Equisoft, a provider of digital solutions for the life insurance, investment fund, asset management, and pension plan sectors, has just opened its shareholding structure to Walter Global Asset Management (Walter GAM), a private investment firm.
Walter GAM thus becomes Equisoft’s fourth minority shareholder; founder and CEO Luis Romero remains the controlling shareholder, holding more than 50% of the shares. Equisoft’s other three minority shareholders are Export Development Canada (EDC), Fondaction, and Investissement Québec.
Quebec’s Enterprise Register does not provide a complete picture of shareholder stakes under the name Equisoft Inc.; Walter GAM and Investissement Québec do not appear in the listing. The register does not specify the exact stakes held by the listed shareholders, stating only that Luis Romero is the principal shareholder and that the others are minority shareholders.
Well-defined growth drivers
This marks the 16th investment for the firm, where Sylvain Brosseau serves as CEO and founding partner. Brosseau sits on Equisoft’s board of directors.
In the September 2 press release announcing the transaction, Brosseau stated that Equisoft is the type of company Walter GAM seeks to partner with: "an established platform with global reach, an experienced management team, and well-defined growth drivers."
Launched in 2019, Walter GAM says it provides growth capital and strategic expertise to high-potential asset managers. Its website notes a focus on partnerships, innovation, and sustainable growth. Based in Westmount, Quebec, Walter GAM is part of Walter Capital Management, which is listed in Quebec’s Enterprise Register as its majority shareholder. Walter Capital Management states that it offers diversified investment solutions across public and private markets.
“We were looking for a partner who could act with agility and who shares our values,” stated Luis Romero of Equisoft in the press release.
Long-term partner
Why choose Walter GAM? In an exclusive interview with the Insurance Portal, Romero explained that Walter GAM is committed "to a long-term vision of strategic development." The Equisoft CEO cited the example of Innocap, a specialist in dedicated managed accounts—a vehicle sought after by institutions wishing to access alternative investments. Walter GAM’s website indicates that Innocap has been part of its portfolio since February 2022.
Luis Romero added that acquiring a stake in Equisoft allows Walter GAM to further diversify, marking its first investment in the insurance sector. Amélie Plante, a media relations representative for Walter GAM who was present at the interview, confirmed this. She noted that the private investor focuses its investments on asset managers and the companies that provide services to them.
Brosseau’s presence on Equisoft’s board also facilitated the partnership with Walter GAM. "We have a very long-standing relationship with Sylvain, who served on our first board of directors back in 2004," recounted Luis Romero. However, Equisoft’s founder declined to disclose the amount of the investment made by Walter GAM.
Diversified revenue and geographic footprint
Founded in Montreal in 1994, Equisoft has experienced significant global expansion. After starting out with annual revenue of $30,000, the company projects revenue of $200 million by 2026, according to Luis Romero.
Equisoft now employs a workforce of approximately 850 people spread across North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The company generates about 25% of its revenue in Canada, 35% in the United States, and 40% elsewhere.
Romero notes that Equisoft derives 70% of its revenue from life insurance—primarily individual—though he emphasizes that "group insurance is playing an increasingly important role." The remaining 30% of revenue comes from the investment and pension fund sectors. He states that operations in this area are concentrated in the UK, where "nearly 120 financial institutions use one or more of our solutions."
Equisoft’s founder observes that recurring revenue accounts for an increasingly significant share of the company's total revenue. He states that Equisoft has nearly 400 corporate clients worldwide. He adds that approximately 20,000 financial advisors in Canada use the company’s products. Among its best-known offerings are Equisoft/connect, a client management software, and Equisoft/centralize, an agency management software.
A thirst for modernization…
Luis Romero believes the investment from Walter GAM will enable the company to accelerate its research and development (R&D). At the same time, he outlined his ambitions in this area: to become the "Guidewire" of the global life insurance industry. Guidewire Software Inc.’s digital platform dominates the property and casualty insurance sector.
The insurance market is hungry for modernization – Luis Romero
"We have made major investments in R&D over the past eight years. The insurance market is hungry for modernization," he emphasizes. Luis Romero says he is banking on artificial intelligence (AI).
Romero views AI as a major and promising transformation for Equisoft. "For us, AI represents an opportunity—especially in the insurance industry, which has been slow to undergo its digital transformation," he says.
He does not share concerns that AI investment is losing steam. He points to the growth trajectory that has favored the software-as-a-service (SaaS) industry over the semiconductor chip industry for several years as evidence.
A chart presented by Yahoo Finance on August 25, 2026, in an article entitled Software is crushing chips by a record margin: Chart of the Day, reveals a stark gap between two U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs), each investing in one of these two technology sectors. According to the article, the gap reached nearly 50 percentage points as of August 18, 2026. The curve shows that the SPDR S&P Software & Services (XSW) rose by 24.1%, while the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) fell by 24.0%. The article reports that this is the widest gap observed between these two ETFs since 2011. These are equal-weighted indices, meaning each company included in the index carries the same weight, regardless of its size.
According to Luis Romero, Equisoft is leading the pack in integrating AI into its software. "It helps us develop our software much faster and more efficiently. Several of our solutions offer artificial intelligence to our users. Few others do," he maintains.
As an AI-based solution, Romero notes that he offers, among other things, an agentic platform that allows for the creation and control of AI agents. He reports great success with this platform, which helps insurers automate their underwriting and claims processes.
Romero also points out that data migration is a more critical issue in life and health insurance than in property and casualty insurance, given the longer duration of the policies. On its website, Equisoft states that its Universal Conversion Technologies (UCT) data migration and conversion solution boasts a 99.9% accuracy rate.
Acquisitions
Luis Romero has already acquired digital providers and says he believes he can accelerate Equisoft’s expansion thanks to the investment from Walter GAM. Romero is targeting companies based in regions where Equisoft does not yet have a presence. "We want to develop new markets, since we have created several solutions that are now ready for commercialization," he says.
