Morguard Financial awarded Best Canadian Real Estate Equity Fund over 3 Years at 2012 Lipper Fund Awards

TORONTO, Feb. 21, 2012 /CNW/ - Morguard Financial is pleased to announce that the Morguard-managed CIBC Canadian Real Estate Fund won the Thomson Reuters 2012 Lipper Award for top ranked risk-adjusted returns for the 3-year period in the Canadian real estate equity category. This year's award marks back-to-back Lipper Awards for this fund, highlighting Morguard Financial's track record of delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance.

Charles Dillingham, Vice President, Portfolio Manager at Morguard Financial responded, "We are honoured to have been recognized by the Thomson Reuters Lipper Awards for the Best Fund over 3 Years (2012) and the Best Fund over 1 Year (2011) in the Canadian Real Estate Equity category. Key drivers of our success include our experienced team, opportunistic yet disciplined approach and our close association with Morguard Corp., a leading Canadian real estate investment advisory firm with $10 billion in real estate assets owned and under management across Canada and the U.S."

"We are very proud of the long standing relationship that Morguard has with CIBC Asset Management.  We wish to thank CIBC for their 15 years of support and look forward to many more years of success as a member of the CIBC mutual fund family."

The CIBC Canadian Real Estate Fund's 3-year annualized return net of fees is 24.87% as at January 31, 2012. Globe Investor ranks this fund's performance first quartile in calendar 2009, 2010, and 2011.

About Morguard Financial Corp. - www.morguard.com 
Morguard Financial is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morguard Corporation ("Morguard") one of Canada's leading real estate powerhouses. With over $10 billion in real estate assets owned and under management, Morguard's dominant position in real estate markets across Canada combined with its depth of experience in all commercial asset classes provides Morguard Financial's portfolio management group with local insight and market intelligence.  Investment decisions are based on top-down bottom-up analysis and a thorough understanding of the businesses in which we invest. In addition to the CIBC Canadian Real Estate Fund, Morguard Financial also manages the Morguard Sunstone Real Estate Income Fund for retail investors, the Morguard Real Estate Equity Fund for institutional and accredited investors, and separate accounts on behalf of institutional investors. For more information, please contact Kate MacDonald, Associate Portfolio Manager, at kmacdonald@morguard.com.

About the Lipper Awards 
The Lipper Fund Awards recognize the world's top performing funds that have excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to peers. The Lipper Fund Awards are part of the Thomson Reuters Awards for Excellence program. Please visit http://excellence.thomsonreuters.com/awards/lipper for more details about the Lipper Fund Awards. If you have specific questions about the events, please contact markets.awards@thomsonreuters.com.