Stone Asset Management Limited Announces Mutual Fund Name and Risk Rating Changes

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - July 26, 2017) - Stone Asset Management Limited ("SAM"), the investment fund manager and portfolio manager of the Stone Mutual Funds, announced today that it will make changes to the names of all of the Funds in the Fund line-up effective on the renewal of the simplified prospectus and annual information form. It is currently anticipated that the renewal filing will be completed on or about August 25, 2017.

A summary of the Fund name changes is as follows:

Current Fund name		New Fund name
Stone & Co. Dividend Growth Class Canada		Stone Dividend Growth Class*
Stone & Co. Resource Plus Class		Stone Select Growth Class*
Stone & Co. Flagship Growth & Income Fund Canada		Stone Global Balanced Fund*1
Stone & Co. Flagship Stock Fund Canada		Stone Growth Fund*1
Stone & Co. Flagship Global Growth Fund		Stone Global Growth Fund*
Stone & Co. EuroPlus Dividend Growth Fund		Stone EuroPlus Fund*

A summary of the French Fund name changes is as follow:

Current Fund name		New Fund name
Catégorie canadienne croissance de dividendes Stone & Cie		Catégorie de croissance des dividendes de Stone*
Catégorie ressources plus Stone & Cie		Catégorie de croissance Select de Stone*
Fonds principal canadien de croissance et de revenu Stone & Cie		Fonds mondial équilibré de Stone*1
Fonds principal d'actions canadiennes Stone & Cie		Fonds de croissance de Stone*1
Fonds principal de croissance mondiale Stone & Cie		Fonds de croissance mondiale de Stone*
Fonds Europlus croissance de dividendes Stone & Cie		Fonds EuroPlus de Stone*

* The name changes reflect a simplification of the branding of the Stone Mutual Funds and a shortening of the original Fund names.
¹ These name changes also reflect the recent security holder approval of the change in investment objectives.

In addition, SAM also announced today changes to the risk ratings of some of the Funds. Recently, the Canadian Securities Administrators (the "CSA") proposed a new methodology for calculating a mutual fund's risk classification. Following an annual review of the Stone Mutual Funds under the proposed CSA risk rating methodology, SAM has determined that it is appropriate to change the risk ratings as set out below:

Fund name		Current rating		New rating
Stone & Co. Resource Plus Class		Medium to High		High
Stone & Co. Flagship Growth & Income Fund Canada		Low		Low to Medium
Stone & Co. EuroPlus Dividend Growth Fund		Low to Medium		Medium

These changes are a consequence of applying the new methodology and are not reflective of changes to the Funds.

As announced by SAM on July 11, 2017, changes to the investment objectives of the Stone & Co. Flagship Growth & Income Fund Canada were approved by unitholders of the Fund at a meeting held on that date. These changes will be effected upon the renewal of the Funds' simplified prospectus and annual information form, which is currently anticipated to be completed on or about August 25, 2017. Where a Fund changes investment objectives, the portfolio manager cannot use the Fund's historical information for risk classification purposes. Instead, the portfolio manager must use a reference index that closely approximates the Fund's new investment objectives from the effective date of the change in investment objectives. Had these changes been in effect as of today's date, the same change of risk classification shown in the table above would have applied.

The methodology used by SAM to identify the investment risk level of each mutual fund within the Stone Mutual Funds is available at no cost by calling us at 1‐800‐336‐9528 or by writing to us at clientservices@stoneco.com.

The changes to the risk classifications, like the changes to the Fund names, will be effective upon the renewal of the Funds' simplified prospectus and annual information form, which is currently anticipated to be completed on or about August 25, 2017.

About SAM

SAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stone Investment Group Limited, an independent Canadian-owned wealth management company. SAM provides investment management services via distinctive investment mandates, overseen daily by the disciplined execution of a proprietary investment process and investment philosophy. Access to SAM investment mandates can be achieved via a family of open-ended mutual funds, a pooled fund, and Private Wealth Management services. SAM's expertise ranges from servicing Canada's retail investors and working with their financial advisors to the complexities of working directly with Family Offices, endowments and foundations. At Stone, we want our investors to sleep well, knowing they'll have the financial resources to live well.