GWL to acquire Financial Horizons Group

By Staff | May 19, 2017 | Last updated on May 19, 2017
1 min read

Financial Horizons Group, an Ontario-based independent managing general agent (MGA), will soon be owned by Great-West Life.

Financial Horizons Group’s majority shareholder, Genstar Capital, has entered into an agreement for the MGA to be acquired by The Great-West Life Assurance Company, a subsidiary of Great-West Lifeco Inc.

The MGA’s customers are nationwide, with a network of 6,600 active advisors. The organization has 30 branch offices across Canada as well as head offices in Ontario and Quebec. Financial Horizons also owns an MFDA dealer, with $1.2 billion in assets under administration, primarily Quebec-based.

Over the past six years, Financial Horizons had acquired 30 other MGA businesses, and achieved 300% growth. A recent report for Investor Economics ranked Financial Horizons Group as the country’s top MGA by annualized premium equivalent.

President and CEO John H. Hamilton will continue in his current capacity. In release, he notes the MGA will “continue to operate as a stand-alone business in the Great-West Lifeco group of companies. All existing management team members will remain with the company and will continue to execute the growth strategy developed over the past several years.”

Evercore and BMO Capital Markets acted as co-advisors to Financial Horizons Group in the transaction. Genstar Capital is a San Francisco-based private equity firm.

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.