TORONTO, ON–(Marketwired – June 22, 2016) – The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Sentry Investments Inc. (“Sentry”), the manager of Precious Metals and Mining Trust (the “Trust”) (TSX: MMP.UN), announces that the Trust’s monthly cash distribution will be changed from its current rate of $0.01 per unit to $0.02 per unit. This change will be effective beginning with the monthly cash distribution payable on July 15, 2016 to unitholders of record on June 30, 2016 and will remain at this level until further guidance is provided by Sentry.
On November 13, 2014, the Board announced a decrease to the Trust’s monthly distribution to improve unitholders’ total return potential; the goal was to preserve capital within the Trust, as opposed to liquidating gold mining equities to satisfy distribution payments when valuations were at their lowest levels in 25 years, relative to the gold price. In January 2016, the recent bear market in gold equities ended, with gold equities rising approximately 80% year to date. It is the opinion of the Board that the investment return opportunity in gold mining equities now offers a better balance of risk and reward. The Board, therefore, believes that a distribution increase is prudent and represents a benefit to unitholders.
It is the view of Sentry that the recent rise in the gold price is well supported by strong demand from investors who view gold as a purchasing power hedge, and an alternative to low real rates and even negative interest rates. It is the view of Sentry that the demand drivers behind gold’s rise are well founded and unlikely to abate in the near to medium term. The primary supply of gold has stagnated over the last two years. Sentry believes that future gold supply will be unable to adequately meet rising investor demand, given depressed gold mining margins, reserve depletion, cutbacks in global exploration and collapsing gold discovery rates. As such, Sentry continues to believe there is good potential for gold prices to continue to rise and that investments in high-quality, gold-mining equities offers an attractive investment opportunity for the Trust’s unitholders.
It is the intention of the Board, to re-evaluate from time to time the Trust’s monthly distribution in the context of portfolio return expectations and to make further changes when it is believed to represent a net benefit to unitholders.
SENTRY INVESTMENTS INC.
Sentry Investments was founded in 1997 and is one of Canada’s fastest-growing independent asset management companies. Sentry manages over $18 billion in assets on behalf of more than 500,000 Canadian investors. Sentry offers a diverse range of award-winning investment products, available through financial advisors, including domestic and global mutual funds, and separately managed accounts.
Certain statements included in this news release constitute forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, those identified by the expressions “expect,” “intend,” “will” and similar expressions to the extent they relate to Sentry or the Trust. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect Sentry’s and the Trust’s current expectations regarding future results or events including, but not limited to, Sentry’s outlook for gold and the Trust’s ability to pay the indicated distributions on the dates specified. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Although Sentry and the Trust believe that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Sentry and the Trust undertake no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statement or information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law. For a complete disclosure record of the Trust, please visit its profile at www.sedar.com.
Sentry Investments Inc.
Commerce Court West
199 Bay Street, Suite 2700
P.O. Box 108
Toronto, ON M5L 1E2
Sentry Investments
Client Services (broker/investor inquiries)
1-888-698-5553 or 416-506-8429
1-800-406-6596 (fax)
[email protected]
www.sentry.ca
