Proprietary Investment Strategies
Proprietary Strategies
Value Delivered Through Proprietary Investments
Beating the market is no easy thing, and we attempt to do so only where we believe we have seasoned professionals with a high-conviction investment philosophy and a performance edge. All internal strategies must meet a high bar compared to the competition within their investment categories. Because we combine that standard with the breadth of knowledge on our Multi-Manager Investment Team, we have something unique and incredibly strong.
Disciplined Equity
The Disciplined Equity Strategy is a tax-efficient, large-cap U.S. equity strategy with a focus on leading companies that generate significant free cash flow.
Four important factors drive its strong results:
- A focus on bottom-up fundamental analysis to identify quality companies to invest in for the long term.
- An emphasis on free cash flow.
- Opportunistic buying and disciplined selling.
- A right-sized team, committed to the Strategy—and to clients—averaging 17 years' industry experience.
Equities Update
Equity market update in response to COVID-19

Firm Expert
Head of Equities, Co-Manager, Disciplined Equity Strategy
Equity Income
The Equity Income strategy's primary focus is on total return, with the ability to invest in high-quality common stocks, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) and Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) that exhibit dividend growth greater than the market. The portfolio aims to provide lower volatility than the overall market.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Attractive dividend growth: seeks securities growing their dividends at an above-average rate.
- High conviction: high-conviction portfolio of companies with above-average revenue, cash flow and earnings growth.
- Flexible: ability to invest in a range of income securities including dividend-paying common stocks, REITs and MLPs.
A Non K-1 version of the strategy is available that follows the same investment process except in order to simplify client tax reporting, the strategy does not invest in securities that generate K-1s.
CIBC Atlas Equity Income Fund (AWXIX)
Large Cap Growth
The Large Cap Growth strategy aims for growth with low volatility by investing in large market capitalization companies. These are high-quality companies that are generally dominant in their industries and that exhibit above-average earnings growth and strong competitive positions.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Established: focuses on companies with capitalizations generally above $10 billion and above-average earnings growth.
- Competitive advantage: invests in companies that exhibit strong competitive positions, high levels of earnings visibility, strong profitability and superior management.
- Consistent growth: seeks stable companies with consistent, long-term growth.
Mid-Cap Growth
The Mid-Cap Growth Equity Strategy is a tax-efficient, U.S. mid-cap equity strategy that seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in high-quality companies with excellent business models that generate consistent, strong financial returns.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- A stringent philosophy and process for assessing business models, determining quality and identifying consistent growth prospects that have been successfully utilized since the Strategy’s inception.
- An adherence to strict risk controls to avoid exposing clients to undue risk in our estimation.
- A notably experienced and stable team including co-portfolio managers with over 20 years' tenure together on the Strategy.
CIBC Atlas Mid-Cap Growth Fund (AWMIX)
All Cap Growth
The All Cap Growth strategy seeks to outperform the market by investing in quality, high-growth companies, experiencing strong and visible growth. The strategy has a high active share and the ability to invest across all market capitalizations.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Quality growth: focuses on quality, high-growth companies with strong near-term and long-term growth prospects and positive business momentum.
- High conviction: conviction-weighted portfolio with high active share
- Flexible: ability to invest in companies across the entire market capitalization spectrum.
CIBC Atlas All Cap Growth Fund (AWGIX)
Income Opportunities
The Income Opportunities Strategy is a tax-efficient, income-generating U.S. equity and fixed income strategy that seeks current income and long-term capital appreciation by investing in high-quality companies with significant free cash flow.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- A diversified source of income and asset class exposures to generate income with growth outpacing inflation.
- A disciplined investment process with a focus on quality.
- A notably experienced, committed team averaging 18 years' industry experience.
CIBC Atlas Income Opportunities Fund (AWIIX)
International Growth
The International Growth strategy focuses on high-quality international companies that sustain higher-than-average earnings growth over extended periods of time. The strategy employs a fundamental bottom-up stock selection process while maintaining sector and geographic awareness.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Diversified growth: seeks companies that derive the majority of their revenues and growth internationally and have sustainable business models with above-average earnings growth.
- High conviction: conviction-weighted portfolio with high active share.
- Multi-cap: ability to invest in companies across all market capitalizations.
CIBC Atlas International Growth Fund (AWWIX)
International Update
Fixed Income
Customized portfolios that focus on intermediate-duration, investment-grade municipal and taxable bonds with a heavy emphasis on credit quality.
Our actively managed fixed income strategy integrates bond market expertise into CIBC Private Wealth Management’s overall wealth management philosophy:
- Managed to provide current income and store of wealth.
- Manages risk/return of entire portfolio to build long term purchasing power.
- Customizes strategies to meet specific client objectives.
- Leverages proprietary industry and corporate research resources.
The Intermediate Bond strategy's objective is to balance capital preservation, income generation and growth of principal. The strategy invests in investment-grade corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities, taxable municipal bonds and U.S. government securities. The strategy delivers a core portfolio for investors looking for investment-grade fixed income exposure.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Conservative: purchase all investment-grade, high-quality bonds from large, reputable corporations and government agencies.
- Active: actively managed sector positioning coupled with effective interest rate risk management.
- Diversified: all-weather, core bond portfolio that provides broad exposure to the investment-grade bond universe.
The Tax-Exempt Municipal Bond strategy was developed to allow capital preservation and the generation of federally tax-exempt income. Our team accomplishes this by incorporating credit analysis, geographic exposure and bond structure to determine the suitability. This tax-free fixed income portfolio is structured to emphasize stability with minimal credit or interest rate risk.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Preservation: tax-free fixed income portfolio structured with an emphasis on capital preservation.
- Attractive yield: seek to maximize yield for a commensurate amount of risk while also managing duration and yield curve positioning.
- Tax-efficient: municipal bonds may offer tax benefits for high income clients.
The Total Return Bond strategy's objective is to produce superior long-term performance relative to the Barclay's Aggregate Bond Index. The strategy utilizes an actively managed total return approach that invests in a diversified portfolio of fixed income instruments including high-yield fixed income securities. The flexible mandate allows for strategy sector allocations, tactical yield curve positioning and bottom-up security selection.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- Active: dynamic approach to managing a diversified portfolio of fixed income instruments across varying economic conditions.
- Opportunistic: capitalizes on relative value opportunities via sector rotation and security selection with an eye on risk management.
- Income: seeks to generate high levels of income coupled with capital appreciation.
Podcast update
Hedge Funds of Funds
Alternative strategy that seeks to reduce overall portfolio risk through diversified hedged strategies with low correlations to traditional asset classes.
Three important factors drive its strong results:
- A "top-down" and "bottom-up" institutional investment process that combines dynamic portfolio construction and pragmatic risk management delivered in an institutional framework.
- A flexible hedge funds structure that can cope with non-normal asset prices.
- A notably experienced and stable team including co-portfolio managers with over 14 years' industry experience.
Energy Infrastructure
CIBC Private Wealth Management's investment research team also includes a seasoned group of portfolio managers and analysts focused on energy infrastructure, including Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs).
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Multi-Manager Investment Program
The Multi-Manager Investment Program (MMIP) provides clients with access to institutional-quality investment managers with strong, risk-adjusted returns in a full range of asset classes.