SFL Partner of Desjardins Financial Security announced at the end of 2017 that the number of its centres in Quebec would go from 16 to 7. In other provinces, the reorganization of the Desjardins Financial Security Independent Network (DFSIN) will see the number of centres decreased from 21 to 8, The Insurance and Investment Journal has learned.
Greater Toronto area
In Ontario, DFSIN will reduce the number of centres from 15 to 5. The seven centres in the Greater Toronto Area will now become two centres. Markham, Mississauga, North Toronto and Richmond Hill will form one centre. Brampton, Rexdale and Toronto North West will form the second.
One centre will be created in central Ontario, by combining the centres in Barrie, Don Valley, Ontario Central Region and Vaughan Central. Another centre will be formed for the South West, combining the centres of Essex Kent, London and Southwestern Ontario. Meanwhile, the DFSIN centre in Ottawa will be combined with the SFL centre in the Outaouais region of Quebec.
The DFSIN centre in Alberta will remain the same. British-Columbia’s Richmond South and Victoria centres will be merged into one. In the Atlantic provinces, the DFSIN centres of Charlottetown, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland will also form one centre.
Desjardins has not yet announced who will be the owners of the centres outside of Quebec. “The individuals from those centres are reflecting on the changes,” said Michael Rogers, vice-president of sales and distribution for Desjardins Insurance, in an interview with The Insurance and Investment Journal.
Quebec reorganization
As for the restructuring in Quebec, Rogers says Desjardins has aimed to centralize services where they are most required.
The new centres and their respective owners are the following:
- Agence Labelle (Laval) — Jean-Yves St-Pierre
- Cité de Montcalm and Deux Rives — Michel Landry
- Cuivre et Or (Val d’Or), des Sources et Laval-Laurentides — Alain Legault
- Du Fjord, du Littoral and New Brunswick — Frédéric Deschamps
- De la St-François, Iberville-Champlain and De la Montérégie — Sylvain Trottier
- Montreal-Metro, Old-Montreal and Westmount — Alain Descheneaux
- Ottawa and Outaouais (DFSIN Centre in Ottawa, and SFL in Gatineau) — David Feldberg (pending)
Most offices remain
The Insurance and Investment Journal has also learned that the majority of the offices from the previous centres will remain in place.
Decisions on whether to keep an office open will depend on the needs of the advisors, says Rogers. If advisors need a regional office, it will remain in place, he affirms.
He added that the reorganization of the centres was not decided based on the lack of profitability of one centre over another. “We want to make a change towards growth. Consumers would like to see greater transparency. The Internet will force us to evolve as an industry. Consumers expect a certain level of service where and when they need it. We want to position ourselves to serve clients in the way they want to be served.’’
