Robert Dumas, president of Toronto-based Sun Life Financial Inc.’s Quebec division, has been named 2017 Financial Personality of the Year in Finance et Investissement’s (FI) Top 25 annual ranking of Quebec’s financial services sector.
FI, Investment Executive’s French language sister publication, bestowed the award on Dumas at an industry gala held on Tuesday evening at Le Windsor in Montreal.
“Robert Dumas is both a high-calibre manager and quality individual,” noted the Top 25 jury, in a statement. “He is well regarded everywhere and is very influential in the industry; a true gentleman in the business world. He is highly involved in his community and his business is growing nicely.”
Sun Life increased its market share of direct premiums written in Quebec to 15.1% from 11.8% from 2012 to 2016. During that time, the firm’s market share for individual insurance grew by 1.7% to reach $646 million in direct premiums written in 2016. In group annuities, Quebec market share climbed by 26.7% during those same years to reach $701 million in direct premiums written.
The Top 25 is divided into five categories, each with four finalists and a winner. The Financial Personality of the Year is selected from among the winners of each category. The categories are personal insurers, national financial services institutions, full-service brokerages, multidisciplinary firms and independent management companies.
The winners for each category are:
- Personal insurers: Dumas.
- National financial services institutions: Guy Cormier, president and CEO, Lévis, Que-based Desjardins Group.
- Full-service brokerages: Martin Lavigne, president of Montreal-based National Bank Financial Ltd.’s wealth-management division.
- Multidisciplinary firms: Gilles Cloutier, president and founder, Trois-Rivières, Que.-based Groupe Cloutier Inc.
- Independent management companies: Robert Beauregard, co-founder and chief investment officer, Montreal-based Global Alpha Capital Management Ltd.
For the complete list of Top 25 finalists and to learn more about each of them, visit finance-investissement.com/top25 (in French only).
The jury in charge of selecting the Top 25 finalists was made up of seven members of Quebec’s financial services sector, including: Richard Fortier, corporate director and president of the jury; Geneviève Blouin, president and founder of Altervest and chairwoman of the Emerging Managers’ Board; Stéphane Dulude, executive, president of SFL, a partner of Desjardins Financial Security/Desjardins Financial Security Investments Inc., in 2016; Richard Gagnon, corporate director and advisor, president and CEO of Humania Assurance from 2003 to 2017; Richard Joly, president of Leaders & Cie; Jean Morissette, consultant; and Guillaume Poulin-Goyer, content manager, FI.
In addition to the Top 25, FI also recognized the outstanding work and dedication of three financial advisors in Quebec.
Guillaume Parent, president of Finandicap and mutual fund representative with Montreal-based Peak Investment Services Inc., is the winner in the multidisciplinary advisor category.
Mireille Rondy, branch manager, investment advisor and portfolio manager with Montreal-based Peak Securities Inc., won in the investment advisor category.
Finally, Michel-Olivier Marcoux, president of Montreal-based Gestion de patrimoine ASF, a firm that partners with MICA Capital Inc. for its mutual fund services, is the winner in the Top Under 40 category.
A jury of influential members of the financial services sector in Quebec selected the winners in the advisor categories, including: Jocelyne Houle-LeSarge, president, CEO, and secretary of the Institut québécois de planification financière and president of the jury; Stéphane Blanchette, chairman of the board of the Conseil des fonds d’investissement du Québec and vice president, finance and operations, with Investia Financial Services Inc.; Frédérick Chenel, president of CFA Montreal and vice president, consultant relations and business development, institutional markets, with Fiera Capital Inc.; Lyne Duhaime, Quebec president for the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc.; Sara Gilbert, coach and founder of Strategist Business Development; Philippe Grégoire, professor in the finance, insurance and real estate department of the faculty of business administration at Université Laval as well as holder of the Industrial Alliance chair in insurance and financial services; and Léonie Laflamme-Savoie, senior content manager with FI.