TORONTO, Sept. 24, 2020 /CNW/ - CI Financial Corp.
("CI") (TSX: CIX) and Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. ("Assante"), a wholly owned
subsidiary of CI, announced today an agreement to acquire
a minority share in Assante's Dorval,
Quebec operation, Assante's
largest and fastest-growing regional centre.
Assante Dorval provides comprehensive, customized wealth
planning services to individuals, business owners and professionals
across the province of Quebec.
Located just west of Montreal, it is Assante's largest retail
presence in terms of assets under management ("AUM"), with 59
licensed financial advisors. It also serves
as Assante's Quebec regional corporate office.
"We are incredibly proud and gratified by the confidence
that CI and Assante have shown in our business with
this strategic investment," said Peter Pomponio, Managing
Director of Assante Quebec and owner of Assante Dorval. "It is
a testament to our strong partnership and an endorsement of
our shared entrepreneurial culture, which emphasizes
attracting and retaining top talent and putting the interests of
our clients first."
This is the first direct equity investment in a
regional or local operation for Assante, as these
offices are typically owned by an advisor or advisor
team. Assante Dorval, which has exhibited significant
growth in AUM in recent years, will continue with
its existing management team led by Mr. Pomponio and Chief
Financial Officer Nick Marando. They
will also continue their leadership role for Assante in the
province of Quebec.
"Large, growing, centrally located operations like Assante Dorval are essential to the continued
success of our wealth management business in Canada," said Sean Etherington, President
of Assante. "CI's investment in Assante
Dorval will support the business by strengthening the
platform for recruiting high-performing advisors, promoting
continued growth in the high-net-worth advisory segment and
allowing for long-term succession planning opportunities.
"Peter has built an industry-leading team of advisors at Dorval
and has been instrumental to the growth of both the Assante brand
and our regional presence in Quebec. I look forward to continue working
with them to build on this success."
For CI, the acquisition aligns with
a substantial ongoing investment
in both expanding and enhancing its wealth management
platform in the U.S. and Canada,
as this remains a key strategic area of growth for the
company.
"Since we rolled out our new corporate strategy late last year,
we've made incredible progress toward our priority of expanding our
wealth management platform," said Kurt
MacAlpine, Chief Executive Officer of CI. "In 2020 alone, CI
has added $26 billion in new advisor
assets across our wealth management business, and we have a
fantastic pipeline that should continue to position CI as the
fastest-growing platform in the key markets and segments we compete
in. Peter and the Dorval team have done an impressive job of
growing Assante's presence in Quebec and we're thrilled to be partnering
with them in a new capacity."
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and
is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2020.
CI has invested in nine U.S.-based registered investment advisor
("RIA") firms either directly or through affiliates this year,
bringing its U.S. wealth management assets to approximately
US$11.5 billion once all pending
transactions have closed (based on assets as of August 31, 2020). This makes CI one of the
U.S. wealth industry's fastest-growing RIA platforms. Last month,
CI also announced its intention to purchase a majority interest in
Aligned Capital Partners Inc. of Burlington, Ontario, a rapidly growing
Canadian full-service investment advisory firm with
approximately $10 billion in assets, which is the largest
wealth management acquisition in Canada in 2020.
About Assante Wealth Management
Founded in 1995,
Assante Wealth Management is one of Canada's largest firms providing wealth
management solutions. Assante's 900 professional advisors, located
in communities throughout the country, have approximately
$46 billion of Canadians' family wealth under their
care (as of August 31, 2020).
Assante is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX). For more
information, visit www.assante.com.
About CI Financial
CI Financial Corp. (TSX: CIX)
is an independent company offering global asset management and
wealth management advisory services. CI held approximately
$189 billion in fee-earning assets as
of August 31, 2020. CI's primary
asset management businesses are CI Investments Inc. and GSFM Pty
Ltd., and it operates in wealth management through Assante Wealth
Management (Canada) Ltd., CI
Private Counsel LP, WealthBar Financial Services Inc., CI
Investment Services (BBS Securities Inc.), The Cabana Group,
LLC, Balasa Dinverno Foltz, LLC,
Congress Wealth Management, One Capital Management, LLC and
Surevest LLC. Further information is available
at www.cifinancial.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements
concerning anticipated future events, results, circumstances,
performance or expectations with respect to CI Financial Corp.
("CI") and its products and services, including its business
operations, strategy and financial performance and condition.
Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such
as "believe", "expect", "foresee", "forecast", "anticipate",
"intend", "estimate", "goal", "plan" and "project" and similar
references to future periods, or conditional verbs such as "will",
"may", "should", "could" or "would". These statements are not
historical facts but instead represent management beliefs regarding
future events, many of which by their nature are inherently
uncertain and beyond management's control. Although
management believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions,
such statements involve risks and uncertainties. The material
factors and assumptions applied in reaching the conclusions
contained in these forward-looking statements include that the
investment fund industry will remain stable and that interest rates
will remain relatively stable. Factors that could cause
actual results to differ materially from expectations include,
among other things, general economic and market conditions,
including interest and foreign exchange rates, global financial
markets, changes in government regulations or in tax laws, industry
competition, technological developments and other factors described
or discussed in CI's disclosure materials filed with applicable
securities regulatory authorities from time to time. The foregoing
list is not exhaustive and the reader is cautioned to consider
these and other factors carefully and not to place undue reliance
on forward-looking statements. Other than as specifically required
by applicable law, CI undertakes no obligation to update or alter
any forward-looking statement after the date on which it is made,
whether to reflect new information, future events or
otherwise.
SOURCE CI Financial Corp.
