DundeeWealth to change name

By Melissa Shin | June 12, 2013 | Last updated on November 20, 2023
1 min read

DundeeWealth, Scotiabank’s independent advisor channel, is changing its name.

Effective November 1, 2013, it will be called HollisWealth. The channel’s 900+ advisors found out today at a national conference.

An expiring trademark licence prompted the change, says Tuula Jalasjaa, managing director and head, DundeeWealth Retail Advisory Network. When Scotiabank acquired DundeeWealth in 2010, the agreement “included licensing for the DundeeWealth trademark, and that licence expires February 1, 2014. [So] we’ve been planning this for the past two years.”

Read: Shaping your brand

Jalasjaa adds the firm held focus groups and conducted market research to come up with the name HollisWealth, which is based on the location of Scotiabank’s first head office building at 188 Hollis Street in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The rebranding cost to advisors will be minimal, she says. The firm is taking on stationery and signage costs, and “we are putting a lot of resources behind [the change] so there aren’t costs put on advisors, and to minimize their time required.”

Read: What makes a great logo?

The HollisWealth logo will be blue, and remain distinct from Scotiabank’s brand.

Successful name changes include Nike (formerly Blue Ribbon Sports), Sony (Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo) and Exxon (Standard Oil Company of New Jersey), reports Slate.com.

But the same article cites a study of U.K. corporations that showed name-changers underperform compared with the overall stock market by almost 10% over the three years following the switch.

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Melissa Shin

Melissa is the editorial director of Advisor.ca and leads Newcom Media Inc.’s group of financial publications. She has been with the team since 2011 and been recognized by PMAC and CFA Society Toronto for her reporting. Reach her at mshin@newcom.ca. You may also call or text 416-847-8038 to provide a confidential tip.