June 13, the Canada Life Assurance Company announced that it had acquired Value Partners Investment Counsel, Value Partners Investments and LP Financial Planning Services, together known as Value Partners Group Inc.
Shortly after, Canada Life’s executive vice presidents of advisory network and industry affairs and individual wealth and insurance solutions, Hugh Moncrieff and Fabrice Morin sat down with the Insurance Portal to discuss the company’s plans for Value Partners, and for the Investment Planning Counsel Inc. (IPC) acquisition, which it announced in early April. Following the close of both acquisitions, expected later this year, Canada Life is expected to have more than $89 billion in assets under administration.
In the IPC case, Canada Life will acquire IPC for a total cash consideration of $575 million. The purchase price paid to Value’s founders and shareholders was not made public. Morin says the firm was a tactical acquisition rather than a transformational one. “It’s really about the capabilities that we’re acquiring,” he adds. “It’s not an acquisition that has a material financial impact at our global lifeco financial group level.”
Another step
Value Partners is a Winnipeg, Manitoba-based investment firm known for complex and sophisticated wealth planning. In the announcement, Jeff Macoun, president and CEO of Canada Life said the acquisition was another step in the company’s efforts to build a leading wealth management platform for independent advisors—a sentiment echoed by Moncrieff and Morin.
“Value Partners is an excellent complement to our wealth business,” Morin says. “It brings new capabilities, especially as it relates to investment counselling, which really rounds out our wealth management platform.”
Canada Life singled out the firm for its proven track record of significant growth and serving clients in the high-net-worth space, along with the management team’s quality — “exceptional leaders all of whom will be leading the company going forward,” Moncrieff says.
As for future acquisitions, the EVPs says the company is always looking at the market, but generally feels at the moment that it is now comfortable with the business as it is following the two acquisitions. Focus going forward will be on organic growth.
“We already have an extremely strong and deep presence in the independent advice business in Canada. Our existing Canada Life associated advisors see this very much as a positive investment in the future of their practices and our commitment to wealth,” says Moncrieff. As for the acquired firms, he says “they see us as great owners—we bring capital, we bring scale and very much a partnership mindset. They see the relationship as enabling their growth plans with velocity.”
Powerful brands
Those growth plans remain intact under Canada Life’s ownership, as well. “These are successful companies. They have powerful brands. They have good reputations and they have plans that they are achieving. So initially, it’s (going to be) very much business as usual,” Moncrieff says. “Over time we’re going to look at different components of the business that perhaps can converge for the right reasons.”
Answering the question about independence for the firms and the advisors working with them, Moncrieff says the acquisition is not about tilting products one way or another. “Canada Life works with advisors and we have for decades,” he says. “Advisors provide the advice and the solutions which they believe are in the best interest of the client.” He adds that the company believes firmly in the power of independent advice.
“These recent acquisitions demonstrate a commitment to create one of the largest independent wealth management platforms in Canada and help advisors grow their businesses and serve their clients. We’re excited about moving forward with these new partners.”