About Us

Established in Toronto in 1985, CFI is a boutique investment bank engaged in four businesses :

Alternative Asset Management; Private Debt Origination, Placement and Administration; Lease Funding of third party leasing companies engaged in equipment and vehicle leasing; Principal investments that involve the direct ownership of companies aligned to strategies in our business segments.

Over the years we have raised more than $4 billion in capital and currently have over $1.25 billion in assets under management on behalf of institutional investors. CFI is majority owned by its senior management led by Kevin Andrews (President & CEO) and Chris Ball (Executive Vice President) and benefits from a strategic minority investment from one of Canada's largest life insurance companies. We employ a dedicated staff of over 60 people, in offices located in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal.

Integrity

We are proud of the fact that in over 25 years of business, no investor in any of our activities has ever suffered a forced restructuring or loss on investment. Our commitment to our funders was never more evident than during the financial crisis of 2007 that led to the complete dislocation of the asset-backed commercial paper market in Canada. Unlike some other issuers, our asset trusts were able to repay 100% of commercial paper outstanding by issuing term notes to Canadian banks and insurance companies and using the proceeds to redeem our commercial paper obligations. This stands in contrast to other issuers who participated in the Montreal Accord on asset backed commercial paper in 2007 that resulted in some commercial paper investors being forced to exchange their short-term investment into longer-term notes.

Sustainability

We believe building design, construction and maintenance has a major impact on our environment, not only in visual terms but also in the consumption of energy, use of natural resources and generation of waste and pollution. We had the opportunity to apply our environmental philosophy at our offices in Toronto.

We used as much of the original structure and interior as possible and minimized the use of fossil fuel intensive building materials such as concrete and steel. We used reclaimed and renewable materials such as old brick and recycled wood planks. We also chose to maximize natural sources of light by creating as many windows and skylights as possible. Our lighting uses individual switches, with timers to reduce electricity consumption. CFI installed zone heating and thermostats on timers to heat areas only when in use. Sliding glass doors and windows that open allow us to moderate our temperature in the summer thereby using less energy for air conditioning.

Philanthropy

We believe the legitimacy of business extends beyond how you run your business. It includes how your business supports and interacts with society, and the community around it.  Corporate responsibility includes social responsibility, philanthropy and sustainability. We believe you can't be part of a community without giving back to it. Since 2001, CFI has given over $200,000 back to the communities that we live and work in.  We have chosen to focus our philanthropic efforts in the following areas: women, children, and those at risk within our urban environment and health care.  For many years we have partnered with The Redwood and have also supported Horizons for Youth, Salvation Army, Interval House and the Scott Mission.  Most recently, through Auto|One, CFI has supported The Vaughan Health Care Foundation, The Gelato Cup which supports the Prostate Cancer Center at Sunnybrook Hospital, and Inner City Angels. Through philanthropy we can also bring to life our business philosophy: When you build others, you build yourself.