Berkshire joins forces with TWC Financial

(September 18, 2003) A long-rumoured merger deal involving TWC Financial became official today with the announcement that the Saskatchewan-based fund dealer is teaming up with Ontario’s Berkshire Group, owned by Michael Lee-Chin. The new partnership is described as a “business agreement” — no financial details were released.

In a news release, Lee-Chin, who also runs AIC Funds, and TWC president Tim Calibaba described the partnership as a perfect match, and said they want to protect the interests of Canada’s independent financial advisors.

“We were very nervous about the loss of advisor independence that seemed to be occurring throughout the country,” said Lee-Chin.

“Our goal has always been to build a trusted, stable and, most important, independent organization that our advisors are proud to be associated with,” said Calibaba. “We believe that we have found our perfect partner and a natural fit for TWC with Berkshire.”

At a meeting earlier this month, TWC reps were told that a tender process had produced five serious offers for the firm. Other apparent contenders included Manulife and Assante. However, some TWC reps expressed discontent with the Assante choice, pointing to the Winnipeg firm’s in-house products.

“Both firms have a strong independent bias that they run on,” said Geoffrey Charlton, senior vice-president at Berkshire. “I think the emphasis is on quality of advisor and TWC, as well as Berkshire, enjoys a very enviable reputation in the marketplace as having quality advisors.”

While not referring to Assante directly, Calibaba admits TWC turned down several offers they weren’t comfortable with. “It was imperative we selected an organization with whom our culture fit effortlessly,” he said.

Reaction to the agreement came quickly in Advisor.ca’s Talvest Town Hall, where reports of a deal have been percolating for more than a week.

“I’m confident that in the changing dealer world required that this would happen eventually and this is about the best deal we could have hoped for,” one participant wrote in the online forum. “Tim is committed to his staff, his reps and our clients and this proves it.”

Together, Berkshire and TWC have 300 offices across Canada, 1,000 financial advisors and $10 billion in assets under administration. The deal is subject to regulatory and shareholder approval. Lee-Chin said a share ownership plan for Berkshire and TWC advisors will be announced in the coming months.

Join the TWC-Berkshire discussion in the “Free for All” forum of the Talvest Town Hall on Advisor.ca.

Filed by Doug Watt, Advisor.ca, dwatt@advisor.ca