- Acquisition of Value Partners and its companies accelerates
Canada Life's efforts in building a leading wealth management
platform for independent advisors
- Value Partners adds complementary products and capabilities to
help advisors serve their clients and grow their business.
- The addition of Value Partners will help enable a full spectrum
of personalized wealth solutions, equipping independent advisors to
support changing client wealth needs.
- Over time, Canada Life will bring together the full range of
wealth products and services so that advisors can evolve their
practices to meet the changing needs of their clients.
WINNIPEG, MB, June 13,
2023 /CNW/ - The Canada Life Assurance Company
(Canada Life), a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc.
(Lifeco), has reached an agreement to acquire Value Partners Group
Inc. (Value Partners), a fast-growing Winnipeg-based investment firm known for its
positive impact in serving clients with complex and sophisticated
wealth needs. Value Partners includes Value Partners Investment
Counsel, Value Partners Investments and LP Financial Planning
Services.
"This acquisition is another step in our efforts to build a
leading wealth management platform for independent advisors and
their clients in Canada," said
Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada Life.
"Value Partners is an excellent complement to our existing wealth
business, adding capabilities that will accelerate our
strategy."
"We started Value Partners to improve the lives of families
across Canada by partnering with
the best advisors and investing in the best businesses. Today, our
clients have $1.45 billion more than
they initially invested," said Gregg
Filmon, President, Value Partners. "Together with Canada
Life's world class insurance and investment products and
exceptional advisors, we're going to help far more Canadians build
their wealth."
Value Partners will continue to operate independently, with its
existing management team and employees. Over time, Canada Life
will bring together the full range of wealth products, services and
support so that advisors can evolve their practices.
"The addition of Value Partners builds on our existing
foundation and our recently announced agreement to acquire
Investment Planning Counsel," said Fabrice
Morin, EVP, Individual Wealth and Insurance Solutions,
Canada Life. "Value Partners Investment Counsel Portfolio
Management platform will further extend our wealth capabilities and
provide advisors with leading discretionary asset management
solutions and services through a dedicated team of private
investment counselors. It's another way for advisors to grow their
practice and meet their clients' changing needs."
"We know that Canadians who work with an advisor are better off.
That's why we're continuing to invest in advice-centered solutions
and the capabilities to enable advisors to serve their clients,"
said Hugh Moncrieff, EVP, Advisory
Network and Industry Affairs, Canada Life. "Value Partners enables
us to support more advisors with a full spectrum of personalized
wealth solutions and capabilities."
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2023 and is
subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory
approvals (including from the Toronto Stock Exchange). The
acquisition will be financed with existing resources and isn't
expected to have a material impact on Canada Life's financial
position.
Value Partners will add to Canada Life's position as one of the
largest non-bank wealth providers in Canada1 – resulting in more than
4,000 advisor relationships and $89
billion in assets under administration after closing the
acquisition2.
The Manitoba Securities Commission and the Ontario Securities
Commission issued a decision document on April 19, 2023 granting Lifeco exemptive relief
from the formal take-over bid requirements of applicable securities
laws in certain provinces of Canada. A copy of the decision is expected to
be posted on the website of the Manitoba Securities Commission at
www.mbsecurities.ca.
About Great-West Lifeco Inc.
Great-West Lifeco
is an international financial services holding company with
interests in life insurance, health insurance, retirement and
investment services, asset management and reinsurance businesses.
We operate in Canada, the United States and Europe under the brands Canada Life, Empower,
Putnam Investments, and Irish
Life. At the end of 2022, our companies had
approximately 31,000 employees, 234,500 advisor relationships, and
thousands of distribution partners – all serving our more than 38
million client relationships across these regions. Great-West
Lifeco trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the ticker
symbol GWO and is a member of the Power Corporation of Canada group of companies. Learn more by
visiting greatwestlifeco.com.
About The Canada Life Assurance Company
The Canada
Life Assurance Company is an international company providing
insurance, wealth management, and healthcare benefit products and
services in Canada, the
United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Germany, and in Ireland through Irish
Life. Canada Life also provides reinsurance products, though
Canada Life Reinsurance, primarily in the U.S., Barbados, Bermuda and Ireland.
We are an industry leader providing Canadians options for
personal insurance solutions, including life, health and dental,
disability, critical illness, and creditor insurance. As a leading
provider of group workplace benefit plans, we help employers and
associations provide valuable benefits to their employees and
members. In addition, Canada Life offers investment, retirement and
wealth management solutions including annuities and segregated
funds.
For 175 years, individuals, families and business owners across
Canada have trusted us to provide
sound guidance and deliver on the promises we've made. We proudly
serve more than 12 million customer relationships from coast to
coast to coast.
Canada Life is a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc. and a
member of the Power Corporation of Canada group of companies.
About Value Partners Group Inc.
Value Partners Group
Inc. is an investment firm dedicated to improving the lives of its
clients by investing wisely. Since its inception, Value Partners
has grown the collective wealth of their clients by more than
$1.45 billion* - but more
importantly, has helped Canadians achieve their financial goals and
retire comfortably without the need to worry about money.
*Wealth created figure in CAD as of June
8, 2023. Source: Value Partners Investments.
Cautionary note regarding Forward-Looking Information
This release may contain forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information includes statements that are predictive
in nature, depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or
include words such as "will", "may", "expects", "anticipates",
"intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", "objective", "target",
"potential", "pro forma" and other similar expressions or negative
versions thereof. These statements include, without limitation,
statements about: the timing and completion, cost and expected
benefits and performance (including impact on clients, advisors,
strategy execution, client solutions, assets under administration
(AUA) and assets under management (AUM), synergies, and
integration, as well as the timing thereof in each case) of the
proposed acquisition of Value Partners and sources, amounts and
timing of funding therefor, and otherwise concerning Great-West
Lifeco ("Lifeco", or the "Company") and the operations, business,
financial condition, expected financial performance, ongoing
business strategies or prospects and possible future actions of the
Company, Canada Life and Value Partners.
Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, forecasts,
estimates, predictions, projections and conclusions about future
events that were current at the time of the statements and are
inherently subject to, among other things, risks, uncertainties and
assumptions about the Company, economic factors and the financial
services industry generally, including the insurance, mutual fund
and wealth industries. This information has been provided to the
reader to give an indication of the Company's current expectations
concerning the impact of the Value Partners acquisition and such
statements may not be suitable for other purposes. They are not
guarantees of future performance, and the reader is cautioned that
actual events and results could differ materially from those
expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Many of these
assumptions are based on factors and events that are not within the
control of the Company and there is no assurance that they will
prove to be correct. Whether or not actual results differ from
forward-looking information may depend on numerous factors,
developments and assumptions, including, without limitation, the
severity, magnitude and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (including
the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of
governments' and other businesses' responses to the COVID-19
pandemic on the economy and the Company's financial results,
financial condition and operations), the duration of COVID-19
impacts and the availability and adoption of vaccines, the
effectiveness of vaccines, the emergence of COVID-19 variants,
geopolitical tensions and related economic impacts, achievement or
waiver of conditions to closing of the acquisition of Value
Partners, assumptions around sales, fee rates, asset breakdowns,
redemptions and market returns as well as the ability to integrate
the Value Partners acquisition, leverage and achieve anticipated
synergies, and client and advisor behaviour, Lifeco's, Canada
Life's and Value Partners' reputation, market prices for
products provided, sales levels, fee income, expense levels, taxes,
inflation, interest, global equity and capital markets (including
continued access to equity and debt markets), industry sector
financial conditions (including developments and volatility arising
from the COVID-19 pandemic), business competition, impairments of
goodwill and other intangible assets, the Company's ability to
execute strategic plans and changes to strategic plans,
technological changes, breaches or failure of information systems
and security (including cyber attacks), changes in local and
international laws and regulations, changes in accounting policies
and the effect of applying future accounting policy changes,
changes in actuarial standards, unexpected judicial or regulatory
proceedings, catastrophic events, continuity and availability of
personnel and third party service providers, the Company's ability
to complete strategic transactions and integrate acquisitions,
unplanned material changes to the Company's facilities, customer
and employee relations or credit arrangements, levels of
administrative and operational efficiencies, changes in trade
organizations, and other general economic, political and market
factors in Canada and
internationally.
The reader is cautioned that the foregoing list of assumptions
and factors is not exhaustive, and there may be other factors
listed in filings with securities regulators, including factors set
out in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the
year ended December 31, 2022 ("2022
Annual MD&A") under "Risk Management and Control Practices" and
"Summary of Critical Accounting Estimates" and in the Company's
annual information form dated February 8,
2023 under "Risk Factors", which, along with other filings,
are available for review at www.sedar.com. The reader is also
cautioned to consider these and other factors, uncertainties and
potential events carefully and not to place undue reliance on
forward-looking information. Other than as specifically required by
applicable law, the Company does not intend to update any
forward-looking information whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
________________________________________
|
1 Based on
assets under management (AUM) in the case of Segregated Funds and
otherwise assets under administration (AUA).
|
2 Includes
assets to be acquired pursuant to Canada Life's proposed
acquisition of Investment Planning Counsel. Assets under
administration (AUA) is a non-GAAP financial measure. Additional
information on this measure is incorporated by reference and can be
found under "Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Ratios" in Canada
Life's 2022 Annual MD&A and can be accessed on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
|
SOURCE The Canada Life Assurance Company