Website: ci.com
Head office address (Canada): 15 York Street, 2nd Floor, Toronto, ON M5J 0A3
Year established: 1965
Ownership structure: private; asset management subsidiary of CI Financial Corp., owned by Mubadala Capital (Abu Dhabi)
Target market/client profile: retail investors served through financial advisors, and institutional clients including pension plans, endowments, foundations, First Nations, and family offices
Number of professional staff: over 880 employees; more than 100 investment professionals
Canadian office locations: Toronto (head office), Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal
CI Global Asset Management (CI GAM) is a Toronto-based asset manager and a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. It works with financial advisors across Canada and serves more than 1.3 million investors. The firm held more than $136 billion in AUM as at March 31, 2026.
CI GAM traces its roots to 1965, when a small Toronto investment firm first opened its doors. At the time, the business operated under the name Universal Savings Fund Management Limited.
For its first 16 years, it focused on managing money for Canadian investors close to home. That changed in 1981, when the company set its sights on global markets.
In 1981, the firm launched CI Pacific Fund, which it says was among Canada’s first mutual funds dedicated to Asian markets. That fund built the company’s reputation in foreign investing and prompted a name change to Canadian International Fund Management.
The firm went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 1994, trading as C.I. Fund Management. In 1999, the company bought BPI Financial Corp. for $206 million and became Canada’s fifth-largest public mutual fund company.
For years, CI ran its asset management business through a collection of separate in-house boutiques, each with its own brand. In 2020, that structure had grown complex enough that the firm decided to consolidate everything under a single name.
That November, CI Investments Inc. officially became CI Global Asset Management. The rebrand absorbed four boutiques:
The pace of change picked up through 2025 and into 2026. A June 2025 CI GAM strategy report found that Canadian institutional investors held an estimated $6.3 trillion in US assets.
That August, CI Financial went private under Mubadala Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund. In January 2026, CI Global Asset Management’s takeover of Invesco Canada’s fund business would add about $26 billion in assets.
CI GAM provides investment funds, private market strategies, and institutional solutions for pension plans and institutional investors:
Beyond its institutional lineup, CI GAM also offers individual mutual funds, liquid alternatives, digital assets, and high-net-worth solutions for retail investors and advisors.
Marc-André Lewis has led CI Global Asset Management as president and chief investment officer since September 2021. Earlier in his career, Lewis was SVP at Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ).
He then led Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) as head of portfolio construction before joining CI GAM. Lewis holds a PhD in theoretical physics from Sorbonne University and degrees from Université de Montréal.
Lewis leads CI Global Asset Management’s executive team:
The board of CI Investments Inc., the legal entity behind CI GAM, includes Marc-André Lewis, Yvette Zhang, and Elsa Li. The board oversees the firm’s operations and overall management.
An Independent Review Committee (IRC) handles conflict-of-interest matters across CI GAM’s investment funds, with all members independent of the firm. Ernst & Young LLP serves as the company’s external auditor.
CI Global Asset Management distributes retail funds through a national network of financial advisors and serves more than 1.3 million Canadian investors. The firm’s institutional division covers:
That division managed more than $11.4 billion in client assets as at March 31, 2026. CI GAM’s Canadian offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal support both retail and institutional coverage.
Plan sponsors and institutional investors can find CI Global Asset Management in our EAFE/Emerging Markets Directory and Fixed Income Directory.
CI Global Asset Management has earned recognition for fund performance and investment leadership in recent years. Its investment professionals also contribute to pension and institutional investment discussions across Canada.
CI Global Asset Management’s Geraldo Ferreira told BPM in January 2026 that Canadian pension plans lag US peers in digital asset adoption. He pointed to structural conservatism among Canadian pension plans as the main barrier.
Lorne Gavsie also spoke to BPM at a January 2026 CPBI event about the firm’s slight underweight in US equities. Gavsie noted the company’s model pointed to outperformance in Canada, Europe, and emerging markets. Both conversations show CI GAM’s institutional team contributing to pension industry discussions.
‘I don’t think it's fair to say that all geopolitical risk is equal because different geopolitical issues call for different asset classes,’ says David Kletz
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