Assistant Vice President & CIO, IPC Wealth Dealer Managed Solutions

Permanent Full Time

Investment Planning Counsel (IPC) is one of Canada's leading independent wealth management firms. We are a diverse group of people all driven towards one goal: helping our advisors build a better business through a remarkable client experience.

In November 2023, Canada Life acquired IPC. Canada Life is a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies and serves the financial security needs of more than 13 million people across Canada, with additional operations in Europe and the United States.

With the acquisition, IPC and Canada Life’s existing wealth platforms create one of Canada’s leading wealth providers.

We are seeking an accomplished investment leader to serve as Assistant Vice-President, IPC Wealth Dealer Managed Solutions and Chief Investment Officer, IPC Wealth .

This executive will provide investment leadership across IPC Wealth and be accountable for the strategy, management and continued evolution of its dealer-managed investment capabilities. The successful candidate will combine the judgement of an experienced portfolio manager with the commercial perspective of a platform leader. They will be responsible for delivering strong client and advisor outcomes while maintaining disciplined investment governance, effective risk management and alignment with regulatory obligations. The role will work closely with senior leaders across IPC Wealth, CL Investments, HNW/ Private Wealth, advisor distribution, dealer operations, compliance, technology, product, investment management and business development.

What you will do:

Dealer-managed platform strategy and evolution

• Evolve the strategy and roadmap for IPC Wealth’s dealer-managed investment platforms, with an initial focus on IPC Dealer-Managed Discretionary and IPC One Advisor as PM platforms.
• Define a coherent managed-platform architecture that serves distinct advisor and client segments while reducing unnecessary complexity.
• Lead the continued evolution of platform propositions, investment capabilities, portfolio structures, pricing and service models, operational and compliance automation.
• Ensure that Dealer Managed Discretionary and IPC One have distinct yet complementary value propositions, including differentiation relative to competitors
• Partner with Canada Life Investments, technology, operations, compliance and business teams to improve portfolio-management workflows, controls, reporting and the advisor and client experience.
• Establish measures for platform adoption, asset growth, client outcomes, operating effectiveness, investment performance and advisor satisfaction.
• Evaluate platform economics and recommend changes that improve competitiveness, scalability and long-term sustainability.

Chief Investment Officer and portfolio management

• Serve as Chief Investment Officer for IPC Wealth, establishing a clear investment philosophy and providing investment leadership across IPC Wealth’s dealer-managed solutions
• Act as the accountable portfolio manager for the IPC Dealer-Managed Discretionary (Private Wealth) portfolios (UMA, SMA, etc), subject to applicable registration, governance and regulatory requirements.
• Partner closely with Canada Life Investments team to oversee portfolio construction, asset allocation, manager and security selection, portfolio implementation, monitoring and rebalancing.
• Establish and chair, or play a leadership role in, the appropriate investment and portfolio governance forums.
• Maintain a disciplined investment decision-making framework supported by research, quantitative and qualitative analysis, documented judgement and effective challenge.
• Establish appropriate performance measurement and attribution practices and provide clear reporting on portfolio results, sources of risk and investment decisions.
• Establishes and oversee clear governance framework, including trade supervision, client suitability, exception management, regulatory reporting
• Communicate IPC Wealth’s investment views, portfolio positioning and performance to advisors, clients, executives and governance bodies in a clear and credible manner.

IPC dealer product shelf management and governance

• Lead the strategy, construction and ongoing governance of the product shelf for the IPC dealers.
• Establish a product shelf philosophy that balances advisor and client choice, quality, competitiveness, operational viability and effective risk management.
• Partner with Canada Life Investments to oversee product research, due diligence, approval, monitoring, watch-listing and removal processes.
• Ensure robust Know Your Product practices and documentation across products made available through the dealers.
• Define standards for evaluating investment merit, risk, liquidity, complexity, cost, operational support, client suitability considerations and manufacturer capabilities.
• Lead the evaluation of new product categories and investment structures in response to changing client needs, regulation and market development.
• Drive the thoughtful rationalisation of the dealer shelf, addressing duplicative or minimally used products while managing advisor and client disruption.
• Work with compliance, legal, operations and technology teams to ensure that product decisions can be implemented and supervised effectively.
• Maintain constructive, appropriately governed relationships with asset managers and other product providers.

Enterprise and people leadership

• Build, lead and develop a high-performing team spanning portfolio management, product governance and dealer product shelf management.
• Establish clear mandates, decision rights and accountability across the functions.
• Attract, develop and retain professionals with strong investment, product, analytical and risk-management capabilities.
• Create a culture of intellectual curiosity, constructive challenge, disciplined execution, collaboration and accountability.
• Provide clear priorities and translate strategy into measurable annual objectives and operating plans.
• Partner effectively across IPC Wealth, Canada Life and relevant affiliated investment and wealth-management businesses.
• Manage the function’s budget, resources, external research and service-provider relationships.
• Act as a visible senior leader who builds confidence with advisors, employees, clients, regulators and business partners.

Strategic outcomes

The AVP and CIO will be expected to deliver:

• A clear, credible and consistently applied IPC Wealth investment philosophy
• Strong governance and accountability for the IPC Dealer Managed portfolios
• Competitive, scalable and well-differentiated Dealer Managed and Advisor as PM offerings
• Improved alignment between portfolio strategy, platform capabilities and advisor needs
• Growth in dealer and dealer-managed assets and profitability

What you will bring:

• Significant progressive experience in investment management, portfolio management, wealth management or investment-product leadership
• Demonstrated experience constructing and managing multi-asset portfolios
• Experience leading investment governance, product due diligence or investment oversight processes
• Experience with discretionary portfolio-management programmes or managed-account platforms
• Demonstrated ability to outline and execute on multi-year vision and strategy
• Strong business judgement and the ability to connect investment decisions to advisor, client, risk and commercial outcomes
• University degree in finance, economics, business, mathematics or a related discipline
• CFA designation strongly preferred
• CIM or another relevant investment-management designation would be an asset
• Must hold, or be able to obtain and maintain, the registration and proficiency required to act as portfolio manager for the applicable IPC Wealth portfolios

Career opportunities will be open a minimum of 5 business days from the date of posting, closing dates will vary depending on the search activity. All applications received will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Grow with Canada Life

We’re united by a shared purpose: to improve the financial, physical and mental well-being of Canadians. Our company is trusted by 1 in 3 Canadians and contributes to the strength of communities across the country.

We’re looking for people who live our values everyday: we step up, we do the right thing, and we deliver – for our customers, communities and each other. Are you someone who always strives to do the right thing, who steps up for themselves and others, and who delivers with impact? Then we want to hear from you!

What we offer

• Career Development: Opportunities for career advancement, access to industry-leading learning programs and up to$2,000 annually towards education reimbursement.
• Health & Wellness:Flexible health and dental benefits, plus a $5,000 mental health benefit to support your well-being.
• Time Off:In addition to regular vacation and personal days, we support community involvement with a volunteer day.
• Financial Security:Company-matching pension plan,share ownership program and additionalinvestment options.
• Rewards and Recognition: Employee recognition programs, service milestone celebrations, employee discounts and more!
• Emphasis on Community: We provide a workplace where employees feel connected and supported through Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), mentorship programs, social clubs and events.

Learn more about Canada Life.

We’re committed to removing barriers and ensuring equal access to employment. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation during the application process may contact View email address on click.appcast.io. All information provided will be handled in accordance with applicable laws and Canada Life policies.

Canada Life would like to thank all applicants, however only those who qualify for an interview will be contacted.