When you are the largest financial institution in Quebec, there is nowhere to grow but out. That’s how Steve Cole — regional vice president of sales and recruiting at Toronto-based Laurentian Financial Services, a subsidiary of Lévis, Que.-based Desjardins Sécurité Financier — describes the firm’s expansion into English Canada.
“It is quite evident that primary growth for our organization had to happen outside of the province of Quebec,” Cole says about Laurentian’s focus in the past few years on growing the number of its branches in English Canada.
But even though English Canada holds the opportunity of expansion for Quebec-based firms, the road leading out of Quebec is not barrier-free. The different cultures, ideologies and language pose challenges to setting up — and keeping up — house. In this year’s Planners’ Report Card, advisors from firms originating in Quebec shared just what those ongoing challenges are, and how they could be overcome.
“It has all kinds of potential,” says a Laurentian planner from the West. “Just now, it is expanding into Western Canada, but it is straddling the picket fence. It wants to come out West, but it doesn’t want to change.”
The challenges experienced by Laurentian advisors in English Canada are the same ones that face English-speaking advisors at Montreal-based Peak Investment Services Inc. Peak’s journey into English Canada began in the late 1990s and the firm now has a presence in all provinces except Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island.
“Peak is much stronger in French Canada than in English Canada, where I am,” complains a Peak advisor from the West. “Small independents are not a significant force. As far as the systems and the staff go, Peak took on more than it can handle.”
A common concern voiced by Laurentian and Peak advisors surveyed this year was their firms’ lack of recognition in English Canada. Laurentian planners rated their firm’s image with the public at 6.3, while Peak’s image was rated at 7.9.
“Desjardins is just moving here, so its image is quite low,” notes a Laurentian advisor on the East Coast. “In Quebec, it is probably No. 1; outside Quebec, it is moving that way. But here, it is probably the least known firm.”
Others still think the firm won’t reach its potential without making some significant changes.
“Now it is trying to move right across the country. It is being more aggressive but it is still lagging,” says a Laurentian advisor in Ontario. “It has to change its name. The francophone name carries a stigma.”
When a firm is more developed in one province than another, that can make getting support in other locations difficult. As a Laurentian advisor in Eastern Canada says, when most of the support is located outside of a province, its access and availability become sporadic.
“Dealing with head office is a pain,” adds a Laurentian advisor in Central Canada. “It doesn’t understand other markets, only those in Quebec.”
The most frustrating aspect is the language barrier. “There’s not much of language problem over the phone,” says a Laurentian advisor from the West. “But when you go to a conference, you can’t communicate with Quebec advisors, although they are very friendly. The anglophone operation is not large enough.”
“It’s bilingual, and sometimes communication is quite funny,” a Peak advisor on the Prairies agrees.
“The challenge is having two languages within the dealer,” admits Robert Frances, Peak’s bilingual president and CEO. “That is always challenging. Every document has to be translated; everything we do has to be made available to all Canadians, whether they speak French or English. That obviously creates a lot more work.”
Sometimes that work doesn’t pay off. Planners at Peak spoke of account statements for English clients that lack proper English — or sometimes any English at all.
“Out here, there is often an issue with interpretation,” says one of Peak’s Western advisors. “Lots of employees are French.”
Laurentian advisors feel the same way. “The language is sometimes difficult, but that is something we have to deal with,” says a Laurentian advisor in Ontario.
It’s a problem that Laurentian tries to address. The company navigates the cultural divide of communication challenges by having separate managers for advisors in French and English Canada.
“We recognize that a lot of our support comes from specialists in Quebec, but virtually everyone we talk to is bilingual,” says Cole. “Advisors outside of Quebec report to me; advisors in Quebec report to Stéphane Dulude.”
@page_break@Despite the frustrations of advisors in English Canada, Frances says Peak’s expansion into English Canada was not as difficult as some might think.
“We were one of the few dealers in Quebec that were bilingual,” says Frances. “We were already experienced in having both languages, so that made it somewhat easier. Many firms tell us it is more difficult to expand into Quebec than to branch out from Quebec.”
Despite the cultural challenges facing these Quebec-based firms, they have earned respect from their advisors. Laurentian and Peak were ranked 7.8 and 8.4 overall, respectively, by their advisors in this year’s Report Card.
“The company as a whole is a great company,” sums up a Laurentian advisor in Eastern Canada. “It’s always up for change based on market change. The outlook is terrific. It’s moving in the right direction for advisors and clients.”
Morale at Peak is flying just as high. “The CEO is a smart, young guy with a good vision,” says one advisor — and that makes Peak a firm that is easy to recommend, says another of its advisors on the Prairies.
“It’s the best-kept secret in the world,” this advisor adds. IE