MONTREAL and CALGARY, Oct. 4, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Fiera Capital Corporation ("Fiera" or the "Firm") (TSX: FSZ) announced today that it reached an agreement with Société Générale Private Banking to acquire Canadian Wealth Management Group Inc. ("Canadian Wealth Management" or "CWM"), the Calgary-based subsidiary of Société Générale Private Banking. CWM, a leading integrated wealth management boutique serving clients in western Canada for over 30 years, manages assets for high net worth individuals, families, endowments, and foundations.
The acquisition, which is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings, solidifies Fiera's position as one of Canada's fastest growing investment managers, with assets under management of $55 billion. By expanding deeper into the wealth management business, the combination further enhances Fiera's distribution capabilities. The CWM operations will be fully integrated into Fiera Capital Private Wealth's existing business.
"We are excited about joining the Fiera team and we believe that this combination will allow us to best serve the unique needs of high net-worth individuals, while maintaining our renowned and personalized client experience," said Paul Vaillancourt, CEO and CIO of CWM. "Our first priority will be ensuring that our existing clients are fully satisfied. Next, we plan to expand Fiera Capital's private wealth platform in Alberta and across western Canada."
"We see tremendous growth potential for the asset management and private wealth management businesses, particularly in the fast growing market of Alberta. By combining CWM with Fiera Capital Private Wealth, we are adding an experienced and talented team of professionals, with excellent knowledge of the regional market. Attracting the best talent has always and will continue to be the cornerstone of our success," said Jean-Guy Desjardins, Chairman, CEO and CIO of Fiera.
"The transaction fits perfectly with our plan of building a premiere private wealth platform focused on managing wealth for high net worth individuals across Canada," added Merri Jones, Executive Vice President, Fiera Capital Private Wealth. "Expanding our presence in western Canada has been a key strategic priority for some time now and CWM, along with its highly skilled team of professionals, provides an excellent base from which to accelerate our growth in the region."
Fiera's Board of Directors has approved the transaction, which is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approval. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2012.
About Fiera Capital Corporation
Fiera Capital Corporation is a leading publicly traded, independent investment firm. The Firm is one of only a handful of full service, multi-product investment firms in Canada, offering clients a proven top tier track record in equity and fixed income management as well as depth and expertise in asset allocation and alternative investments. www.fieracapital.com
Additional information relating to the Firm, including the Firm's annual information form, is on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
About Canadian Wealth Management Group Inc.
Founded in 1979, Canadian Wealth Management operates as a full-service wealth management boutique offering a unique combination of investment management, financial planning, estate planning, tax advisory and tax preparation services. Their key competitive advantage is an integrated delivery with high levels of personalized service.
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or future performance, and reflect management's expectations or beliefs regarding future events, including business and economic conditions and Fiera Capital's growth, results of operations, performance and business prospects and opportunities. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict", "potential", "continue", "target", "intend" or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and a number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. In evaluating these statements, readers should specifically consider various factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from any forward-looking statement.
These factors include, but are not limited to, market and general economic conditions, the nature of the financial services industry, and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Fiera Capital's interim and annual consolidated financial statements, and its Annual Report and Annual Information Form filed on www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this document, and Fiera Capital assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances.
SOURCE: FIERA CAPITAL CORPORATION
Mélanie Tardif, CPA, CMA
NATIONAL Public Relations
514 843-2060
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