Risks & Warnings

Indicative risk factors summary only. The risk factors are not complete and should be read together with the risk factors contained in any final offering document prior to investing in any products linked to this Index. This is provided for information purposes only and does not purport to summarize or contain all of the provisions that would be set forth in a final offering document.

• Neither the RBA Select Equity Yield CIBC 15% Index™ (the “Index”) nor any of the assets comprising the Index are guaranteed to yield specific results. There can be no assurance that the Index will be successful. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
• The Index is comprised of notional assets. The exposure to the underlying Index that tracks the total return of the underlying assets is purely notional. There is no actual portfolio of assets to which any person is entitled or in which any person has any ownership interest.
• Changes in the value of the underlying component securities or instruments of the Index may offset each other and thus act to reduce the level of the Index below what it would have achieved if the poorer performing component securities or instruments were not included.
• Prior to investing in the Index or purchasing any products linked to (or based on) the Index, investors and consumers should seek independent investment, financial, business, legal, regulatory, tax or accounting advice.
• The Index is linked to the performance of a basket of stocks of U.S. companies which collectively represent a range of sectors. Price movements between these stocks may not correlate with each other. The value of the stocks in the Index may become highly correlated from time to time, including, but not limited to, periods in which there is a substantial decline in a particular sector represented by the stock in the Index. At a time when the value of a stock linked to a particular sector increases, the values of other stocks linked to other sectors may not increase as much or may even decline. Therefore in calculating the level of the Index, increases in the value of some of the stocks may be moderated, or more than offset, by lesser increases or declines in the levels of other stocks. High correlation during periods of negative returns among stocks in the Index could have an adverse effect on the levels of the Index.
• Trading in stocks that comprise the Index is speculative and can be volatile. Market prices of components of the Index may fluctuate rapidly based on numerous factors, including the supply and demand characteristics of the market, including the availability of alternate investment opportunities, changes in interest and yield rates in the market, and the dividend rate on the stocks. These factors may affect the value of the Index, and different factors may cause the prices of the components of the Index, and the volatilities of their prices, to move in an adverse manner and in inconsistent directions at inconsistent rates.
• Certain extraordinary and disruption events may impact the calculation of the Index.
• The Index lacks substantial operating history and, as it is based on complex algorithms, may perform in unanticipated ways. Neither this document nor the issuance of any investment product with returns linked to the Index should be deemed as investment advice or as an assurance or guarantee by CIBC or Richard Bernstein Advisors™ or any of their respective affiliates that an investment linked to the Index will generate a positive return.
• The Index, was launched on July 1, 2020. Therefore, all data for the Index prior to launch date represents the application of the index methodology by CIBC in order to reconstruct hypothetical historical data. This back-tested, hypothetical, historical data has inherent limitations and is provided for illustrative purposes only and may not be able to be duplicated in the future. Results during these periods may have been different (perhaps considerably) had the Index actually been in existence. Unlike actual performance records, hypothetical or simulated performances, returns or scenarios may not necessarily reflect certain market factors such as liquidity constraints, fees and transaction costs.
• The Index performance reflects the price evolution of the component securities composing the Index, including any dividend payment occurring while a given component security is part of the index. Thus a decline in the price of these securities will adversely affect the Index performance.
• The roles of the different teams involved within CIBC and Richard Bernstein Advisors™ in the design, maintenance or replication of the Index have been strictly defined. Where CIBC holds a product having the Index as its underlying and other positions exposing it to the Index for its own account, the replication of the Index is made in the same manner by a single team within CIBC, be it for the purpose of hedging the product held by external investors and consumers or for the purpose of the positions held by CIBC acting for its own account. CIBC may take positions in the market of the financial instruments or of other assets involved in the composition of the Index, including as liquidity provider.
• The Index includes a volatility control as part of the index methodology which may result in less fluctuation in rates of return as compared to indices without volatility controls. It may also reduce the overall rate of return for products referencing such Index as compared to other indices not subject to volatility controls.
• Publicly available information on the Index and its methodology is limited.