The move comes after CI Financial Corp. announced its intention to acquire a majority stake in the Canadian wealth management firm, RBC Wealth Management. This acquisition is expected to be completed in the early 2020s. CI Financial Corp.

This means that CI will continue to receive ratings from Morningstar DBRS, but without any formal request or obligation from CI. The ratings will be based on CI’s own internal assessment of its creditworthiness. This approach allows CI to maintain its independence and avoid potential conflicts of interest that could arise from a formal rating request. Furthermore, this approach allows CI to leverage its own internal expertise and resources to assess its creditworthiness.

The agency highlighted several factors contributing to this negative outlook, including:

**1. Weak Revenue Growth:** CI’s revenue growth has been sluggish, lagging behind the industry average. **2. High Leverage:** CI’s debt-to-equity ratio is high, indicating substantial reliance on debt financing and potential vulnerability to financial distress.

In July, CI acquired two U.S.-based registered investment advisors with combined assets under management of $8.1 billion, and in May, the firm acquired two U.S. family offices with combined assets of $5.7 billion. On Aug. 26, CI announced a share buyback, saying it would purchase up to five million of its outstanding common shares for cash at $17.50 per share. At the close of trading Sept. 12, CI’s share price was $17.63. Subscribe to our newsletters Subscribe