The Insurance Journal looks back at 10 major transactions that occurred over the last 12 months.
iA acquires an MGA
iA Financial Group acquired PPI Management, one of the largest managing general agencies supporting independent advisors in Canada. iA stated it is committed to preserving the independence of PPI as a marketing organization representing and promoting the products of all major Canadian insurers.
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iA Financial Group acquires PPI
Knowledge First Financial becomes the largest RESP provider in Canada
Knowledge First Financial announced Jan. 3 that it acquired Heritage Education Funds. The deal created the largest RESP provider in Canada with approximately $6.2 billion in assets under management.
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Knowledge First Financial to acquire Heritage Education Funds
An American company acquired an Ottawa-based group benefits broker
NFP, a U.S. insurance broker, announced Feb. 5 its acquisition of Ottawa-based Capital Benefit Financial Group. The transaction closed on Dec. 14, 2017.
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NFP acquires Capital Benefit Financial Group
An MGA acquires another MGA
Managing General Agency Financial Horizons Group acquired ABEX Central Financial Services, an MGA based in Barrie, Ontario. In an announcement issued Feb. 1, John Hamilton, founder and CEO of Financial Horizons, stated that the acquisition is “another step in the strategic growth” of the company. “
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Equisoft buys a digital provider
Equisoft, a provider of digital business solutions for the insurance and wealth industries, announced April 11 its acquisition of Kronos Technologies, a company that develops web and mobile applications for the investment and insurance sectors.
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Equisoft acquires Kronos Technologies
The APRIL group enters the benefits market
The APRIL group announced April 23 its acquisition of Benecaid, a Toronto-based managing general underwriter and third party administrator specializing in group health insurance for SMEs.
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Scotiabank acquired a leading independent investment firm
Scotiabank announced May 1 the completion of its acquisition of Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited, a leading independent investment firm.
Jarislowsky Fraser brought approximately $40 billion in assets under management to Scotiabank's Canadian Asset Management business.
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Scotiabank announces completion of Jarislowsky Fraser acquisition
Dialogue expanded its virtual healthcare platform
Dialogue Technologies, a virtual healthcare platform, acquired DXA, a company that has developed an AI-driven medical technology platform. In a Nov. 9 announcement, Dialogue stated that the acquisition will enable it to improve the efficiency of its services and explore partnership opportunities with healthcare providers and insurers.
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Dialogue Technologies acquires DXA
CI Financial acquires digital advice platform
CI Financial Corp. announced Dec. 14 that it has acquired a majority stake in WealthBar, an online wealth management and financial planning platform. The aim of this acquisition is to accelerate the development of CI's digital strategy,
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CI Financial acquires Wealthbar
Hub pursues its acquisition strategy
Hub International made more than 20 acquisitions in Canada during 2018. Hub completed a total of 50 acquisitions internationally. Many of the Canadian acquisitions were in the employee benefits space. During the year, the company announced its corporate strategy “to aggressively assemble best-in-class capabilities and entrepreneurial talent across Canada to develop a complete employee benefits solution.”
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Hub International acquires Pointbreak Consulting Group
Hub International acquires GMS Insurance
Hub International acquires The Benefits Company
Hub International acquires ES3 Advisory
Hub International acquires The dElta Group
Hub International purchases two more brokerages and announces employee benefits platform strategy
Hub International acquires Independent Financial Concepts Group
Hub International acquires Benefit Broker Services Inc.
Hub International acquires Blackstone Insurance
Hub International buys Clearwater Insurance
