Welcome to the IGM Financial Annual Meeting of Shareholders. I would now like to turn the meeting over to Mr. Jeff Orr, Chair of the Board. Please go ahead, Mr. Orr.
Thank you, operator, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen. As Chair of the Board of IGM Financial, it's my pleasure to welcome you to this annual meeting of shareholders. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the health and well-being of our management, our employees, our shareholders, and our communities, the meeting is being held as a virtual meeting. Now, we believe these precautionary measures will help protect everyone's health and well-being and hopefully still allow for meeting engagement and participation. The three people who will be presenting today are not all in the same physical location. For this reason, I may pause from time to time to make sure we're well coordinated. I'll also pause at certain points to allow for online voting.
In the unlikely event that a technical disruption prevents me from continuing to chair the meeting, Greg Tretiak, a director of IGM, will act as chair. Thank you in advance for your support and patience as we work through this format. As in past years, we expect that the vast majority of all votes will be cast in advance of the meeting by proxy. That said, registered shareholders and duly appointed proxy holders will be allowed to vote online at the meeting by clicking on the voting icon at the top of your screen. Following the president's messages from Jeff Carney and Barry McInerney, we will also have a question and answer session at the end. Shareholders can submit questions online. Simply click the messaging icon at the top of your screen, type your question, and click the Send button.
Our corporate secretary, Sonya Reiss, will read out questions and comments, and I will respond, or for certain topics, I may pass the question on to Jeff Carney or Barry McInerney. When submitting a question, please include your name, contact information, and indicate whether you are a shareholder or a proxy holder. We'll do our best to answer shareholder questions, but if for any reason we're unable to do so during the meeting, a company representative will contact you after the meeting, if you have provided your contact information, of course. We encourage you to submit your questions early, so we can respond to as many as possible during the meeting. During the meeting, we may make statements containing forward-looking information or non-IFRS financial measures. Please refer to the cautionary statement on your screen regarding forward-looking information and non-IFRS financial measures.
The statement is also available on the link to our annual report, which is located on the left-hand side of your screen. On the phone with me today are Jeff Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of IGM Financial and IG Wealth Management, Barry McInerney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mackenzie Financial Corporation, and Sonya Reiss, Vice President and Corporate Secretary of the corporation. Also joining us virtually today are other members of the senior management team and other members of our board, all of whom are working remotely. I'd also like to welcome employees of IG Wealth Management, Mackenzie Investments, and Investment Planning Council, and our regional directors across Canada. I'll now call the meeting to order, and I will preside as chair of the meeting and ask Sonya Reiss to act as secretary of the meeting.
Marilyn Painter and Caitlin Bainbridge of Computershare Investor Services will act as scrutineers for the meeting. The amended notice calling this meeting was mailed or electronically delivered to shareholders of record as of March 11, 2020. I would now ask that the scrutineers provide their report regarding shareholder attendance at the meeting. Ms. Painter?
Yes, Mr. Chair. I'm pleased to report that today we have a minimum of 129 holders represented by proxy or in person, representing in total 238,308,284 common shares, or 86.202% of the shares eligible to vote today.
Thank you, Ms. Painter. I confirm that the required quorum of shareholders is present, and I declare this meeting duly and properly constituted for the transaction of business. The first item I'd like to handle as the meeting is now officially opened, is just to call out, on behalf of the board, the extraordinary efforts of our employees, the financial advisors with whom we work, for their adaptation over the last several months to managing the incredible challenges of our, of working remotely and moving our business to a remote basis and continuing to serve our clients so effectively. Just a fantastic effort for which we thank them. Also want to call out and salute the frontline workers who are operating across the country, putting their own health at risk to save others, and, and salute their incredible efforts and, and endeavors.
Finally, send out our sympathies to so many people who have loved ones who are directly affected by the disease. With that, I'll first then deal with the formal business of the meeting. We're gonna go through basically the election of directors and the appointment of auditors, and then we'll have the presidents address us after that. There will be, as I said, an opportunity for registered shareholders or proxy holders to ask questions. I will say that the meeting, the balloting and the voting will go on by online balloting today. I'm gonna open the polls for voting in a few minutes. Should you wish to do so early, or if you prefer, you can wait until the conclusion of discussion on each individual item prior to casting your your vote.
You have the option. You can vote now, or you can wait until we get to the specific item and then vote at that time. The items of business to be voted on and your available voting options will be visible on the voting panel on your screen. To submit a vote, please click on the voting choice displayed on your screen. Once discussion has concluded on all items of business, I'll remind you to enter your votes, and at a certain point, I'll declare the voting closed, and the results of the votes will be announced prior to the close of the meeting today. I'm now declaring that the polls are open, if you did wish to vote early.
The first item of business is the presentation of the 2019 annual report, which contains the corporation's audited consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report, which was mailed or electronically delivered to shareholders who requested to receive a copy in advance of this meeting. A copy of the annual report is also available by clicking on the link on the left-hand side of your screen. Next item of business is the election of directors. A board of 15 directors is to be elected at today's meeting. The names and certain information relating to those persons proposed for election are set out in the management proxy circular prepared for this meeting. I now ask Sonya Reiss to present the nominees for election.
So, Mr. Chair, I nominate those persons specified in the management proxy circular, delivered with the notice of meeting, namely, Marc A. Bibeau, Jeffrey R. Carney, Marcel R. Coutu, André Desmarais, Paul Desmarais, Jr., Gary Doer, Susan Doniz, Claude Généreux, Sharon Hodgson, Sharon MacLeod, Susan McArthur, John McCallum, R. Jeffrey Orr, Gregory D. Tretiak, and Beth Wilson, to serve as directors of the corporation, to hold office until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until their successors are duly elected or appointed.
Thank you, Sonya. Have we received any questions or comments online that relate to the election of IGM directors?
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There are no questions or comments.
Okay. Thank you. In which case, we'll now proceed to vote on the matter. Only registered shareholders or their duly appointed proxy holders can vote by online ballot. If you've not already done so, please submit your online ballot now for the election of directors by selecting a voting option on the voting panel displayed on your screen. You may vote for or withhold from voting for each nominee by clicking the appropriate boxes. And I'm just gonna wait a minute and give you time to do that. I think you need to vote for each director individually, so I'll give you a little bit of time. If we were in a room, I could tell whether there was anybody actually filling out ballots, but since I can't see anybody, we'll just give it a minute. I wish I had some interesting stories to share with you, but I don't.
Okay, so as you're finishing that up, we're gonna move on to the next item of business. The next order is the appointment of auditors. It is proposed that the current auditor, Deloitte LLP, be reappointed as auditor of IGM. I'll call on Sonya Reiss to present this motion. Sonya?
Thank you. I move that the firm, Deloitte LLP, be reappointed auditors of the corporation until the next annual meeting of shareholders or until a successor is appointed at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors, and, the directors are hereby authorized to fix such remuneration.
Thank you, Sonya. Have we received any questions or comments online on the appointment of IGM Financial's auditor?
We have not, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. So then we'll now vote on this matter. If you've not already done so, please vote now by selecting a voting option on the voting panel displayed on your screen. You may vote for or withhold from voting for the auditor by clicking the appropriate box. I'll give you a little less time here, since there's not 15 auditors to select. I will give you a few moments here. Okay, and so moving on, the next order of business is to consider, and if thought advisable, to pass an ordinary resolution confirming the amendment and restatement of Bylaw Number 1 that was approved by the board of directors on March 27th, 2020.
Information relating to the amendment and restatement of Bylaw Number 1 , which essentially that allows us to have this virtual meeting, that's really all it really says, is set out in the supplement to the management proxy circular prepared for this meeting. The full text of the amended and restated bylaw is available on the corporation's website and filed under the corporation's profile on SEDAR. So I call on Sonya once again to present this motion.
Mr. Chair, I move that the ordinary resolution confirming the amendment and restatement of Bylaw Number 1 be approved, ratified, and confirmed as a bylaw of the corporation.
Thank you. If I had a question, I would have sent it in to say it seems like an extraordinary resolution, since we've never seen it in 20 years, but I, I think I'd best leave that to Sonya and just carry on with the script. So,
Yeah. Thank you.
Yes. Good. Thank you. Have we received any questions or comments online regarding the approval of Bylaw Number 1 ?
We have not, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. So we'll now vote on this matter. Only registered shareholders or their duly appointed proxy holders can vote by online ballot. If you've not already done so, please vote now by selecting the voting option on the voting panel displayed on your screen. And I'm gonna just give you a bit more time again, because we're gonna close the polls probably in about 30 seconds, just if you're catching up on the other motions. I will give it a bit more time, give you a bit more time to vote. Okay, we'll give it another 15 seconds. Okay, so I declare the voting now closed, and we will, as I said, come back at the end of the meeting and announce the results, the preliminary results of the voting. And that will conclude the formal business at today's meeting.
We now move on to the more interesting part, which is hearing from Jeff Carney, and then hearing from Barry McInerney. And so I'd now like to call upon Jeff Carney, again, President and CEO of IGM Financial and of IG Wealth Management, to address the meeting. Jeff, you've got the, you've got the microphone.
Thanks, Jeff, and welcome, everyone. I'm speaking to you today from my home office. If you told me just two months ago that we wouldn't be able to meet in person, I likely wouldn't have believed you. I know this isn't ideal, and I would love to be face-to-face with all of you, but the world looks very different today than when we started preparing for this meeting. I don't need to tell you that these have been very challenging times. First, I want to express my hope that you're all well, that you're staying safe, and taking care of yourselves and your loved ones. I also want to acknowledge the very real tension we've all been feeling over the last few months. We've been worrying about our families, our friends, and our communities. In the wake of this enormous market volatility, many are worried about their financial security.
Can they meet their needs? Will they be able to achieve their life's goals? What I can tell you is that IGM Financial is well positioned to ensure our clients stay on track to meet their financial futures and goals, whatever those might be. We are well positioned in large part because we follow a guiding principle that is simple, clear, and actionable. That is, clients come first in all that we do. We're committed to improving the financial well-being of Canadians. We do this by infusing it in every corner of our organization with client-centric thinking. And when you do this, growth, profitability, and sustainability follow naturally. We're executing this strategy across three business sectors: wealth management, asset management, and strategic investments. And I'm proud to say it's working. As I look across our businesses, including IG Wealth Management and Mackenzie Investments, I see opportunity for our clients.
I see an IGM that is properly positioned to act on the opportunity for our clients, and that creates opportunity for IGM and our shareholders. When I look at how we did in 2019 and how we're positioned now in 2020, I'm optimistic for our future. But before I talk about the future, I want to report on the company's financial results for 2019. By now, most of you know that 2019 was a very good year for IGM. Still, it's worth remembering that while 2020 has a unique set of issues, 2019 was not without its challenges. We saw market volatility caused by trade tensions and political uncertainty, and we heard bullish market pundits warning that our long-in-the-tooth bull market was overdue for a correction.
Despite those worries, we also saw a marked improvement in investor confidence. People who had moved their money into low-risk, low-return savings accounts or term deposits began to redeploy it into the market and into investment funds. As a result, by the end of 2019, we had record high quarter-end total assets under management of CAD 167 billion, up from CAD 149 billion in 2018, an increase of almost 12%. We also had record high assets under administration of CAD 190 billion, also up 12%. Net earnings were CAD 746.7 million, or CAD 3.12 per common share, slightly down from our record high 2018 adjusted EPS of CAD 3.18 per share.
That was primarily the result of that market volatility in late 2018 carrying into 2019. Adjusted net earnings, which excludes one-time or unusual items, were CAD 763.9 billion, or CAD 3.19 per share, a decrease of 3% in adjusted earnings per share from 2018, which was a record high. Dividends per share remained unchanged in 2019 at CAD 2.25 for the year or CAD 0.5625 per quarter. Net redemptions from investment funds were CAD 142 million, reflecting a challenging environment for our industry, where mutual fund industry advice channel peers experienced net redemptions of CAD 2.6 billion. That compares to the investment fund net sales of CAD 1.4 billion in 2018....
In addition to results, I wanna highlight the continued transformation of IGM's operations in 2019, which resulted in our company running smarter and more efficiently. We are midway through our five-year transformation. I'm especially pleased to report that in 2019, we continued to hold the line on non-commission expense and growth. That was limited to 3.3%, which was below our guidance of 4%. As a result, we've been able to redeploy savings into other initiatives that will continue to improve efficiency while enhancing client and advisor experience. For example, we engaged CIBC Mellon Services Company to handle most of our fund services. Their scale, technology, and expertise allows us to focus on our priority, which is helping our clients achieve their financial goals. We also moved our data platform to Google Cloud.
Without getting into the details of the SAP applications and cloud deployments, this move helps us improve our client experience, makes us more productive, and gives us access to capabilities such as advanced data and analytics and artificial intelligence. The digital transformation of our business is one of the great strengths that will enable us to weather this upheaval in 2020. Before February 20th, we were on record pace in many ways, including asset capture, net sales, and new client acquisition. After February 20th, when the threat of COVID-19 became clear, everything changed. Everything except our core strategy and what that means in the terms of the value we provide to clients. In wealth management, the planning ethos of our consultants helped limit net redemptions. In many cases, our products are built to perform well during downturns. But overall, the Q1 results reflect the upheaval caused by COVID-19.
Q1 ended assets under management of CAD 147 billion, compared with what was an all-time first quarter and high of CAD 160 billion at March 31, 2019. Assets under administration were CAD 168 billion, compared to CAD 183 billion at March 31, 2019. IGM saw investment fund net sales of CAD 306 million, compared to net sales of CAD 260 million in the first quarter of 2019, despite the challenging environment starting at the end of February and continuing into March. IGM's net earnings were CAD 160.9 million, or CAD 0.68 per share, compared to CAD 167.5 million or CAD 0.70 per share a year ago.
From March 2019 to March 2020, net sales have been trending up with a strong increase beginning last December. This was especially apparent when the COVID-19 crisis fully emerged. IG Wealth Management net AUA client inflows for March were CAD 132 million, representing a turnaround of CAD 234 million from March 2019, when there were net client outflows of CAD 102 million. We've also experienced record-high adjusted growth sales at Mackenzie in the quarter. Based on the preliminary industry data, we believe IGM has significantly outperformed our peer group since COVID-19 took hold, measured by net mutual fund flows. Now, I'd like to break down our 2019 performance by major business segments. Mackenzie CEO Barry McInerney will review 2019 for the asset management business in just a moment.
First, let me take you through some wealth management highlights from last year. There's nowhere our client-focused strategy has been more evident than in our IG Wealth Management business. In 2019, we really got to reap the benefits of our investments in tools, processes, procedures that enable us to build deeper and broader relationships of trust with our clients. We built out digital systems and invested in operational transformation in a way that makes us smarter, faster, and stronger. Client assets under administration grew more than CAD 10 billion from the previous year to CAD 97.3 billion. Mutual fund growth sales remained at near record high levels of CAD 8.7 billion. We introduced new products and managed solutions supported by partnerships with high-quality sub-advisors, including BlackRock, T. Rowe Price, PIMCO, and Mackenzie Investments.
Throughout everything, it's clear our clients continue to understand the value we provide. That includes the unsurpassed expertise of the consultants who help them develop their, and follow their IG Living Plan, which often incorporates actively managed portfolios. Building off the successful 2018 launch of the IG Living Plan, in 2019, we introduced several digital tools to enhance our offering to clients and to enable Canadians to see how they're managing towards their financial goals. We introduced the very successful IG Living Plan Snapshot, which is a proprietary online resource that provides any Canadian investor, not just our clients, with an indication of their financial well-being in less than 15 minutes. The second online tool we introduced, and one that our clients really value, is called the Retirement Paycheck.
It shows clients the monthly income they can expect in retirement based on their current IG Living Plan. Another critical element of our client-focused strategy has been using segmentation to better deliver services to clients based on their specific needs. As a result, we've increased our business with a high net worth clients by providing for their complex needs, while continuing to provide great service across our entire client base. In 2019, 52% of our sales came from a high net worth segment, up from 28% in 2016. At the same time, we also hit new high milestones with our smaller account clients through the National Service Centre. The center is servicing more than 200,000 clients and CAD 1.7 billion in assets under management just a year after launch.
Another important part of our wealth management business, Investment Planning Council, led by Chris Reynolds, also had a solid year. IPC has grown significantly over the years since we acquired them in 2004, and now has roughly 750 financial advisors. The IPC platform provides products, tools, and resources for about 218,000 households across Canada, and has CAD 5.4 billion in assets under management and CAD 27.7 billion in assets under administration. 2019 was also a solid year for strategic investments. There is significant growth opportunity in all these areas, but beyond the growth, these investments have important benefits for our core businesses. They help keep us out in front on the latest innovations, and they introduce our management to insights they might not have otherwise seen.
Specifically, our 2019 strategic investments enabled us to participate in opportunities in Canada and in the U.S., and in the significant growth taking place in China, as well as the dynamic and rapidly emerging fintech sector. One of last year's highlights was the additional $50 million U.S investment we made in Personal Capital, a U.S. online financial advisory and personal wealth management company. Personal Capital continues to show a significant potential, with $12 billion in assets under management. That represents an impressive 57% year-over-year increase. Its tracked account value of $841 billion was a 32% increase during 2019. Switching back to Canadian dollars, we also made an additional CAD 51.9 million investment in Wealthsimple, Canada's largest online investment management service.
We made a CAD 14.8 million investment in Portage Three Ventures, a fintech venture capital fund. Fundamental to our business ethos, in addition to responsibilities to employees, consultants, advisors, clients, we also believe in supporting our communities in which we live and work. In 2019, we increased our focus on three main areas, including environment, diversity and inclusion, and communities at risk. Under the environment banner, we integrated our climate change risk and opportunities into our business by signing the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommendations. We were also the only Canadian firm recognized on CDP's Climate Change A List for a second year in a row.
Also of note, in 2019, the Mackenzie Global Environmental Equity Fund and the Mackenzie Global Leadership Impact ETF rated in the top 5 in the Canadian Equity Fund and ETF categories in the highly regarded Corporate Knights Eco-Fund ranking. We've also made employee diversity a key priority, reflecting the evolving mosaic of Canada. To promote general quality, we made great progress on our United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles commitment, and partnered with Pride at Work Canada to promote an inclusive workplace, regardless of gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation. IG Wealth Management continued to build on the launch of the 2018 Empower Your Tomorrow, which included the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer's, raising a record-breaking CAD 6.25 million, a 22% increase year-over-year.
In the fall of 2019, we relaunched our Money & Youth literacy textbook and website, reaching more than 43,000 Canadian at-risk high school students in only four months. We continue to actively promote this at-home resource for students and parents through the Globe and Mail. Finally, we've also worked to be of service to our communities throughout the COVID-19 crisis by committing CAD 1 million to support the relief efforts in our communities through a partnership with Canada Life and Power Corporation. Challenging times like these tend to bring the things that are truly important to us into sharp focus. We're reminded just how important is the health and well-being of our loved ones. We worry about the security of their future. Will our families have medicines, food, and shelter? Will we be able to pay the bills? And will life return to normal?
Will we be able to buy a home or send our kids to university or retire? Will we be able to resume the pursuit of life's goals? I'm certain the answer is yes. Businesses will reopen and will grow, financial markets will recover, and communities will heal, and IGM will be there, and we'll be there stronger than ever. One thing that's given me heart over the last couple of months are the letters, emails, and phone calls I get from our clients that are so grateful for us for looking out for them. IG Wealth Management consultants are reaching out and connecting with their clients. We stand with every client, especially when the road gets tough. We have the right strategy, we've made the right investments in our people and in our operations, and we've built the right relationships.
In closing, I want to thank all of our employees, consultants, and partners for their hard work, dedication during these unprecedented times. It's not been easy for any of us, and I am so proud of the work that we've done. Finally, I want to thank our clients. Your patience and understanding cannot be overstated as we adapt to new business realities. When the gears of commerce begin to accelerate again, and they will, there'll be new opportunities for our clients to move forward. Our dedication to your families and your financial well-being is unwavering. Thank you, and be safe. I'll now turn it over to Barry.
Thank you, Jeff, and hello, everyone. History has shown us the power of the human spirit and our ability to overcome extreme challenges. We find ourselves today in unprecedented times. COVID-19 has shaken our global economy to its core. Mackenzie Investments has responded to this crisis by strengthening relationships with advisors and protecting the hard-earned savings of Canadian investors across our country, who remain, as always, central to what we do. This is my fourth year as the President and CEO of Mackenzie. It continues to be an honor and a privilege. The momentum and successes I share with you today are the direct results of the Mackenzie team, whose dedication, hard work, and drive make me extremely proud. Together, we have reached new heights over the past three years.
Our gross mutual fund sales, gross retail mutual fund sales, and net retail mutual fund sales represent the best three-year period in Mackenzie's history. We've built an ETF platform that is now one of the fastest-growing in Canada. Our institutional business is gaining momentum. We've remained true to Mackenzie's 50-year history of product innovation by launching Canada's first retail liquid alternatives fund under the new regulatory framework. We are committed to the democratization of alternatives for every Canadian. Our investment performance has never been stronger. If there was ever a time to show the value of advice, it is now. Mackenzie's brand proposition, Better Together, helps us do that even when we are apart. It empowers us to meet Canadians' financial goals in good times and in bad. This has never been more relevant than during the first quarter of 2020.
Built off a simple belief that when we work together, advisors plus investors, plus Mackenzie, deliver better outcomes for the long term. Today, I'd like to provide you with some highlights from 2019 and early into 2020, not only from a numbers perspective, but also by sharing how we are truly differentiating ourselves by anticipating and responding to key industry drivers. 2019 was another standard year for Mackenzie. Total investment funds under management, Mackenzie Mutual Funds and ETFs, increased 16% to a record high of CAD 69 billion. Including assets we managed for IG Wealth Management and other non-Mackenzie fund assets, our total firm-wide assets surpassed CAD 140 billion.
We experienced the second-highest mutual fund gross sales in our history at CAD 10 billion, 2018 being our highest on record, and 2017 being our third highest. We exceeded CAD 6.8 billion in gross retail mutual fund sales, our best performance in over 20 years, and we surpassed CAD 1 billion in net retail mutual fund sales for the second consecutive year. Alternatives, ETFs, and sustainable, responsible impact investing, or SRI, are three of the fastest-growing categories, both in Canada and globally. In 2019, we reached a number of milestones, including passing CAD 1.3 billion in assets in liquid alternatives, adding another CAD 1.6 billion in ETF net creations, in early January, exceeding CAD 5 billion in ETF assets, and surpassing CAD 450 million in assets in SRI investment funds.
Our institutional business is also growing, with over CAD 1 billion in wins last year, and our investment performance remains strong, with 15 of our 20 largest F-Series mutual funds rated either four or five stars by Morningstar. Now, just a few words about the first quarter of this year. The onset of the pandemic in late February into March resulted in significant redemptions for the Canadian retail mutual fund industry in the first quarter of 2020. Despite this, we experienced over CAD 350 million of net mutual fund sales and nearly CAD 200 million of net retail mutual fund sales, our 14th consecutive quarter of positive retail mutual fund inflows. Including ETF net creations, Mackenzie's net investment fund inflows in the first quarter approached CAD 1 billion. We onboarded more than CAD 2.5 billion in new institutional mandates year-to-date.
Our investment performance strengthened in 2020. Over 90% of our F-Series mutual fund assets were in four- or five-star Morningstar funds as at the end of the first quarter, and over 90% were in the first or second quartile for the three- and 12-month periods ending March 31st. We've achieved these milestones because of our diversified, risk-adjusted approach to investing and our ability to connect with advisors and investors. We launched two key marketing campaigns in Q1, one around our fund and portfolio manager performance, High Performance from High Performers, and one for our ETF business, Made for Canadians by Canadians. Both of these campaigns ensure continued leadership awareness in the market and are delivering strong results.
Managing assets for over CAD 1 million and a growing number of institutional clients in Canada, the United States, Europe, and China, is a responsibility we take very seriously. It is an approach that is unwavering and all-weather, as we work to protect our clients' assets in volatile market downturns while adding value in more stable market environments. Turning back to 2019, there were several key trends that continued to drive the asset management industry. During the year, Mackenzie remained focused on anticipating these trends and responding to the changing needs of investors. One is a demand for product innovation. It is accelerating. While more traditional funds, like the Balanced Fund, still has a place in the portfolio, investors increasingly want options that better align with their individual needs and goals, and expand the opportunity set for potential returns and risk diversification.
Creating a breadth of innovative products has been an important focus of mine since joining Mackenzie. In 2019 alone, we introduced a new international dividend fund and a new global growth balance fund to give clients more choice and access to international investments.... We launched two Mackenzie Emerging Markets Bond Index ETFs, one in local currency, which is the first of its kind in Canada. We offered investors three new retail liquid alternative funds, including the Mackenzie Credit Absolute Return Fund and the Mackenzie Global Macro Fund, which, like all of our liquid alternative products, are designed to manage the impact of market volatility and improve portfolio stability. Just last quarter, we launched the Mackenzie Global Small-Mid Cap Equity Fund, combining the expertise of portfolio manager, Phil Taller, and his award-winning U.S. mid-cap team in Toronto, with Mackenzie's award-winning boutiques in Dublin and Hong Kong.
We also continue to work very closely with China Asset Management Corporation, a company in which we have an ownership stake, to develop industry-leading products that serve investors in both Canada and China. Our innovative approach to product design and fund management resulted in four Lipper Fund Awards and 12 Fundata Awards for Mackenzie in 2019. One of the more significant changes the industry has seen over the past few years is a renewed focus on value. Investors are justifiably paying more attention to cost, service, and transparency. We, at Mackenzie, are continuously reviewing fees to provide investors with clear, consistent, and competitive pricing across our offerings. We have simplified and reduced the pricing of our mutual funds and ETFs several times over the past few years, including in 2019, to take price out of the buying equation.
Our scale affords us the opportunity to do so, as does our future growth trajectory, capacity, and operating leverage. We are the only independent Canadian asset management firm offering active, smart beta, and passive ETFs. These cost-effective building blocks, combined with our full array of mutual funds, allow advisors to build efficient, institutional-quality portfolios, engineered by Canadians for Canadians. Canadian investors want products that are tailored to their unique needs. They also want access to investing opportunities that exist around the world. Mackenzie is a proud Canadian firm that thinks globally and invests globally. We have a significant global footprint, with more than 100 investment professionals located in Canada, the U.S., Europe, and Asia, providing our clients with easy access to international markets.
Our relationship with ChinaAMC gives Canadian investors an opportunity to invest directly in the second-largest economy in the world, one that has been the source of over 50% of all GDP growth globally this past decade, and invest directly in the second-largest stock and bond markets in the world. Supporting the causes our employees and investors care about has long been part of Mackenzie's DNA. Last year, the Mackenzie Investments Charitable Foundation celebrated its 20th anniversary. It's run by employee volunteers and supports charities across Canada, especially those that focus on women, children, and youth. The foundation has donated more than CAD 12 million in grants to organizations in need and represents the absolute best of Mackenzie. We continue to champion gender equality in the asset management industry. It is the right thing to do, and makes good business sense.
As a signatory to the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles, our goal is to have, as a minimum, 35% of our executive roles from vice president and above, held by women. Our long-term goal is gender parity. We made strong progress in 2019, highlighted by the addition of four women executives to the Mackenzie Operating Committee, our heads of marketing, product, SRI, and China, all very strategically important roles to the future of Mackenzie. Our insights and perspectives are more diverse, and our decision-making is, quite simply, better. That's better together. We know we still have a lot of work to do in this area, but our resolve is firm, and we are determined to get there. After recording the best three years in Mackenzie's history, we strongly believe our journey is just beginning.
The asset management industry can be humbling at times, but we remain focused on executing our strategy each and every day to help Canadians meet their financial goals. Our clients have high expectations of us, as do we. We will never stop striving for continuous product innovation and investment management excellence, and to anticipate and respond to future trends that will shape our industry. We will do so with a high-performing, diverse, and inclusive culture. At Mackenzie, our people will always be our greatest strength. We all know that the global economy and investors' personal finances have a long road to recovery, but we are resilient. We have come out of difficult situations in the past, and often stronger than before. The curve will flatten, and the global economy will rebound, and over time, Canadian portfolios will rise again.
However, the health and safety of our clients, employees, and shareholders is first and foremost on our minds. Be well, everyone, and I look forward to meeting in person in 2021.
Okay, Barry, thank you very much for those remarks. And also, Jeff Carney, thank you for your remarks ahead of Barry's. And obviously, just a ton going on at the company, lots of momentum, and it's great to see. So with that, I'm gonna now turn to the next part of the meeting, which is opening up the meeting for questions from shareholders and proxy holders. And if you do wish to submit a question, click on the Question icon at the top of your screen, type in, and submit your question.
Please provide your name and contact information, and indicate whether you are a shareholder or proxy holder. If we receive multiple questions of a similar theme, we might combine them with other questions in the interest of efficiency and addressing as many questions as we possibly can. As mentioned earlier, we'll do our best to respond to all of your questions. If it's of a personal nature or if we're unable to answer your question, the company representative will contact you after the meeting, if you provided your contact information. I'll now turn to Sonya Reiss, and Sonya, I ask you if we have received questions or comments online?
Yes, we have, Mr. Chair. We've received a couple so far. So the first question is: Is it the intention of the corporation to conduct virtual IGM meetings and board meetings as a matter of course, in the future, or just during extraordinary circumstances such as we face today? And also, is there a significant decrease in cost to holding virtual meetings?
That's a great question. And it's very much in keeping with what broader discussions I think are going on across companies in having moved to a virtual operating mode, certainly in the financial services industry for the last couple of months. Lots of discussions around what have we learned in this period that we can apply to our business models going forward, even after the passing of the COVID-19 pandemic. It's a question that the board is going to for sure be focusing on, but not one that we've made a decision on at this point. Typically, we get together as a board and management around the annual meeting for our board meetings. And then having a venue where people can be there in person often provides benefits.
But using the technologies that we have here, and one of the things we'll be asking ourselves is, can we use the technology to make the meetings more accessible to people who can't travel to the physical location? We already do webcasts, but maybe there's a better way we can utilize technology to include people across the country. So great question. There's no. I don't have a specific answer for it at this point, but it's very much on point and something that the board will be discussing as we go into next year. Thanks for the question.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We've also received a second question, which is: In view of the recent market correction and the potential for an extended economic downturn, does the corporation intend to maintain its annual CS dividend at CAD 2.25 per share? If so, is this expected to significantly increase the corporation's payout ratio? And is there a limit or range within which the corporation will not increase the payout ratio?
Another very good question, and one I'm happy to address. So there's no plans at this point to be changing our dividend payout. But I think that's something that the board will continue to look at every quarter in the context of the circumstances that exist then. The company doesn't only look at its payout ratio. On a long-term basis, it would, but when you get aberrations in the market over a period of time, it would not typically be making decisions based upon a three-month or a six-month aberration in earnings. And of course, the company's very strong financially, Single- A rated company, strong financial position, strong financial resources.
So a particular quarter or two or three, I don't wanna prejudge it, where the payout ratio got high because the earnings were depressed due to market conditions, would not necessarily result in us making a decision on a dogmatic or formulaic basis to change the dividend. We'd be looking at the circumstance, financial strength of the company at the time, and what the environment looks like going forward. So maybe a bit of a long answer. I'm trying to give you a sense of the kind of things the board would consider, but the short answer is we don't have any intention at this point, and we would not be locked into a payout ratio when we consider future decisions. Thank you for your question.
Mr. Chair, I can confirm there are no further questions or comments.
Okay. If that is the case, I will then say that ends the question period, and we will then turn to the reporting on the balloting for the meeting. So I wonder if the scrutineers could now present their report on ballots. I draw the meeting's attention to the fact that the results from the scrutineers are preliminary. There may be slight differences between the results given here and the results which will be disclosed and filed in accordance with securities laws after the meeting. With having said that, I'd now ask the scrutineers to please give their report on the ballots.
Thank you, Mr. Chair. We're pleased to report the preliminary ballot results reflect that each director nominee received an in-favor vote of at least 79.23%. On the ballot on the appointment of the auditor, the vote is 98.74% in favor. On the ballot, on the amendment and restatement of Bylaw Number 1 , the vote is 99.96% in favor.
Thank you, Ms. Painter. So I declare the motion on the election of directors adopted, and the 15 directors nominated hereby elected. I declare the motion on the appointment of auditors adopted, and Deloitte LLP are hereby appointed as the auditors of the corporation. I declare the motion on the ordinary resolution confirming the amendment and restatement of Bylaw Number 1 adopted, and the amended and restated bylaw number 1 is hereby approved, ratified, and confirmed as a bylaw of the corporation. And I think that just about does it. I would ordinarily be inviting people out to a light lunch to mix with management, and the board, which I would love to be able to do, but I can't do right now.
So with that, I'll simply thank you for participating, and that concludes the meeting, and I thank you all for attending. Thank you.