"We're structurally redesigning how a bank can operate in service of advisors," says Katy Boshart
For a Canadian bank outside the big six, differentiation is easier said than done. Even at Manulife Bank, a subsidiary of Canada’s largest insurance provider, standing out among the big six means finding and staking out a strategic niche. One year into her tenure as President and CEO of Manulife Bank, Katy Boshart has staked out her bank’s niche: serving and supporting independent advisors.
Boshart explained that Manulife Bank is now “structurally redesigning how a bank can operate in service of advisors.” She outlined why the bank has decided to focus on the advisory channel for its growth and explained how they’re adapting their operations to better serve advisors. She highlighted the value that she hopes Manulife Bank can add to advisors’ operations as they grapple with a range of operational issues as well as the ongoing need that high net worth clients have for sophisticated service offerings.
“We're really focused on the areas in which we can lead and innovate and deliver that exceptional value. So I would say we're not a traditional retail bank. We're actually the strategic amplifier for Manulife wealth and insurance platforms,” Boshart says. “We are built to empower advisors and not compete with them, and that's a fundamentally different model than the big six.”
To achieve that, Boshart says that her bank has worked to redesign how advisors experience their service. She claims the bank has been applying that advisor focus to every aspect of their operations, from their product roadmap to their servicing. Specializing lending solutions, high net worth solutions, and digital enablement are all being reworked with advisors in mind. In that process they’ve identified around 130 “friction points” and have already eliminated 30 of them.
One of the biggest of those friction points is pricing. Boshart notes that pricing can become a silent barrier between advisors and clients, noting that if an advisor can’t provide a competitive rate it can undermine trust. Manulfe Bank, she says, has now built competitive pricing into their offerings across both savings and lending. In doing so, she says that advisors won’t have to worry that their clients might be torn away by a price play from one of the big six.
Manulife Bank is already well established among financial advisors. Boshart notes that about 75 per cent of their distribution happens through independent advisors. By focusing on amplifying advisors’ business they have established a distribution chain that doesn’t directly compete with the retail banking focus of the big six. She highlights the understanding at Manulife Bank that they are not working to compete with advisors, but to help them support their clients.
While Boshart says her bank works with any and all advisors, she notes that their solutions tend to be focused on advisors serving affluent and high net worth clients. Those clients, she notes, often require sophisticated and tailored solutions. That’s where the wider Manulife infrastructure can help. Boshart notes that because her bank sits within a company that covers both wealth and insurance solutions, they can help provide complex and bespoke solutions to advisors. That could be insurance-based lending, or in facilitating the intergenerational wealth transfer. It could also be in business acquisition loans or lines of credit for advisors who want to scale their businesses. They also offer access to tax and insurance specialists who can help advisors with custom solutions for clients.
Boshart says that this focus on the independent advisory stream is already working. She notes that the firm’s advisor council has been joined by over 25,000 advisors across the country. She sees many advisors who had been underserved by traditional models drawn to the offerings that her bank now provides.
She says that now advisors can expect more execution from Manulife Bank. They are launching new tailored high net worth offerings tied to both wealth and insurance. They are developing new products to fit into advisors’ business models and offering tools that can support advisors’ goals. It’s a model that Boshart insists represents the transformation of Manulife Bank into an institution geared towards advisors.
“We are not tweaking around the edges. This is really about re-imagining what a bank can be when it's built for advisors,” Boshart says. “It's a structural transformation and not a repositioning, and we are very much focused on not trying to be everything to everyone, but building a bank with a clear purpose, and that's to be the most trusted partner for advisors.”
