“We actually have the highest profit margins in wealth management of anyone who discloses publicly. So, we’re running the business very efficiently. Despite being new to the space, we have the fastest growth. I’m happy with where we are today. We have no intention of stopping. We think there’s a huge opportunity in front of us, in our U.S. segment, but also in our Canadian segment. So, we’re taking advantage of the foundation we’ve built.”
MacAlpine also noted that its Canadian business, with two components, is on track for a record year of growth, despite the challenging markets. It’s changing custodians from a third party to itself, and he’s unified its leadership structure, so it has a singular approach to how they look at wealth management. He noted that, when they began, its earnings were about $14 million a year and now, two years later, they’re more than $60 million. “So,” he said, “we’ve more than quadruples that, and there’s a lot of good runway for us to keep going there, as well.”
CI’s Q3 results reported that it had $338,014 billion in total assets at the end of the quarter. That consisted of $149,841 billion in its U.S. wealth management firm, $73,976 billion in its Canada wealth management assets, and $114,196 billion in its asset management AUM.
MacAlpine is proud of the fact that CI has continued to develop an integrated global investment platform, which has expanded its portfolio management resources. The Canadian wealth management business is still experiencing strong net flows, even though its total AUA was down due to market declines, and he’s optimistic about the future.
“I think there’s a unique opportunity for firms that have a lot of passion, excitement, and energy for what they’re doing to align with people who are passionate about their opportunities,” he said. “The sky could be the limit, so we’re really trying to make sure that we’re investing very thoughtfully and not cutting any corners in having something that stands out relative to the available options. I think if you line up those things, it leads to very good success.”
