iA Financial Group Announces Offering of $250 million of Limited Recourse Capital Notes

iA Financial Corporation Inc. (the “Company”) announced today that it intends to issue $250 million aggregate principal amount of 6.611% Limited Recourse Capital Notes Series 2022-1 (Subordinated Indebtedness) (the “Notes”) due June 30, 2082 (the “Offering”).

The Offering is expected to close on or about June 1, 2022. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the Notes for general corporate purposes, which may include investments in subsidiaries and repayment of indebtedness.

The Notes will mature on June 30, 2082. Interest on the Notes at the rate of 6.611% per annum will be payable in semi-annual installments in arrears on June 30 and December 31 in each year, commencing on December 31, 2022 and continuing until June 30, 2027. Starting on June 30, 2027 and on every fifth anniversary of such date thereafter until June 30, 2077 (each such date an “Interest Reset Date”), the interest rate on the Notes will be reset at an interest rate per annum equal to the prevailing 5-year Government of Canada Yield on the business day prior to such Interest Reset Date, plus 4.00%.

In connection with the issuance of the Notes, the Company will issue 250,000 Non-Cumulative 5-Year Rate Reset Class A Preferred Shares, Series A (the “Series A Shares”). These shares will be held by Computershare Trust Company of Canada, as trustee of a newly formed trust (the “Limited Recourse Trust”). In the event of a non-payment of interest or of the principal amount on the Notes when due, the recourse of each holder of Notes shall be limited to that holder’s pro rata share of the assets of the Limited Recourse Trust, which assets will consist of the Series A Shares, except in certain limited circumstances.

Subject to the prior approval of the Autorité des marchés financiers, the Company may, on June 30, 2027 and every five years thereafter during the period from May 31 to and including June 30, redeem the Notes, in whole or in part, on not less than 10 days’ and not more than 60 days’ prior written notice from the Company, at a redemption price which is equal to the aggregate of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed and any accrued and unpaid interest on such Notes up to, but excluding, the date of the redemption.

The Offering is being done on a best efforts agency basis by a syndicate of agents co-led by RBC Capital Markets, TD Securities and National Bank Financial Markets.

The Offering is being made under the Company’s short form base shelf prospectus dated April 5, 2022. Complete details of the Offering are set out in the prospectus supplement dated May 25, 2022, which will be filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and will be available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.ia.ca. 

Notice

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction in which such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or the securities laws of any state of the United States of America, and may not be offered, sold or delivered, directly or indirectly, within the United States, its territories, its possessions and other areas subject to its jurisdiction or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act), except in certain transactions exempt from, or not subject to, the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities within the United States.

Forward-looking Statements

– This document may contain statements relating to strategies used by iA Financial Group or statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “would”, “suspect”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “believe”, “estimate”, and “continue” (or the negative thereof), as well as words such as “objective”, “goal”, “guidance”, “outlook” and “forecast”, or other similar words or expressions. Such statements constitute forward‑looking statements within the meaning of securities laws. In this document, forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, information concerning the expected closing time of the Offering and the use of proceeds therefrom. These statements are not historical facts; they represent only expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events and are subject to change.

– Although iA Financial Group believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. In addition, certain material factors or assumptions are applied in making forward-looking statements, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements.

• Material factors and risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include, but are not limited to: insurance, market, credit, liquidity, strategic and operational risks, such as: general business and economic conditions; level of competition and consolidation; changes in laws and regulations, including tax laws and changes made to capital and liquidity guidelines; risks associated with the regional or global political and social environment; risks related to climate change including the transition to a low-carbon economy and iA Financial Group’s ability to satisfy stakeholder expectations on environmental, social and governance issues; data and cyber risks; risks related to human resources; hedging strategy risks; liquidity of iA Financial Group, including the availability of financing to meet existing financial commitments on their expected maturity dates when required; accuracy of information received from counterparties and the ability of counterparties to meet their obligations; the occurrence of natural or man‑made disasters, international conflicts, pandemic diseases (such as the current COVID-19 pandemic) and acts of terrorism.
• Material factors and assumptions used in the preparation of financial outlooks include, but are not limited to: accuracy of accounting policies and best estimate actuarial and economic assumptions used by the Company such as mortality, morbidity, longevity and policyholder behaviour; different business growth rates per business unit; no unexpected material changes in the economic, competitive, insurance, legal or regulatory environment; risks and conditions; and the Company’s recent performance and results, as discussed elsewhere in this document.

– Potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic – Since March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had major, unprecedented implications for both society and the economy. The overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is still uncertain and depends on many factors, such as the progression of the virus, the emergence of new variants, the duration of the pandemic, potential treatments and therapies, the availability of vaccines, the effectiveness of government measures to slow the virus’s spread and the impact of those measures on the economy. As a result, we cannot accurately predict the total bearing the pandemic will have, but the impact 3 on iA Financial Group’s business and financial results could be material. However, despite the short‑term negative impacts of the pandemic on its results, iA Financial Group remains financially solid. In addition, iA Financial Group’s business continuity protocol has continued, ensuring that the quality of service clients receive is similar to or better than before the pandemic and enabling employees and advisors to continue to work safely and securely.

– Potential impact of geopolitical conflicts – Since February 2022, Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and the related sanctions and economic fallout have had several impacts on global financial markets, exacerbating the volatility already present since the beginning of the year. The outlook for financial markets over the short and medium term remains highly uncertain and vulnerable, in part due to continued geopolitical tensions. The Company continues to monitor potential impacts of the conflict. These impacts could negatively affect the Company’s financial outlook, results and operations.

– Additional information about the material factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations and about material factors or assumptions applied in making forward-looking statements may be found in the “Risk Management” section of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis for 2021, the “Management of Risks Associated with Financial Instruments” note to the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, and elsewhere in iA Financial Group’s filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators, which are available for review at sedar.com.

– The forward-looking statements in this document reflect iA Financial Group’s expectations as of the date of this document. iA Financial Group does not undertake to update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.