RBC Capital Markets has acquired full ownership of Commission Direct Inc. (CDI), Royal Bank of Canada said Monday.

Prior to this transaction, RBC had a 50% ownership interest in CDI. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

CDI is one of Canada’s largest independent providers of independent commission-compensated investment services (IC-CIS) for Canadian institutional investors.

IC-CIS brokerage companies such as CDI facilitate the payment of qualified independent research and brokerage obligations, commission sharing arrangements (CSA), commission recapture, transition restructures, and discount trading.

Monday’s deal gives CDI the ability to continue to offer professional investors unbiased access to qualified investment decision-making and trading services and plan administrators the ability to save money, RBC says.

“CDI has a long track record of independent, high-quality agency execution, serving the growing needs of Canadian institutional clients,” says John Reilly, head of Canadian Equity Trading, RBC Capital Markets. “We look forward to CDI continuing to develop and distribute innovative new products and services for the Canadian institutional marketplace.”

“This transaction will allow us to provide an enhanced range of services to our client investors, backed by the financial strength and stability of RBC”, said Wayne McAlpine, chief executive officer, CDI. “During our 17-year partnership, RBC has supported and believed in our independent approach, and our commitment to the highest standards of trade execution, administrative excellence and diligent compliance with soft dollar practices.”

CDI was founded in 1992 to facilitate the payment of IC-CIS needs of Canadian institutional investors as well as to assist independent research providers targeting professional money managers in Canada.

IE