Sentinel Financial Group and benefits consulting firm Regency Advisory Corp., both based in Saskatoon, announced on Wednesday that they have entered into an alliance to form Sentinel Regency Group Benefits Corp., a new managing general agency (MGA) focused on group benefits.
Regency Advisory, which was founded in 2006 by independent financial advisors Darwin Forbes and Ian DeCorby, provides employee benefit programs for corporate clients.
“By joining forces to create an independent benefits MGA, we’ll be able to expand this offering to hundreds of advisors as well as their clients,” says Forbes, CEO of Regency and executive benefits advisor, in a statement.
The new MGA will brand its group insurance offerings under the banner “Sentinel Benefits Powered by Regency Advisory Corp.”
Sentinel has almost 300 independent advisors. In September 2016, Calgary-based holding company Connect Financial Services acquired Sentinel and indicated that it had plans to expand Sentinel aggressively.
“This is a good news story for Sentinel, the independent advisors and their corporate and group clients across Canada,” says Fred Wing, chief operating officer at Connect Financial Services and CEO of Sentinel, in a statement.
Merlin Chouinard, former president of Independent Financial Brokers of Canada, owned Sentinel before selling it to Connect Financial Services. He remains as Sentinel’s president.
Photo copyright: yanlev/123RF