iA Financial reports strong Q4 results

Quebec City–based iA Financial Corp. reported fourth-quarter results on Wednesday, with the CEO describing 2021 as one of the strongest in the firm’s history.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, iA Financial Corp. reported net income attributed to common shareholders of $209 million, up by 22% compared to a year earlier. Net income for the 2021 fiscal year was $830 million, up by 36% from the previous year.

Premiums and deposits were $4.2 billion in the quarter, up by 6% year over year. For the full year, premiums and deposits totalled more than $16.6 billion, up by 18% from 2020. Results were attributed to strong contributions from most business sectors — especially individual wealth management, which had a 37% increase in deposits in 2021.

Within individual wealth management, the firm noted that, based on Investor Economics data, it ranked first in Canada in net segregated fund sales in 2021: net sales were $823 million, an increase of $276 million from a year earlier.

In individual insurance, sales increased by 21% in the fourth quarter compared to the previous year, and by 28% for the year. The positive results were attributed to strong distribution networks, an evolving product range, including iA PAR Wealth, and “excellent” performance of digital tools. In Canada, a total of 220,275 policies were issued in 2021 — an increase of 12% year over year.

Assets under management and administration ended the year at a record $221.2 billion, an increase of 3% during the quarter and 12% in 2021.

In a release, president and CEO Denis Ricard described 2021 as “one of the strongest years in the company’s history,” with record business growth and core return on equity of 14.2%, which was above guidance.

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