About Our Business Archives | CC&L Financial Group Ltd.

At the heart of our organization is the commitment and desire to provide superior performance and service to our clients. Our primary objective is to meet our clients’ expectations while ensuring our people are highly motivated and enthusiastic. This requires that we keep the business narrowly defined on what we do best, and endeavour to remain at the cutting edge of research and development initiatives within financial markets.

Standing still is not an option

Each year, we take the opportunity to provide our clients with an update on our business, outlining how we are directing our efforts within Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management (CC&L) to fulfill our commitment to delivering investment performance and superior client service.

Our business has always been defined by continual reinvestment and innovation – standing still is not an option. As we navigate a volatile financial and policy environment, we have focused our efforts on three core areas that are foundational to the long-term strength and sustainability of our firm: our people, our technological capabilities and our physical infrastructure.

Our most important investment is in our people. In 2025, we welcomed 28 new colleagues to the firm, and we plan to add approximately the same number in 2026. These additions span investment and client functions, reinforcing both our current capabilities and our future leadership pipeline. This growth reflects our commitment to building a sustainable business across generations. By investing in talent development, succession planning and the cultivation of emerging leaders, we are ensuring that our clients will continue to benefit from a strong, stable and forward-looking organization.

Technology is the second pillar of our reinvestment strategy. We are upgrading systems across our back- and mid-office functions to enhance operational resilience, improve data integration and expand reporting capabilities. These enhancements strengthen the infrastructure that supports our investment processes and client service delivery. In parallel, we are developing a disciplined approach to artificial intelligence (AI). Our strategy is focused on enabling each area of our business to leverage AI tools and technology to improve investment and business processes. The introduction of AI tools requires adequate and deliberate oversight. Regardless of the complexity and sophistication of the AI integration, our people remain responsible for ensuring the quality and suitability of output and retain ultimate accountability for each function.

Finally, we are making meaningful investments in our office spaces in Vancouver and Toronto. These enhancements are intended to create environments that foster collaboration, creativity and connection. Our redesigned spaces support team-based work, cross-functional dialogue and stronger engagement across investment, client and operational teams. The goal is to create the conditions where ideas can be challenged, refined and implemented efficiently – ultimately benefiting our clients. We look forward to welcoming clients to our new offices in 2026 and sharing these updated spaces in person.

In closing, I extend my sincere gratitude to our clients for your trust, confidence and continued partnership.

Sincerely,

Martin Gerber
President & Chief Investment Officer

Our People

In 2025, our firm continued to grow, welcoming 28 new hires and bringing our personnel count to 150. Our business also benefits from the broader Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group, which employs over 500 professionals supporting business management, operations, marketing and distribution.

Our firm’s stability and specialization remain key drivers of our business. Succession planning and career development are central to our approach, ensuring continuity and long-term success.

We are pleased to share that several employees were promoted to Principal, effective January 1, 2026, in recognition of their important and growing contributions to our firm.

CC&L’s Board of Directors is also pleased to announce the promotion of new business owners, effective January 1, 2026, in recognition of their leadership and impact in their roles.

Fixed Income

Over the past decade, the Fixed Income team has invested meaningfully in building a quantitative framework to identify and harvest attractive premia in fixed income markets, initially within benchmark-relative strategies and subsequently in absolute return mandates. As these systematic return streams have proven both attractive and diversifying, client demand for dedicated solutions has begun to grow. In response, the team is developing these capabilities into dedicated quantitative strategies that can be implemented as total return solutions or as a source of portable alpha on top of a full suite of market return streams. We continue to invest in research, infrastructure and talent to deepen these capabilities and support growing client interest in resilient, diversifying sources of return across different market environments.

Sandy McArthur joined the Fixed Income team in May 2025 and quickly became a central driver of strategic initiatives across the platform. Sandy combines strong market experience with technical fluency, enabling the team to move faster and operate with greater discipline. His tenacity, cross-functional skillset and willingness to own complex workstreams have already had a meaningful impact on the business. We are pleased to welcome Sandy as a business owner in 2026.

Fundamental Equity

After more than a decade of US equity outperformance, the team believes the Canadian equity market is well positioned to outperform over the medium term. Attractive valuations, differentiated sector exposure and meaningful leverage to rising global commodity demand create a compelling backdrop for Canadian equities.

The Fundamental Equity team continues to support client investment objectives across mandates. In what has been a challenging environment for active managers in 2025, all strategies – including Canadian All Cap, income-oriented, and Small Cap equities – delivered top-quartile performance relative to their respective peers.

For several years, the Fundamental Equity team has been focused on developing the next generation of investment leaders. Three experienced Senior Research Associates joined the team over the past 12 months, further deepening research capabilities. This deliberate reinvestment underscores the team’s commitment to sustaining performance, enhancing analytical depth and maintaining a competitive advantage relative to peers over the long term. At the same time, the team is actively executing Gary Baker’s succession plan. Effective January 1, 2026, Michael McPhillips was appointed Co-Chief Investment Officer alongside Gary, sharing responsibility for equity strategy, portfolio leadership and overall investment direction. In 2027, Michael will transition into the CIO role, with Gary moving into an advisory role – ensuring continuity, mentorship and a seamless transition. Michael joined CC&L’s Board of Directors in 2026, succeeding Gary.

Quantitative Equity

2025 was a strong year for the Quantitative Equity team. The team met or exceeded added-value objectives across all key strategies, building on successful long-term track records, with sustained growth in clients and assets under management. To support that growth, the team continued to expand its capabilities, growing to 92 members, with 21 new hires in 2025. Investment professionals were added to all sub-teams during the year and investment in leadership resources across sub-teams will continue at a similar pace this year. The steady growth of the team reflects the need to continually expand and reinvest in our capabilities as the size and scope of the quantitative business has grown. At the same time, the focus on implementing differentiated insights remained front and centre, with a new investment model update that was successfully deployed in November.

To support clients in international markets, our pooled fund structures were expanded. This includes our Europe-based UCITS Fund platform for non-US-based investors, a Collective Investment Trust (CIT) platform in the United States for ERISA-regulated pension plans, a Cayman platform for US and other eligible global investors, and an LP Fund platform for eligible US investors. This investment will allow us to serve a broader client base.

Client Solutions

Consistent with the growth in our business, the Client Solutions team continued to grow. Tim Elliott joined the team in June. He was previously President & CEO of Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc., a retail wealth affiliate he founded within the CC&L Financial Group 15 years ago. Tim started making an immediate impact on our business, bringing insights and specialist knowledge of the retail and wealth markets and increasing leadership in the team. He became a business owner in 2026.

Responsible Investing

2025 marked the passing of a decade since the creation of the CC&L ESG Committee. As such, our Board of Directors felt it was appropriate to undertake a review of the committee mandate and governance structure. The outcome of this undertaking led to confirmation that we continue to have the appropriate structure and resources to meet our responsible investing (RI) objectives and concluded that no material changes were warranted.

Business Update

Assets under management

CC&L’s AUM increased by CA$35 billion in 2025 to CA$112 billion as of December 31, 2025. We are pleased to report that our business grew through new client mandates across all investment teams. In 2025, CC&L gained over 100 new clients and 19 additional mandates from existing clients. Most new mandates were for quantitative equity strategies from global institutional investors.

We are proud to be the recipient of a 2025 Coalition Greenwich Award: Best Asset Manager for Institutional Investors in Canada.* This award reflects excellence across both investment performance and client service, as measured by the Greenwich Quality Index.

Final Thoughts

We sincerely appreciate the trust and support of our clients and business partners. We look forward to continuing to help you achieve your investment objectives in the years ahead.

*Throughout 2025, Crisil Coalition Greenwich conducted interviews with 147 of the largest corporate pension funds, public pension funds, financial institutions, endowments and foundations in Canada and other global regions. Senior fund professionals were asked to provide detailed evaluations of their investment managers, assessments of those managers soliciting their business, and insights on important market trends. Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management did not provide Crisil Coalition Greenwich with any compensation for this survey.

Lindsay Holtz and Moira Turnbull-Fox were featured in Benefits and Pensions Monitor article titled “Why micro-communities matter for women’s careers.” They spoke about our Women’s Collective and the importance of creating spaces for women across CC&L Financial Group and its affiliates to connect and support one another.

“There’s lots of external networking events that people can identify, but we identified a gap that was right here at home. It was easy for us to grab that and drive it in the direction that we wanted it to go in,” Lindsay said.

The article coincided with International Women’s Day – a global reminder of the progress made, the work still ahead and the importance of creating environments where women can lead, thrive and be heard. It’s a moment to celebrate achievements, advance equity and reaffirm our commitment to supporting women across our workplaces and communities.

Read the full article

Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd. (“Crestpoint”) announced today that it has acquired a portfolio consisting of 22 retail properties and two office assets.

The portfolio comprises ~1 million square feet across 22 well located retail properties, including 15 single-tenant sites and seven grocery/pharmacy anchored centres. With assets spanning Manitoba, Quebec, and – most significantly – Ontario, the portfolio provides broad geographic diversification and exposure to some of Canada’s most resilient retail markets. The portfolio is 100% leased and anchored by essential service retailers in grocery, pharmacy and home improvement, with nationally recognized tenants such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Sobeys, Walmart, Metro and RONA.

The portfolio includes two office assets, the first being a Class A building, 145 Wellington St. W., in Toronto’s financial core, located in close proximity to the subway. The building is tenanted by a diversified mix of federal government, non-profit, engineering and insurance occupiers, among others, providing exposure to both public-sector and high-quality private-sector tenants. Current rental rates remain below market levels, providing meaningful upside potential and supporting strong income growth over time. The second office asset is located in Markham, Ontario and is a fully occupied 75,000 square foot, single-tenant office building on a 3.5 acre site, conveniently located near Warden Avenue, Highway 407 and nearby commercial amenities.

Crestpoint is acquiring a 100% interest in this portfolio on behalf of the Crestpoint Opportunistic Real Estate Strategy (its closed-end fund).

This represents the fourth acquisition for the Crestpoint Opportunistic Real Estate Strategy, which closed on December 19, 2025, and already has over 70% of its committed equity deployed.

We’re pleased to reflect on another year of meaningful growth and strategic advancement across our portfolio.

Transformative acquisitions

Oakcreek

In May 2025, Oakcreek Golf & Turf completed the acquisition of Pattlen Enterprises including L.L. Johnson in Denver, Colorado and Midwest Turf in Omaha, Nebraska.

This acquisition reinforces Oakcreek’s position as one of the largest, full-service distributors of Toro commercial turf equipment in North America.

Purity Life

In September 2025, Purity Life completed the acquisition of Horizon Distributors, PSC Natural Foods and Ontario Natural Food Company.

This acquisition further solidifies Purity Life’s leadership in the Canadian natural health, grocery and wellness distribution market, creating one of the country’s largest, full-service platforms with an unwavering commitment to excellent customer and vendor service.

Learn more about our portfolio.

New to Banyan and recent promotions

We’re excited to share the following promotions and additions to our firm as the depth and breadth of our team continues to grow:

Marat Altinbaev promoted to Director	Alex Gelmych promoted to Senior Analyst	James Nash has joined as Analyst

Our success at Banyan is built on the talent, dedication, and leadership of our people.

Learn more about our team.

New investments

Our focus heading into 2026 remains the same. We are looking to make long-term equity investments alongside world-class management teams in businesses across North America with EBITDA of at least $5 million.

Do you have an opportunity in mind? Learn more about our investment criteria or connect with us today.

Stagevision, a Banyan Capital Partners portfolio company, announced that Jason Grouette has been appointed Chief Executive Officer. Former CEO Scott Tomlinson has transitioned to the role of Vice Chairman and continues to provide strategic guidance to the company. This leadership transition is effective January 7, 2026.

Jason has been an Operating Partner with Banyan since 2022 and has over 20 years of leadership experience from his tenure as an executive at 3M, including navigating 3M’s N95 response during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We’re excited to share that Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management has been recognized with the 2025 Coalition Greenwich Award: Best Asset Manager for Institutional Investors in Canada!*

This award reflects excellence across both investment performance and client service, as measured by the Greenwich Quality Index. It’s a proud moment for our entire team – investment professionals, client solutions and operations teams, among many others – whose dedication makes achievements like this possible.

“This recognition is a testament to the strength of our people and the trust of our clients,” says Martin Gerber, President and CIO of Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management. “We strive every day to deliver exceptional results and service, and this award reinforces that commitment. I’d like to thank all of our team members for their dedication and great work that led to this recognition.”

We’re proud of having been awarded four times in the past five years by Coalition Greenwich for excellence in different areas of Canadian institutional investment management, and remain committed to delivering for our clients for years to come.

* Throughout 2025, Crisil Coalition Greenwich conducted interviews with 147 of the largest corporate pension funds, public pension funds, financial institutions, endowments and foundations in Canada and other global regions. Senior fund professionals were asked to provide detailed evaluations of their investment managers, assessments of those managers soliciting their business, and insights on important market trends. Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management did not provide Crisil Coalition Greenwich with any compensation for this survey.

For further information on performance, please contact us at [email protected].

Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure (CC&L Infrastructure) and Alpenglow Rail (Alpenglow) are pleased to announce the successful closing of an inaugural private placement financing raising in excess of CAD280 million. The process attracted interest from a diverse group of leading North American financial institutions, resulting in the transaction being significantly oversubscribed. The private placement notes received an investment grade rating.

The strategic partnership between CC&L Infrastructure and Alpenglow was established in 2019 to develop and operate a diversified portfolio of rail businesses across North America. Alpenglow’s portfolio encompasses six rail terminals: three terminals in Canada under the VIP Rail brand (Sarnia and Corunna in Ontario and Alberta Midland in Alberta) and three terminals in the United States under the USA Rail brand (Port Allen in Louisiana and Port Arthur and Orange in Texas). Alpenglow offers a full suite of rail solutions to its customers, including railcar storage, switching, transloading and railcar cleaning, among others.

Ryan Lapointe, Managing Director at CC&L Infrastructure, commented: “CC&L Infrastructure is pleased to complete this successful financing, which underscores the strength of our partnership with Alpenglow and the quality of the rail platform we have built together. At the outset of our partnership, we envisioned creating a safe, scalable, customer-focused rail business and this financing positions us well to continue executing on that vision. Our long-term investment approach provides a strong value proposition within the rail sector, and we look forward to supporting the next phase of growth and value creation across the portfolio.”

Henning von Kalm, Chief Financial Officer of Alpenglow, added: “Together with CC&L Infrastructure, we remain focused on owning and operating high-quality rail assets for the long term. This private placement is a testament to the resilience of our business model and the confidence investors have in our platform. Alpenglow’s rail terminals are strategically located within North America’s leading refining and petrochemical hubs – the Alberta Heartland, the US Gulf Coast and Southwestern Ontario. With this established footprint across multiple markets, we are excited to build on our successes and continue delivering strong results.”

CIBC Capital Markets (CIBC) served as the exclusive financial advisor and lead placement agent to CC&L Infrastructure and Alpenglow. National Bank of Canada Capital Markets and Desjardins Capital Markets served as additional placement agents, and Torys LLP acted as issuer’s counsel.

About Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure

CC&L Infrastructure invests in middle-market infrastructure assets with attractive risk-return characteristics, long lives and the potential to generate stable cash flows. To date, CC&L Infrastructure has accumulated over $7 billion in assets under management, diversified across a variety of geographies, sectors and asset types, with more than 100 underlying facilities across approximately 40 individual investments. CC&L Infrastructure is a part of Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group Ltd., an independently owned, multi-affiliate asset management firm that provides a broad range of traditional and alternative investment management solutions to institutional and individual investors. Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group’s affiliates manage over CAD167 billion in assets. For more information, please visit www.cclinfrastructure.com.

About Alpenglow Rail

Alpenglow Rail develops and manages freight rail businesses and related transportation assets across North America. Alpenglow Rail currently owns and operates six rail terminals strategically located in leading industrial markets within Canada and the US Gulf Coast. Alpenglow Rail was founded by a team of seasoned railroad executives with significant experience in the acquisition, operation, development and growth of North American short line railroads. For more information, please visit www.alpenglowrail.com.

Contact Information

Kaitlin Blainey
Managing Director
Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure
(416) 216-8047
[email protected]

Henning von Kalm
Chief Financial Officer
Alpenglow Rail
(917) 293-2351
[email protected]

As a United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) signatory, we are pleased to share the results of our 2025 Assessment Report. This year, CC&L Infrastructure advanced several risk-management and value-creation initiatives that supported increased scores. These strong results reflect the team’s hard work, disciplined approach and commitment to active asset management.

Learn more about how we are putting PRI Principles into practice.

Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management (CC&L Investment Management) is pleased to announce a new CPP Investments case study that highlights its enduring partnership with CC&L Investment Management. At the heart of our partnership is a commitment to continuous research and development of quantitative investing on a global scale.

Since 2004, CC&L Investment Management has been a trusted investment partner to CPP Investments. The case study details the evolution of this collaboration – from an innovative long/short equity overlay mandate to a sophisticated global quantitative equity strategy.

CPP Investments made its initial investment based on CC&L Investment Management’s capabilities, people and processes. Since then, CC&L Investment Management’s embrace of advanced data science and development of expertise and proprietary investment models has grown and evolved in step with CPP Investments’ needs.

The relationship between CPP Investments and CC&L Investment Management is more than an investment management mandate – it is a strategic partnership, a shared journey of innovation, problem-solving and mutual growth. In 2024, we celebrated 20 years of partnership, a remarkable testament to the strength and resilience of our collaboration.

“The depth of our partnership allows us to withstand both strong and weak periods and make the changes required,” says Martin Gerber, President & Chief Investment Officer of Connor, Clark & Lunn Investment Management. “What we do for CPP Investments today is very different from what we did 20 years ago – and that’s because of partnership and trust.”

To read the full case study, visit the CCP Investments Insight Institute.

Toronto, ON – October 23, 2025 – Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc. (the “Manager”) today announced its intention to terminate CC&L Market Neutral Fund (the “Fund”). The termination is scheduled to take effect on or about December 10, 2025.

The decision to terminate the Fund was made after careful consideration of various factors and is part of the Manager’s ongoing effort to ensure its product lineup remains aligned with investor preferences and needs and meets long-term goals.

Effective October 23, 2025, units of the Fund will no longer be available for purchase. Existing unitholders may redeem or switch their units of the Fund for settlement on or prior to the close of business on December 9, 2025. After that time, any remaining unitholders will have their units automatically redeemed at the net asset value per unit as of the termination date.

A notice with further information regarding the termination of the Fund will be sent to unitholders of the Fund. Unitholders are encouraged to speak with their Financial Advisors to discuss the termination and their investment options.

About Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc.

Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc. partners with leading Canadian financial institutions and their investment advisors to deliver unique institutional investment strategies to individual investors through a select offering of funds, alternative investments and separately managed accounts.

By limiting the offering to a focused group of investment solutions, Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc. is able to deliver unique and differentiated strategies designed to enhance traditional investor portfolios. For more information, please visit www.cclfundsinc.com.

For further information, please contact:
Lisa Wilson
Manager, Product & Client Service
Connor, Clark & Lunn Funds Inc.
416-864-3120
[email protected]

Caution concerning forward-looking information

Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking statements or forward-looking information that are predictive in nature and may include words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” believes,” “estimates” and similar forward-looking expressions or negative versions thereof. All information other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. All forward-looking information in this press release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to management’s beliefs, plans, estimates, and intentions, and similar statements concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances, or expectations, including, but not limited to, the proposed termination of the Fund and the anticipated process for such termination. Such forward-looking information reflects management’s beliefs and is based on information currently available. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and projections about future general economic, political, and other relevant market factors, and assumes there will be no changes to applicable tax or other laws or regulations. Although the Manager believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, expectations and projections about future events are inherently subject to, among other things, risks and uncertainties, some of which may be unforeseeable and, accordingly, may prove to be incorrect at a future date. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements. A number of important factors can contribute to these differences, including, but not limited to, general economic, political, and market factors in Canada and internationally, global equity and capital markets, business competition, and catastrophic events. You should avoid placing any undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is presented as of the preparation date of this press release and should not be relied upon as representing the Manager’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. The Manager disclaims any and all responsibility to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as specifically required by law.

This communication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase any funds and/or investment products managed or advised by the Manager or any of its affiliates, and is not, and should not be construed as, investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice, and should not be relied upon in that regard. Commissions, fees, and expenses all may be associated with investments in funds and/or other investment products managed or advised by the Manager or any of its affiliates. Please read a fund’s offering memorandum or prospectus, as applicable, which contains detailed information, and speak to an advisor before investing. Funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and investors may experience a gain or loss. Past performance may not be repeated.