October 21, 2024

Enhancing the advisor advantage with unique investment solutions

Jon Kilfoyle, President of Independent Advisor Solutions, speaks with Globe Advisor about how Wellington-Altus empowers advisors to simplify and scale their practices with the launch of Independent Advisor Solutions.

Using investment solutions as an advisor recruitment tool

Written by: Mark Burgess

Published on October 18, 2024 in the Globe Advisor

Download this article as a PDF.

As firms compete for advisors, investment solutions are among the time-saving lures they’re dangling. Wellington-Altus Financial Inc. added fresh bait this month with the official launch of subsidiary Independent Advisor Solutions.

“We see more advisors slowly migrating away from the day-to-day grind of investment management and move toward more of this full wealth manager type of approach,” says Jon Kilfoyle, president of Independent Advisor Solutions and executive vice-president, investment solutions, at Wellington-Altus.

Independent Advisor Solutions has three planks: MiMODEL, a subadvisory service that provides multi-asset portfolios; MiBLOX, a suite of five actively managed investment funds subadvised by BlackRock, Inc.; and MiFUND, bespoke investment funds advisors can offer clients.

The model portfolios build on a platform Wellington-Altus has had since 2017 aimed at advisors who prefer to focus on planning and relationship-building, Mr. Kilfoyle says. He points to the success of model portfolios south of the border and expects more advisors in Canada to shift their focus in a similar way.

The MiBLOX options include five BlackRock funds not offered elsewhere in Canada for global equities, global fixed income, liquid alternatives, tactical asset allocation and a balanced multi-asset fund.

While those funds are also available within the model portfolios, Mr. Kilfoyle says the firm wanted to offer them more broadly. The funds are targeted at advisors who build their own model portfolios for clients but may want a solution for a specific allocation, such as liquid alternatives.

The funds launched officially at the end of August and have almost $1-billion across the five mandates, Mr. Kilfoyle says.

The third plank, the custom funds, is aimed at portfolio managers who want to make their approach available to a broader range of clients and prospects – using their personal brand. Independent Advisor Solutions will manufacture the funds and the firm’s co-chief investment officers will work with advisors to create an investment policy statement and develop the vehicles.

“We’re just starting to have conversations with those portfolio managers in our network who have expressed interest,” Mr. Kilfoyle says.

The Independent Advisor Solutions options are only available to Wellington-Altus advisors.

“We reserve the right to do things differently in the future,” he says, “but our current view is this is highly attractive to people who join Wellington-Altus – an advantage that our advisors have.”

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/globe-advisor/advisor-news/article-using-investment-solutions-as-an-advisor-recruitment-tool

© Copyright 2024 The Globe and Mail Inc. All Rights Reserved. globeandmail.com and The Globe and Mail are divisions of The Globe and Mail Inc., The Globe and Mail Centre 351 King Street East, Suite 1600 Toronto, ON M5A 0N19 Andrew Saunders, President and CEO

Independent Advisor Solutions Expands Partnership with Goldman Sachs Asset Management to Launch International Active Equities MiBLOX

Independent Advisor Solutions (“iAS”) today announced an expansion of its strategic partnership with Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”) with the launch of International Active Equities, an institutional-grade international equity strategy available exclusively to Canadian advisors through iAS. The strategy strengthens the MiBLOX platform, which provides purpose-built, manager-designed building blocks for modern portfolio construction.

Independent Advisor Solutions Expands Partnership with Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Launching Global Equity Market Neutral

Independent Advisor Solutions (“iAS”) is excited to announce the launch of Global Equity Market Neutral (“GEMN”, pronounced “Gem”), the latest addition to its acclaimed MiBLOX suite. This launch marks a significant expansion of iAS’s strategic partnership with Goldman Sachs Asset Management (“GSAM”), offering Canadian investors exclusive access to a sophisticated, globally diversified, market-neutral investment strategy.

Independent Advisor Solutions Launches Canadian Corporate Bond Plus in Expanded Partnership with Fiera Capital

Independent Advisor Solutions today announced the launch of Canadian Corporate Bond Plus (“CCBP”) and the deepening of its strategic partnership with Fiera Capital Corporation (“Fiera”), one of Canada’s leading independent asset managers.

Independent Advisor Solutions Partners with Fiera Capital to Launch Canadian High Conviction Equities

Independent Advisor Solutions today announced a strategic partnership with Fiera Capital Corporation (“Fiera”), one of Canada’s leading independent asset managers.

Independent Advisor Solutions Inc. (“iAS”) is a Portfolio Manager and Investment Fund Manager registered in Canada in BC, MB, NL, ONT and QC, its primary regulator is the Manitoba Securities Commission. iAS, Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc., Wellington-Altus Private Counsel Inc. and Wellington-Altus USA Inc. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Wellington-Altus Financial Inc. The data provided is for information purposes only and derived from sources believed to be reliable and is subject to change. Investment funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Investment returns if any, may be taxable; speak with your tax advisor for more information. Distributions are not guaranteed. In addition to the Management Fee, there are other costs associated with investing which will reduce returns including an administration fee details of fees are set out in the Offering Memorandum. Investments are subject to a minimum subscription amount. Estimated Risk Rating is set by iAS and not a third-party provider. For more information about this investment, including specific risks that can affect this investment fund’s returns please speak to your investment advisor and/or read the offering memorandum and/or other reporting documents before investing.