Financial services giant furthers commitment to independent advisors with latest deal for Winnipeg-based investment firm
A little more than two months after agreeing to acquire Investment Planning Counsel from IGM Financial, Canada Life has come another step closer to becoming a force in Canada’s independent wealth space with the acquisition of Value Partners.
“Across Canada, we are building a leading platform for the country's independent advisors. That's been our focus, and that continues to be our focus,” says Fabrice Morin, EVP, Individual Wealth and Insurance Solutions at Canada Life (pictured above, left). “This acquisition just extends our access to advice and capabilities that we can bring to more Canadians.”
Morin describes Value Partners – which includes Value Partners Investment Counsel, Value Partners Investments, and LP Financial Planning Services – as an excellent complement to Canada Life’s current wealth platform.
He says the Winnipeg-based firm is smaller in scale than IPC, but Value Partners’ securities- and pools-based offering provides a different way for advisors to work with clients in their wealth relationships.
For Hugh Moncrieff, EVP, Advisory Network and Industry Affairs, the deal to snap up Value Partners doubles down on Canada Life’s preexisting strength as a challenger in the independent wealth space.
“Canada Life has a long history of working with independent advisors. We were already a formidable wealth player on the mutual fund side and seg fund side,” Moncrieff (above, right) says. “Our advisor population and Canadians are increasingly looking for a single platform where they can get end-to-end wealth solutions.”
He also emphasizes Canada’s changing regulatory environment, which includes the recent formation of a single self-regulatory organization for the investment industry. Against that backdrop, he says providing advisors with access to mutual fund offerings, as well as securities products and investment counselling, is critical.
“We're providing them with a future-proof spectrum of wealth offerings and advice capabilities,” Moncrieff says.
“For some advisors, it will make sense to transition their entire practice to an IIROC model. For other advisors, working on a referral basis will make sense,” Morin says. “With the addition of Value Partners, our advisors will be able to choose the model that better fits their practice and clients’ needs.”
What caught Canada Life’s eye about Value Partners, Moncrieff says, is its management team, reputation, and culture that includes a relentless focus on helping clients grow their wealth. After having been in business for nearly 20 years, Value Partners has grown into one of Canada’s fastest-growing private investment counselling firms.
“They have six investment counsellors that provide client advice through a shared service model with advisors,” Moncrieff says. “It’s through that capability that they provide the advisors confidence in speaking with higher-net-worth clients, which we think we can actually accelerate because we have hundreds of advisors who would benefit from a similar relationship.”
Along with its recently announced move to snap up IPC, Canada Life’s acquisition of Value Partners would take its platform to the $89-billion AUM level across more than 6,000 advisor relationships, making it a top three player in the space for independent advisors. That kind of scale, Morin says, is critical in allowing the iconic Canadian firm to provide value to all the advisors that work with it.
“Over time, as we continue to invest in our wealth platform, our investments in technology will benefit advisors from Canada Life, Value Partners, and IPC,” he says. “We’ll likely see some convergence, but we’re not going to force it into a big short-term transition.”
Similar to the IPC acquisition, Value Partners will continue to operate independently with its existing management team and employees. As Canada Life contemplates the different opportunities to integrate certain elements, Moncrieff says, it’s keeping in mind what’s right for advisors as well as their clients.
“I attended Value Partners’ recent annual general meeting – they had about 120 or so of their advisors and staff there – and the energy and the optimism in the room was palpable,” he says. “They're excited about the future with Canada Life as we are with them.
“We serve one in three Canadians through our workplace solutions, which is group life and health and pensions. We're an iconic leading life insurer,” Moncrieff says. “It's a natural extension to build on our wealth business.”
