Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services or for dissemination in the United States .

TORONTO, April 04, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: LBS, LBS.PR.A) Life & Banc Split Corp. (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has completed the previously announced treasury offering of class A shares and preferred shares (the “Class A Shares” and “Preferred Shares”, respectively) for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $25.5 million. The Class A Shares and Preferred Shares will continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the existing symbols LBS (Class A Shares) and LBS.PR.A (Preferred Shares).

The Class A Shares were offered at a price of $8.10 per Class A Share for a distribution rate of 14.8% on the issue price, and the Preferred Shares were offered at a price of $10.00 per Preferred Share for a yield to maturity of 5.46%. (1) The Class A and Preferred Share offering prices were determined so as to be non-dilutive to the net asset value per unit of the Company on March 25, 2019, as adjusted for distributions and certain expenses to be accrued prior to or upon settlement of the offering.

The Company invests in a portfolio consisting of common shares of the six largest Canadian banks and the four major publicly traded Canadian life insurance companies:

The Bank of Nova Scotia Royal Bank of Canada
National Bank of Canada Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services Inc.
The Toronto-Dominion Bank Great-West Lifeco Inc.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Manulife Financial Corporation
Bank of Montreal Sun Life Financial Inc.

The syndicate of agents for the offering was led by RBC Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets, National Bank Financial Inc. and Scotiabank and includes BMO Capital Markets, TD Securities Inc., Canaccord Genuity Corp., GMP Securities L.P., Raymond James Ltd., Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., Industrial Alliance Securities Inc., Desjardins Securities Inc., and Mackie Research Capital Corporation.

About Brompton Funds

Brompton Funds, a division of Brompton Group (“Brompton”) which was founded in 2000, is an experienced investment fund manager with over $2 billion in assets under management. Brompton’s investment solutions include TSX-traded funds and mutual funds. For further information, please contact your investment advisor, call Brompton’s investor relations line at 416-642-6000 (toll-free at 1-866-642-6001), email info@bromptongroup.com or visit our website at www.bromptongroup.com .

(1)  See performance table below

You will usually pay brokerage fees to your dealer if you purchase or sell shares of the Company on the TSX or other alternative Canadian trading system (an “exchange”).  If the shares are purchased or sold on an exchange, investors may pay more than the current net asset value when buying shares of the Company and may receive less than the current net asset value when selling them.

There are ongoing fees and expenses associated with owning shares of an investment fund.  An investment fund must prepare disclosure documents that contain key information about the fund.  You can find more detailed information about the Company in its public filings available at www.sedar.com.  The indicated rates of return are the historical annual compounded total returns including changes in share value and reinvestment of all distributions and do not take into account certain fees such as redemption costs or income taxes payable by any securityholder that would have reduced returns. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

Life & Banc Split Corp. Compound Returns to Feb. 28, 2019 1-Yr 3-Yr 5-Yr 10-Yr S.I. (2)
Class A Shares (TSX: LBS) (6.2%) 23.1% 10.8% 33.6% 8.7%
S&P/TSX Composite Index 6.9% 10.8% 5.5% 10.2% 5.3%
S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index 4.0% 14.1% 9.2% 15.5% 7.6%
Preferred Shares (TSX: LBS.PR.A) 5.0% 4.9% 4.9% 5.1% 5.2%
S&P/TSX Preferred Share Index (7.0%) 9.6% 0.3% 4.2% 1.6%
Life & Banc Split Corp. – Unit (0.4%) 12.4% 7.6% 14.4% 6.8%

(2)  Fund Inception date October 17, 2006.

Returns are for the periods ended February 28, 2019.  The table above shows the Company’s compound return on a Class A Share and Preferred Share for each period indicated, compared with the S&P/TSX Capped Financials Index (‘‘Financials Index’’), the S&P/TSX Composite Index (‘‘Composite Index’’) and the S&P/TSX Preferred Share Index ("Preferred Index"). The Financials Index is derived from the Composite Index based on the financials sector of the Global Industry Classification Standard.  The Composite Index tracks the performance, on a market weight basis, of a broad index of large-capitalization issuers listed on the TSX. The Preferred Index tracks the performance of the Canadian preferred share market. The Company invests in a passively managed portfolio of four Canadian life insurance companies and six Canadian banks.  The Company is not expected to mirror the performance of the indices, which have more diversified portfolios. The indices are calculated without the deduction of management fees, fund expenses and trading commissions, whereas the performance of the Company is calculated after deducting such fees and expenses. 

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information may relate to matters disclosed in this document and to other matters identified in public filings relating to the Company, to the future outlook of the Company and anticipated events or results and may include statements regarding the future financial performance of the Company. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by terms such as “may”, “will”, “should”, “expect”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “believe”, “intend”, “estimate”, “predict”, “potential”, “continue” or other similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. Actual results may vary from such forward-looking information.  Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.

The securities offered have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities nor will there be any sale of such securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.