A subsidiary of IGM Financial, part of Power Corporation's group of companies, IG Wealth Management has introduced fixed compensation within its distribution network through a platform that advisors may choose to join.
The organization is also actively recruiting new advisors. “Can we offer a fixed salary with a variable component to a group of young advisors equipped with the technology to perform basic analyses for simpler client needs? We started testing this, and it’s working,” said Carl Thibault, Senior Vice-President, Sales and Distribution at IG Wealth Management, during a panel at the Individual Insurance Conference on November 13, 2024, in Montreal.
In an exclusive interview with Insurance Portal for this article, he revealed that 160 advisors have joined IG Wealth Management’s fixed compensation platform.
Now two groups
Since its launch as a pilot project just under three years ago, the platform has evolved into two distinct groups of advisors, Thibault adds. He aims to grow this cohort to over 300 advisors within three years.
The first group consists of advisors dedicated to clients with simpler needs, he explains. These advisors can collaborate to meet the diverse needs of a single client.
In the second group, advisors serve clients with more complex needs, such as business owners requiring estate and tax planning. Thibault notes that each of these advisors is assigned clients on an exclusive basis.
In both compensation platform groups, the advisor is a salaried employee of IG Wealth Management and may receive a performance bonus if certain targets are met, Thibault explains. He declined to specify the salary range but said it is competitive with what banks offer their in-house advisors.
Multidisciplinary approach
Thibault specifies that advisors on the platform serve clients in individual insurance, investment funds, and mortgage lending, and also act as financial planners.
Advisors who join the platform are assigned a portfolio of investment fund clients. The compensation they receive from individual insurance sales forms part of the variable component of their pay. Thibault also limits the number of clients per advisor in order “to ensure an adequate level of service.”
The role of advisors in the second group is more complex, Thibault notes. “In addition to the needs covered by both groups, the second-group advisors will manage all aspects of the client’s financial planning, supported by available tools.” He adds that these advisors will serve clients with higher investable assets than those in the first group.
All IG Wealth Management advisors have access to tools such as Conquest Planning for financial planning, Life Design Analysis for insurance, and benefit from a digital mortgage lending partnership with Nesto, signed by IGM Financial in December 2022.
In a strategic interview with Insurance Portal in September 2024, Stéphane Dulude, then Vice-President of Business Development for Quebec and the Maritimes at IG Wealth Management, said that nearly all of the firm’s advisors are dual-licensed.
He stated that every IG Wealth Management advisor must hold the financial planner designation and be licensed in life insurance and either as a securities representative or mutual fund dealer representative. “It has become a corporate requirement,” Dulude added.
In individual insurance, IG Wealth Management has distribution agreements with Canada Life, iA Financial Group, Manulife, Sun Life, and RBC Insurance. Carl Thibault anticipates a sixth insurer will be added but told Insurance Portal it is too early to reveal the name.
Thibault also emphasized that advisor compensation will be the same regardless of the insurer chosen.
Recruitment, referrals, and succession
Fixed-income advisor bonuses account for 10 per cent of their total compensation.
– Carl Thibault
In addition to attracting experienced advisors drawn by the prospect of a fixed salary, IG Wealth Management offers internships to recruit younger advisors to its platform, he sayss
“The bonus for fixed-income advisors accounts for 10 per cent of their total compensation,” reveals Thibault. He describes it as a “modest bonus” and explains why: “Fixed-income advisors don’t need to put as much effort into business development, since they receive internal referrals.” He notes that bonuses may be higher for advisors in the second group than for those in the first.
He gives the example of an IG financial planner with a diverse client base who, over time, has specialized in working with entrepreneurs. While the advisor wants to continue serving all clients, time constraints may be a concern. Thibault says such an advisor could transfer clients with less complex needs to a salaried advisor “to match them with the right type of advisor.” “One size doesn’t fit all,” he adds.
First-group advisor teams welcome new recruits who learn from former interns. These teams typically serve clients with lower investable assets than those in the second group, Thibault notes.
Why would experienced advisors with their own clients and the ability to manage complex situations want a salaried position? “These are advisors who can handle a certain level of complexity and want to have their own clients but may not be as strong in business development,” says Thibault. They are “advisors who love taking care of their clients, completing their financial plans, and analyzing their insurance needs.”
At the same time, younger advisors learn the profession and can become the successors to existing advisors, Thibault says. “It’s a great training ground.” The ultimate goal of the platform is to align service complexity with the appropriate type of advisor and to create an opportunity window for the next generation, he says.
