Canada Life announced its plan to acquire a local investment firm Tuesday, furthering its goal of expanding in the wealth management sector.
The international company, which offers insurance and healthcare benefits, has headquarters in Winnipeg. It plans to acquire Value Partners Group, a Winnipeg-based investment firm with $4.1 billion in assets under management.
The news comes just two months after Canada Life’s $575 million acquisition of Investment Planning Counsel, a wealth management firm from sister company IGM Financial.
Canada Life announced its plan to acquire a local investment firm Tuesday, furthering its goal of expanding in the wealth management sector.
The Value Partners transaction is expected to close by year end. Once it does, Canada Life’s assets under management will reach $89 billion.
“We’ve been looking at Value Partners for some time,” said Hugh Moncrieff, Canada Life’s executive vice-president of advisory network and industry affairs. “It’s… a very fast-growing company.
“We think that by aligning it with our Canada Life platform, we can accelerate it even further.”
Value Partners began in 2005 and has been recognized as one of Canada’s fastest-growing investment firms for five years in a row — from 2015 through 2020 — by Profit Magazine.
The average private client with a Value Partners account has a net worth of $1.3 million. The company has around 17,000 clients and 29,000 accounts across Canada.
“This is all about the quality of their company, quality of their management team,” Moncrieff said. “We’re going to invest in the company to grow it.”
Canada Life would not disclose how much it’s spending on the Value Partners acquisition, but Fabrice Morin, the company’s executive vice-president of individual wealth and insurance solutions, hinted it was less than the Investment Planning Counsel deal.
IPC had about $31 billion in assets under management, more than seven times that of Value Partners.
“I don’t want to minimize the importance of Value Partners. Value Partners really brings us… more capabilities,” Morin said.
The proposed acquisition will not lead to job losses, Morin and Moncrieff stated.
Canada Life is paying for the acquisition using existing funds. Value Partners will operate independently before Canada Life brings the platforms closer together concerning technology and support for advisors and clients, Moncrieff said.
“(We) didn’t have to get together. We chose to get together because we believe the two businesses are stronger together,” said Gregg Filmon, president of Value Partners.
Value Partners brings energy, innovation and high net worth clients. Canada Life offers new products and 4,000 advisors to introduce clients to Value Partners, among other things, Filmon said.
He called it a “really positive” deal for the city, having two Winnipeg-based businesses connect.
“(Canada Life wants) to be the best wealth management company in Canada — they’re in it for the long haul,” he added.
Value Partners will continue to focus on growing its high-net-worth client base. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Canada Life doesn’t expect the purchase will have a material impact on its financial position.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
