July 5, 2005

Assante Wealth Management terminating all three Artisan RSP Portfolios

TORONTO (July 5, 2005) - Assante Asset Management Ltd. ("Assante"), manager of the Artisan Portfolios, today announced that it will be merging its three Artisan 100% RSP-eligible foreign portfolios ("Artisan RSP Portfolios") and transferring their $301 million in assets into their equivalent non-RSP Artisan Portfolios. The move follows the elimination of the foreign content limit on registered plans.

As a preliminary step, Assante will be closing all three Artisan RSP Portfolios to new investors, effective the close of business on July 7, 2005. Existing investors with pre-authorized chequing plans will be able to continue to add to their investment in the Artisan Portfolios under those plans.

Steve Donald, President and Chief Operating Officer of Assante Wealth Management, is very pleased that the federal budget was approved last week: "We have been making great efforts to improve the efficiency of our investment programs and reduce overall costs. The elimination of the foreign content rule helps us meet those goals. In the end, it is our investors who benefit."

Each Artisan RSP Portfolio has a corresponding non-RSP Artisan Portfolio whose investment objective is the same as the Artisan RSP Portfolio, except that the corresponding portfolio is not required to invest its assets subject to the foreign property limit, which no longer exists. As a result, the investment objective of each Artisan RSP Portfolio and its corresponding portfolio is effectively the same, and each Artisan RSP Portfolio will be merged into its corresponding portfolio as described below:

As part of the mergers, investors in each Artisan RSP Portfolio will exchange their units for units of the corresponding portfolio on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Assante intends to complete each merger and wind up each Artisan RSP Portfolio on or before September 3, 2005. On or before the effective date that an Artisan RSP Portfolio is merged, Assante will suspend purchases of units of that Artisan RSP Portfolio. Investors will have the right to redeem units of the Artisan RSP Portfolio up to the close of business on the effective date of its merger. Following the merger, pre-authorized chequing plans and automatic withdrawal plans that were established for the Artisan RSP Portfolio will be re-established in a comparable plan for the corresponding portfolio, unless investors advise otherwise. The mergers are subject to any necessary unitholder and regulatory approvals. Because each Artisan RSP Portfolio and its corresponding portfolio are similar in nature, Assante is seeking permission from the Canadian securities regulators to carry out the mergers without seeking unitholder approvals.

About Assante Wealth Management
Assante Wealth Management provides integrated wealth management solutions to Canadians through a network of 750 financial advisors in 250 offices across Canada. Assante Wealth Management's range of services includes investment advice, portfolio management, tax planning, and insurance and estate planning. Assante Wealth Management is a brand name of Assante Corporation and includes Assante Asset Management Ltd., Assante Advisory Services Ltd., and Assante Estate and Insurance Services Inc. Assante Wealth Management has $20 billion of assets under administration, including $8 billion under management. Assante Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of CI Financial. To learn more about Assante Wealth Management, please visit www.assante.com.

For further information:
Steve Donald
President and Chief Operating Officer
Assante Wealth Management
Tel: (416) 644-5650/1-866-644-5650

Media contact:
Kavitha Karnaker
Manager, Communications
Assante Wealth Management
Tel: (416) 644-5718/1-866-644-5650
Email: kkarnaker@assante.com