.9 billion."

Mutual fund sales for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $1.8 billion, consistent with the prior year. Mutual funds sales were equal to redemptions for the fourth quarter of 2015 and compared to net sales of $194 million a year ago.

Mutual fund sales for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $7.9 billion, an increase of 5.7% compared to $7.5 billion in the prior year, and mutual fund net sales were $754 million compared to net sales of $651 million a year ago.

The twelve month trailing redemption rate (excluding money market funds) was 8.7% at December 31, 2015, unchanged from December 31, 2014.

Mutual fund assets under management at December 31, 2015 were $74.9 billion compared to $73.5 billion at December 31, 2014.

Mackenzie Operations

Mutual fund sales for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $1.7 billion compared to $1.6 billion in the prior year. Mutual fund net redemptions for the fourth quarter were $427 million compared to net redemptions of $471 million a year ago.(3)

Mutual fund sales for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $7.0 billion compared to $7.1 billion in the prior year. Mutual fund net redemptions were $1.3 billion compared to net redemptions of $209 million a year ago.(3)

Total net redemptions for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $366 million compared to total net sales of $148 million a year ago. Total net redemptions for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $10.6 billion compared to total net sales of $1.2 billion a year ago. Excluding rebalance activities,(3,4) total net redemptions for the fourth quarter of 2015 were $127 million compared to total net sales of $16 million a year ago and total net sales for the year ended December 31, 2015 were $400 million compared to total net sales of $1.1 billion a year ago.

"Mutual fund gross and net sales improved during the quarter, with gross sales up 6% over the prior year," said Jeffrey R. Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mackenzie Financial Corporation. "The strength of gross sales in the quarter was led by solid performance in the global equity category, which saw a sales increase of 42%, and was also supported by the launch of the Mackenzie Diversified Alternatives Fund."

Mackenzie's total assets under management at December 31, 2015 were $61.7 billion compared to $70.9 billion at December 31, 2014. Mutual fund assets under management at December 31, 2015 were $48.4 billion compared to $48.8 billion a year ago.

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 is payable on April 29, 2016 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2016. The preferred share dividend is payable on May 2, 2016 to shareholders of record on March 31, 2016.

(1)  Other items for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2015
     consisted of an after-tax charge of $24.3 million for restructuring and
     other charges, which primarily reflects severance and payments to third
     parties related to exiting certain investment management activities and
     third party back office relationships. The largest components of these
     activities relate to:

       - Mackenzie - closing the investment management office in Singapore
       as well as implementing other personnel changes in order to redeploy
       resources towards other corporate priorities, which management
       believes will provide greater benefits to Mackenzie over time.

       - Investors Group - introducing a new in-house dealer platform for
       nominee accounts and exiting its current relationship with its third
       party carrying broker. This new platform will enhance the service
       experience to Consultants and clients and is intended to achieve
       efficiencies over the long-term.

(2)  Other items for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2014
     consisted of an after-tax charge of $59.2 million related to
     distributions to clients, as well as other costs. In the third quarter
     of 2012, Investors Group introduced investment solutions for clients
     with household investments in Investors Group funds in excess of
     $500,000. This after-tax charge primarily reflects distributions to
     clients who did not transfer to these lower-priced solutions when
     eligible.
     Other items for the year ended December 31, 2014 also included an
     after-tax charge of $13.6 million related to restructuring and other
     charges.

(3)  During 2015, third party programs which include Mackenzie mutual funds
     made fund allocation changes which resulted in net redemptions of $239
     million for the fourth quarter and net redemptions of $695 million for
     the year ended December 31.
     During 2014, third party programs which include Mackenzie mutual funds
     made fund allocation changes which resulted in net redemptions of $222
     million for the fourth quarter and for the year ended December 31.

(4)  During the year ended December 31, 2015, MD Financial Management ("MD")
     re-assigned sub-advisory responsibilities on four fixed income mandates
     (totalling $10.3 billion) advised by Mackenzie. The impact on
     Mackenzie's pre-tax earnings from these mandate changes is not
     meaningful. Following the changes, Mackenzie continues to advise MD on
     a number of fixed income, balanced and equity mandates.

     During 2014, there were tactical rebalances by an institutional client
     that resulted in net sales of $354 million for the fourth quarter and
     net sales of $389 million for the year ended December 31 into
     separately managed account investment mandates advised by Mackenzie.

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:

--  Operating 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 "operating earnings available to common shareholders", "operating earnings per share", "operating 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.

The 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.

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 $131 billion in total assets under management as of January 31, 2016. Its activities are carried out principally through Investors Group, Mackenzie Financial Corporation and Investment Planning Counsel. IGM Financial Inc. is a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies.

Media Note: A live webcast of IGM's Analyst conference call for the Fourth Quarter 2015 will be held on Friday February 12, 2016 at 2:30 P.M. (ET) at www.igmfinancial.com. Media and interested parties may alternatively choose to listen to the live analyst teleconference call by dialing 1-866-223-7781 or 416-340-2216.

IGM FINANCIAL INC.
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Consolidated Statements of Earnings

(unaudited)
(in thousands of Canadian
 dollars, except shares        Three months ended        Twelve months ended
 and per share amounts)               December 31                December 31
                                 2015        2014          2015         2014
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Revenues
  Management fees           $ 501,313  $  507,370   $ 2,036,234  $ 2,014,086
  Administration fees         104,737     100,706       417,563      397,235
  Distribution fees            97,044      87,765       379,558      351,257
  Net investment income
   and other                   19,853      18,068        83,640       68,248
  Proportionate share of
   affiliate's earnings        29,178      28,142       110,950       96,458
                          --------------------------------------------------
                              752,125     742,051     3,027,945    2,927,284
                          --------------------------------------------------

Expenses
  Commission                  264,357     253,972     1,062,069      992,673
  Non-commission              245,023     279,755       882,969      877,496
  Interest                     23,201      23,239        92,115       92,152
                          --------------------------------------------------
                              532,581     556,966     2,037,153    1,962,321
                          --------------------------------------------------
Earnings before income
 taxes                        219,544     185,085       990,792      964,963
Income taxes                   43,474      33,979       210,250      202,862
                          --------------------------------------------------
Net earnings                  176,070     151,106       780,542      762,101
Perpetual preferred share
 dividends                      2,212       2,212         8,850        8,850
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Net earnings available to
 common shareholders        $ 173,858  $  148,894   $   771,692  $   753,251
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Average number of common
 shares
 (in thousands)
  - Basic                     245,638     251,698       248,173      252,108
  - Diluted                   245,739     251,996       248,299      252,778

Earnings per share
 (in dollars)
  - Basic                   $    0.71  $     0.59   $      3.11  $      2.99
  - Diluted                 $    0.71  $     0.59   $      3.11  $      2.98
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IGM FINANCIAL INC.
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Financial Highlights
                       For the three months       As at and for the twelve
                          ended December 31       months ended December 31
                     ----------------------   ----------------------------
(unaudited)             2015    2014 Change         2015       2014 Change
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earnings available
 to common
 shareholders
 ($ millions)
    Operating
     Earnings (1)    $ 198.2 $ 208.1   (4.8)%  $   796.0  $   826.1   (3.6)%
    Net Earnings       173.9   148.9   16.8        771.7      753.3    2.4

Diluted earnings per
 share
    Operating
     Earnings (1)       0.81    0.83   (2.4)        3.21       3.27   (1.8)
    Net Earnings        0.71    0.59   20.3         3.11       2.98    4.4

Return on equity
    Operating
     Earnings (1)                                   17.0%      17.8%
    Net Earnings                                    16.5%      16.2%

Dividends per share   0.5625  0.5625      -        2.250      2.175    3.4

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Total assets under
 management (2)
 ($ millions)                                  $ 133,648  $ 141,919   (5.8)%
  Investors Group
    Mutual funds                                  74,897     73,459    2.0
  Mackenzie
      Mutual funds                                48,445     48,782
      Sub-advisory,
       institutional
       and other
       accounts                                   13,208     22,094
    Total                                         61,653     70,876  (13.0)
  Counsel
    Mutual funds                                   4,178      3,850    8.5

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Mutual Funds and
 Institutional Sales Investors
 ($ millions)            Group       Mackenzie           Counsel  Total (3)
                    ---------- ---------------------- ---------- -----------
  For the three
   months ended                    Mutual
   December 31, 2015                Funds      Total
    Gross sales       $  1,821   $  1,652   $  2,593    $    203   $  4,164
    Net sales
     (redemptions)           -       (427)      (366)         42       (327)

  For the twelve
   months ended
   December 31, 2015
    Gross sales       $  7,890   $  6,965   $ 11,938    $    741   $ 17,902
    Net sales
     (redemptions)         754     (1,258)   (10,595)        177    (10,257)

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(1)  Non-IFRS Financial Measures:
     2015 operating earnings excluded:
       - An after-tax charge of $24.3 million, recorded in the fourth
       quarter, related to restructuring and other charges.
     2014 operating earnings excluded:
       - An after-tax charge of $59.2 million, recorded in the fourth
       quarter, related to distributions to clients, as well as other costs.
       In the third quarter of 2012, Investors Group introduced investment
       solutions for clients with household investments in Investors Group
       funds in excess of $500,000. This after-tax charge primarily reflects
       distributions to clients who did not transfer to these lower-priced
       solutions when eligible.
       - An after-tax charge of $13.6 million, recorded in the second
       quarter, related to restructuring and other charges.
(2)  Total assets under management excluded $7.1 billion of assets sub-
     advised by Mackenzie on behalf of Investors Group and Investment
     Planning Counsel ($6.3 billion at December 31, 2014).
(3)  Total Gross Sales and Net Sales for the three months ended December 31,
     2015 excluded $453 million and $3 million, respectively, in accounts
     sub-advised by Mackenzie on behalf of Investors Group and Investment
     Planning Counsel.
     Total Gross Sales and Net Sales for the twelve months ended December
     31, 2015 excluded $2.7 billion and $593 million, respectively, in
     accounts sub-advised by Mackenzie on behalf of Investors Group and
     Investment Planning Counsel.

Contacts:
Media Relations:
Ron Arnst
204-956-3364
ron.arnst@igmfinancial.com

Investor Relations:
Paul Hancock
204-956-8103
paul.hancock@igmfinancial.com

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