Charles Bendaly 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
• Earlier this year, Manulife became latest entrant in the Canadian ETF market
• Manulife partnered with US-based firm Dimensional Fund Advisors for its multi-factor ETFs
“The relationships and conversations with advisors have been geared more toward providing true value through education”
Like many of the wholesalers featured here, Charles Bendaly has noticed a shift in his interactions with advisors over the years. “The relationships and conversations have been geared more toward providing true value through education and not so much toward, ‘What is your best product?’” he says. “We’re providing our clients – more than ever – with market outlooks and themes, asset allocation recommendations, practice management, and strategies and ideas that deal with wealth transfer and retirement. From there, we’re able to tailor the right solution for the end client.”
Earlier this year, Manulife became the latest asset manager to enter the ETF space in Canada, and it put a lot of thought into developing unique products. “We’ve been very strategic in our product launches – we don’t want to just follow fads,” Bendaly says. “We searched long and hard before we made the decision to launch our multifactor ETFs, partnering with US-based firm Dimensional Fund Advisors. DFA is a differentiator with a unique team and a very attractive story.”
Manulife is also branching out into alternatives in response to an increasing desire for diversification from investors of all levels. “We have an alternative solution managed by Standard Life called Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) on our platform,” Bendaly says. “There’s a growing demand for alternative solutions that have traditionally been earmarked for high-net-worth individuals and pension plans, but are now available to the retail investor.”
While asset management will continue to evolve, investors will continue to seek out fund managers who can consistently provide solid returns. “I believe the products that will be brought to market may look different, but on the money management side of things, it will stay the same,” Bendaly says. “As long as we continue to have market cycles, the need and the value of asset managers to provide upside participation – and, more importantly, capital preservation and downside protection – isn’t going anywhere.”
