Alain Desbiens has been recognized as one of Canada's top business developers and wholesalers by being listed in Wealth Professional Canada's Leading BDMs and Wholesalers report
• BMO AM is second in Canada for ETF assets and the market leader in net creations
• Over the past year, the firm has introduced 19 new ETFs
“As an asset management firm, you need to be able to offer a wide spectrum of solutions like ETFs, mutual funds, GICs and alternative products”
This year marks Alain Desbiens’ 25th anniversary in the investment industry, and he’s spent 15 of those years working as a wholesaler. Today, ETFs are his focus – BMO is second only to BlackRock when it comes to ETF assets and is the undisputed market leader in terms of net creations. Desbiens has played a key role in that growth since joining BMO seven years ago; he was also named Wholesaler of the Year at the 2015 Wealth Professional Awards.
This year has been no less busy for Desbiens – BMO has seen a host of new product launches over the past 12 months. “With the addition of 19 new ETFs, BMO AM now offers 90 listings,” Desbiens says. “Since launching its first ETFs in 2009, BMO AM has captured the most inflows in the Canadian ETF industry for six consecutive years. This year, BMO is still number one in net sales as of June 2017.”
One of the common criticisms of the Canadian mutual fund industry is that it is overpriced. As a wholesaler, Desbiens is aware of this reputation, but he believes the industry is responding in the right way. He points to BMO’s commitment to lower-cost ETFs, including developing courses on ETFs for the MFDA and authoring numerous white papers on the subject. “As an asset management firm, you need to be able to offer a wide spectrum of solutions like ETFs, mutual funds, GICs and alternative products, with different management styles – index, smart beta and active,” Desbiens says. “You need to have scope and expertise to be present and a leader in the Canadian financial industry.”
To truly be considered industry leaders, firms like BMO also need to drive innovation. “With advisors and portfolio managers, we are trying to help them become better digital advisors,” he says. “With our LinkedIn Guide, we helped thousands of advisors across Canada to be more visible with clients and prospects. With the BMO ETF Dashboard and Insight, we are reaching thousands of advisors in giving trade opportunities, updates and market insights.”
