Reports

The Insurance Advisory Service represents Investor Economics’ flagship research on insurance. This recently-launched service builds on a decade-worth of research into this specialized dimension of the wealth management industry and the legacy of the Segregated Funds Report.

This research service thoroughly examines the investment funds industry. The foundation for Insight is the only comprehensive historical investment funds database in Canada. Subscribers receive a flow of provocative industry research produced on a monthly basis, as well as preferred database access. Insight is not only about data or the production of research reports; it is fundamentally about service. Investor Economics is committed to providing all subscribers with unparalleled hands-on support, responding to their needs with a sense of urgency.

The Insight Gisted Report is a synthesized version of our monthly Insight report. It is produced in an electronic format, and is available on an annual subscription basis. Designed to address the needs of those who lack the time to pore over the wealth of information contained in each issue of Insight, the Insight Gisted Report delivers executive summaries of the feature research article, the Trend Lines story, and vital industry statistics with commentary—all in a tidy six-page package.

In addition to tracking the world of mutual and segregated index funds, this service provides extended coverage of the fast-growing exchange-traded fund (ETF) segment. Through a number of exhibits, we analyze the evolution of ETFs from many vantage points, including asset class, underlying investment and investment strategy.

The Retail Brokerage Report looks at developments in the Canadian retail brokerage industry and provides brokerage executives with a multi-faceted yardstick for measuring their firm against the industry at large. By giving a sense of what is happening in the industry, the report aids the decision-making of manufacturers, such as mutual fund complexes and life insurers. The Retail Brokerage Report systematically identifies emerging trends and subsequently monitors them on an ongoing basis, allowing companies to efficiently track the role of the brokerage industry in managing the wealth of individual Canadians.

Managed money is increasingly emerging as a new competitive paradigm in the financial services industry. This comprehensive report tracks and updates all of the main facets of the managed money business in Canada, and provides an analytical framework for measuring a company’s ongoing progress.

The Household Balance Sheet Report has become a widely accepted research tool that allows financial services providers to assess the retail market and consider future opportunities and competitive challenges for their businesses. Investor Economics examines and quantifies the wealth market from crucial vantage points, such as distribution channels, product trends and business lines. High-level projections for key financial wealth segments (e.g. the future size of the $1 million-plus market) are an important feature of the report.

The market for deposits and deposit substitute products is significant, both in size and importance. It is essential for financial services providers to have a comprehensive understanding of this key category, as the continuum of fixed income investment options constitutes a major proportion of the balance sheet of Canadian households. Households are presented with numerous options, from money market mutual funds to high-interest savings accounts, all positioned as providing safety and yield.

The Financial Advisor Channel Report provides a comprehensive view of the financial advisor landscape. Subscribers will be able to immediately assess the size, scope and the progression of financial advisor channel firms, while gaining a direct understanding of the key players, ideas and regulatory considerations that are shaping the future direction of the industry. Each issue will provide an in-depth analysis of topical research and its strategic importance to industry participants.

Our global research whitepaper series establishes a common analytical framework for evaluating global themes including regulation, technology, retirement and more. The research approach is anchored in three core principles: measuring the facts; developing and maintaining an analytical frame with which to benchmark the progress of the various market participants against; and fostering industry insights by engaging business leaders, regulators and industry observers in a comprehensive discussion of key issues.

Fee-based assets represent the largest and fastest-growing component of Canada’s wealth market. The Fee-based Report is a detailed study that tackles key issues facing competitors in the rapidly growing fee-based market. Entire sections of the report are devoted to fund wraps and the discretionary management side of the market. Key products, competitors, growth leaders and laggards, pricing and cost trends are all examined. The personal trust market and universal life insurance are also featured sections of the report.

With a particular emphasis on wealth management, the Fintech Advisory Service was created to provide a comprehensive view of the Canadian fintech landscape, size the market potential for emergent business models, and interpret the impacts their entrance will have on the broader industry. Subscribers to this research will be able to immediately assess the size, scope, and the progression of fintech firms in the wealth management space, while gaining a direct understanding of the key players, ideas and innovations that are shaping the future direction of the industry.

The Group Retirement and Savings Report focuses on the $3.0 trillion Canadian retirement market and provides extensive coverage of the various retirement funding models. There is extensive discussion on broader retirement issues (aging population, savings adequacy, DB plan conversion) as well as competitive pressures for participants in the group market that has become more relevant given the size of the retirement market and number of relationships with individuals in Canada. 

This report provides a strategic and competitive assessment of the branch advice delivery models employed by each of the Big Six banks. As such, the report serves dual objectives. The first is to provide an in-depth analysis of the strategic objectives, the structure and the success of individual bank models. This is done both on an individual bank and cross-bank comparative basis. The findings of this detailed analysis are mobilized to identify key success factors in establishing and managing a branch advice organization. The key perspectives addressed in this detailed view include: -Branch advice personnel profiling (the types, qualifications and number of personnel) -Product composition -The product shelf and responsibilities docket -Financial planning capabilities and degree of commitment to the financial planning process -Branch advisor compensation models -The client relationship management structure -The client triage process -Referral strategies -Individual bank asset rankings and degree of vertical integration

The Fund Wraps report, an extract of a major section of The Fee-based Report, is a comprehensive, multi-faceted and highly detailed diagnostic of the entire fund wrap space.

The Private Banking Report covers the financial state of the Canadian Private Banking industry. It is published on an semi-annual basis with data at the  end of the Fiscal Year and a brief update with data at the end of June. The focus of this report is on the banking services offered to the country’s wealthiest households and captures major aspects of the private banking balance sheet as well as the P&L statement. With the encouragement and active participation of the six largest banks, we have developed our methodology and analytical approach to the point that we provide each participating bank with a highly customized report on the industry as a whole, and their share of, and success in, the industry.

The Private Banking Report is delivered via email distribution. Please contact us here to learn more.

This report provides a comprehensive assessment of the growth and emerging product trends in the individual segregated funds arena. It monitors the development of seg funds from a variety of vantage points, including assets and net sales, asset class composition, competitive landscape, MERs, loads, compensation and product structure, including the importance of wrapped and sub-advised funds. The latter part of the study contains competitive intelligence capsules on key competitors in the segregated fund segment.