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Investors Group distinguishes itself from its competition by offering personal financial planning to its clients within the context of long-term relationships. At the centre of this relationship is a national distribution network of Consultants located in 115 Financial Planning Centres across Canada.
As part of our commitment to continued growth, we expanded the size of our field management in 2005 by 15.9%. In addition to expanding the number of individuals in field management roles, we also expanded their management training, their role in training new Consultants and the tools available to monitor the progress of these Consultants.
Concurrent with the growth of our field management and the number of new Consultants, we added seven new region offices in 2005. Two offices in Quebec and two offices in Ontario transitioned from division office to region office status while three additional new region offices were established in Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto.
Recruiting and retention
Investors Group combines a number of interview and testing techniques to identify individuals who demonstrate a blend of experience, education and aptitude that makes them well suited to becoming successful financial planners. In 2005, our Division Directors and Field Trainers were provided with a new recruiting program together with additional tools to assist them in their recruitment efforts. These efforts, combined with our Consultant and field management compensation, recognition and support programs have proven successful, as evidenced by the growth of our Consultant network.
At the end of 2005, Investors Group had 3,668 Consultants, compared with 3,496 in 2004. The number of Consultants with more than four years experience was 2,100 compared to 2,030 a year earlier. Our Consultant network has grown in each of the last six consecutive quarters.
Consultant development
Management continues to focus on Consultant development. Our comprehensive Consultant Training program combines technical education with field experience. Each year, our training curriculum is reviewed and refreshed to offer new Consultants the essential building blocks they require to develop their individual businesses.
As Consultants progress, they develop their skills as financial planners and business managers by attending a selection of focused educational programs including: financial planning skills, product knowledge, client service, business development skills, compliance, technology, practice management and other related topics. Supplemental training, coaching and mentorship are top priorities for the Consultant network’s Regional Directors and Division Directors across Canada.
In 2005, Investors Group continued to enhance its training and development programs for Consultants. This included the completion of our transition from a centralized training model to an area training model which is now delivered primarily through our region offices across Canada. We have also seen positive results from our Field Development Program, which was introduced in 2004 to provide enhanced coaching and mentorship to Consultants in their early years in the business and to increase their likelihood of success.
In keeping with Investors Group’s commitment to maintaining a high standard of ethical business practices and conduct, Consultants also receive ongoing training, information and guidance regarding business standards, and regulatory and compliance matters.
Investors Group also supports industry initiatives to introduce uniform qualification requirements for use of the “financial planner” designation. Enrollment in programs to achieve a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, or the equivalent designation in the province of Quebec (Pl. Fin.), is encouraged and supported.
Productivity
Investors Group implemented a number of significant changes in 2005 designed to enhance the productivity of our field management and Consultants. These included:
- The introduction of a new web-based resource for Regional Directors and Division Directors to assist them in their management, recruitment and compliance efforts.
- The launch of an online system for Division Directors that tracks new Consultant effectiveness to assist with coaching opportunities.
- Symphony Strategic Investment Planning™ improved its Portfolio Tuner which now automatically calculates and recommends transactions across all fund series to implement or rebalance a client’s investment portfolio and to re-balance a client’s iProfile™ pool.
- Enhancements to the Company’s order entry program to enable Consultants to transact on third party mutual fund accounts and to provide trade validation against existence of Know Your Client (KYC) information. This order entry system was developed by Winfund Software Corp. which is owned by a subsidiary of Mackenzie and its software is used by over 95 dealers within the mutual fund industry.
- Automated the delivery of prospectuses directly to clients in all situations where they should have a current prospectus.
- Senior Insurance Specialists were hired in both Vancouver and Montreal with a mandate to assist with larger insurance cases.
Management believes that these initiatives make Investors Group more attractive and competitive to Consultants and potential Consultants, and should lead to greater recruitment, productivity, asset growth and compliance into the future.
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