Winnipeg, MB (May 19, 2017) – Great-West Lifeco Inc. announced today that its Canadian subsidiary The Great-West Life Assurance Company has entered into an agreement to acquire Financial Horizons Group, the leading participant in the independent Managing General Agency (MGA) sector of the Canadian market.
Financial Horizons Group serves customers across Canada through 30 offices nationwide with a network of 6,600 active advisors. The business was established in 1990 by John H. Hamilton, President and CEO, who will continue to lead the business in his current capacity.
“We recognize the importance of the independence of Financial Horizons Group, and are pleased that the existing management team will remain in place and continue running the business,” Mr. Kristjanson said. He also confirmed that Great-West Life intends to continue to support Financial Horizons Group’s active consolidation strategy, which has resulted in the acquisition of 30 MGA businesses over the past six years under its majority ownership by Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm.
The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions, and is expected to be completed in the coming months. The transaction is expected to be earnings accretive, although not material to overall Canadian earnings.
Financial Horizons Group (FHG) is a leading Canadian Managing General Agency (MGA) that provides life, health, employee benefits, pension, investments, structured settlements, and risk management products and services to financial advisors. It was established in 1990 by John H. Hamilton as a financial planning firm specializing in retirement and estate planning, before becoming an MGA in 1999.
Financial Horizons Group is 72% owned by Genstar Capital, a San Francisco-based private equity firm that has a focus on insurance-related investments and acquired the business in May 2011 from John Hamilton, with Mr. Hamilton remaining as its second largest shareholder. Financial Horizons Group operates a network of 6,600 advisors contracted with Financial Horizons Group through the MGA channel. These advisors are serviced locally through 30 branch offices across Canada as well as head offices in Ontario and Quebec. It also owns an MFDA dealer, with $1.2 billion in assets under administration, primarily Quebec-based.
Financial Horizons Group has achieved 300% growth since 2011, largely through an aggressive distribution strategy which saw 30 businesses consolidated. A recent report for Investor Economics ranked Financial Horizons Group as the no.1 MGA firm in Canada ranked by annualized premium equivalent.
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