CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX, OTC: CIFAF), the independent Canadian asset management company, experienced a jump in assets under management in November mainly as a result of a corporate acquisition.

Total assets under management at the end of November were up 4.3%, or C$4.8 billion, compared to the previous month and 8% higher than a year ago. On a year-to-date basis, average assets under management have risen 1.8%.

The main reason for the month-over-month increase was the inclusion of the assets managed by the Australian firm Grant Samuel Funds Management (GSFM), in which CI acquired an 80% stake on Nov. 15.

GSFM is a manager and distributor of investment strategies and products in the Australian and New Zealand markets, with assets under management of more than A$6 billion. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Although CI is domiciled in Canada, the firm has significant assets under management in other geographies, including the U.S. (36.3%), Europe (14.3%), and Asia (4.4%). This latest acquisition helps extend CI’s global reach, while giving it exposure to one of the world’s fastest-growing pension markets.

Such moves could help partly offset flagging performance at CI’s existing funds. Fund performance is a key factor in attracting new money, and here the company has been falling short as of late.

The average ranking of CI’s top 20 mutual funds is now in the third quartile compared to peers over the trailing one- and five-year time periods. The profitability of the company is ultimately dependent on the performance of its investment funds, its ability to attract new assets, and the performance of the overall market.

Nevertheless, CI’s balance sheet remains strong and cash flows are abundant. Free cash flow is currently fully utilized to pay dividends and repurchase shares from the market.

CI has grown its dividend by 8.9% annually over the past five years, though dividend growth has slowed more recently. Meanwhile, the C$7.9 billion firm has bought back an average of nearly C$254 million worth of shares per year over the trailing two-year period.

We see better days ahead for this high-quality operation, though it may take time for the firm’s portfolio managers to turn their performance around.

For its part, Bay Street is moderately bullish on CI’s prospects, with six “buys,” five “holds,” and no “sells.” However, the consensus 12-month target price is C$28.72, and the stock currently trades a little less than 1% above that level.

The stock has gotten a bit ahead of itself due to the strong rally off its trailing-year low in early November. Since then, shares of CI have climbed 22.9% on a price basis in Canadian dollar terms.

Consequently, the stock, which still yields an attractive 4.8%, now trades slightly above our fair-value estimate of C$28, or US$21.