OPERATING RESULTS Net sales increase 200%  8 CI had impressive sales in 2012, reaching $10.6 billion in gross sales – the first time we exceeded $10 billion since 2008 – and  $973 million in net sales. This represents increases of 16.1% and 201%, respectively, over the year before. Industry net sales  as reported by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada rose 43% to $30.4 billion. Approximately three-quarters of our net sales for the year were posted in the fourth quarter, accompanying the  improvement in investor confidence and the turnaround in the markets. As we said at the start of this letter, CI is well  positioned to benefit from the change in sentiment given the performance of our portfolio managers and the quality and  breadth of our product lineup. The sources of our sales were quite diversified, with both the institutional and retail divisions contributing. On the retail  side, our key distribution partners all contributed to our tally of net sales. (See below for a more detailed discussion of our  distribution strategy.)  When we look at our sales by product, there are a few observations we would like to share. By asset class, income-related  funds continued to dominate our sales. There are signs of a growing interest in equity funds, though this comes after stocks  have already experienced a four-year bull market. (The S&P 500 Index, for example, gained 133% from its March 2009 low  to the end of March 2013.) By product platform, segregated funds, which combine mutual funds with insurance-based  guarantees, continue to provide good gross sales but remain in net redemptions. Though these funds provide unique  benefits, their appeal has been diminished as insurance companies have been forced to reduce benefits and increase prices  to reflect the increased costs of providing the guarantees. In addition, many policies within our older segregated fund  families continue to mature. Meanwhile, our managed solutions are attracting strong flows. These include CI Private Investment Management, a program  aimed at higher net worth investors, and our portfolio solutions, which include Portfolio Select Series, the award-winning  Portfolio Series and, in the Assante channel, Evolution Private Managed Accounts. The shift to portfolio solutions, also  known as wrap or fund-of-funds products, has been a notable industry phenomenon. According to Investor Economics,  fund wraps have experienced a compound annual growth rate in assets of 9.0% since 2007, versus 1.1% for stand-alone  mutual funds. As we often say, a portfolio program is only as good as its underlying funds and so CI’s products in this  category stand out for the quality of performance and portfolio management. CI Investment Consulting, which oversees  our managed solutions, also adds significant value through asset allocation, risk management and currency management.  The sales momentum of the fourth quarter has accelerated in 2013, with CI posting excellent sales and the best fi rst  quarter for net sales in seven years.