Re-posted with permission – Winnipeg Free Press, Value Partners Investments
When Value Partners Investments (VPI) opened for business nearly 10 years ago, it didn’t have a single client or any revenue — but it did have some big ideas. Today, the Winnipeg-based investment company manages about $1.6 billion in assets for investors and has positioned itself as a major player in mutual funds management.
VPI president Gregg Filmon says a key to the company’s success has been its focus on creating a more positive experience for clients. Rather than inundate them with hundreds of different choices in mutual funds, VPI focuses on a handful of products that the company believes will allow clients to be successful in planning for the future.
“Some companies are not really focused on the client, they’re focused on selling a product to a salesperson, who then turns it around and sells it to the client. It’s all about gathering assets. If the client makes money, great; if not, so be it,” Filmon says.
“We’ve stepped back and said we don’t think that model works very well. Everything we’ve done has been an attempt to say … how do we build a model that is set up to help our clients have a better experience?”
Value Partners is structured differently than most investment firms. It is one of Canada’s few adviser-owned mutual fund companies. That means its owners invest their own money alongside that of their clients.
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