SIMA (formerly IFIC) already tracks ETF and mutual fund data for members, and it’s looking to provide more research on wealth managers.primeimages/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) is changing its name as it expands into capital markets advocacy and builds out its data services to both fund companies and wealth management firms.
As of Monday, IFIC, which was founded in 1962, is now known as the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA). The addition of “securities” reflects growing dealer interest in products beyond investment funds, such as separately managed accounts (SMAs) and unified managed accounts, private market products and cryptocurrency, says Andy Mitchell, SIMA’s president and chief executive officer.
“On the securities side, we’re not getting into opining on IPOs and writing up individual security analysis or anything like that,” Mr. Mitchell says.
But as markets evolve, many of the association’s fund manager members are running SMAs – which hold individual securities – on behalf of various dealers.
“When they come to IFIC, or now SIMA, are they looking only for mutual fund advocacy and ETF advocacy? No, they’re looking for broad business advocacy,” he says. “They can start to leverage and drive economies [of scale] within their own firm by working with one association.”
The name change comes as the non-profit begins to cater to capital markets businesses in addition to its traditional asset management – and, more recently, wealth management – members. This interest in the sell side began when IFIC was working on the T+1 settlement cycle, which took effect last year.
“Obviously, regardless if you’re on the buy side or the sell side, when T+1 happened, you needed to talk [to one another] to make sure the ecosystem serv[ing] the settlement of those securities into mutual funds worked,” Mr. Mitchell says.
The other occasion requiring capital markets input was the phasing out of bankers’ acceptances in 2023. Money market funds lost a very liquid short-term instrument, and co-ordination with sell-side fixed-income desks was necessary, he says.
SIMA already counts the big banks’ capital markets businesses as members, as well other major players including Desjardins Securities Inc., ATB Securities Inc. and iA Private Wealth Inc.’s capital markets businesses.
While the organization isn’t out soliciting new members, Mr. Mitchell says he expects others to become interested based on its work. SIMA is building capital markets committees that will begin their advocacy later this month.
SIMA counts about 90 firms as members, with the various affiliated companies bringing the total to about 150. On the asset management side, Mr. Mitchell says, members account for about 90 per cent of assets under management in Canada.
Focus on market research
SIMA already tracks ETF and mutual fund data for members and it’s looking to do the same for SMAs, as more members consider that space.
“Can you wrap one of your funds that you already have that’s successful – good performance numbers, good recognition from a brand perspective – and utilize that as an SMA, and start to do that analysis from a commercial, strategic perspective? We want to provide that market intelligence to them,” Mr. Mitchell says.
The association also wants to build up its data on the wealth management side, providing members with insights into what other firms are doing in terms of compliance staffing, portfolio manager licensing, different account types and more. “They want to know more of what the landscape looks like,” he says of members.
The research and market intelligence will be included in members’ existing fees, but some members that take part in new committees and working groups as part of SIMA’s expanded advocacy may see a fee increase.
An institute no more
Dropping the “institute” from the IFIC title comes as the association closes its educational arm, the IFSE Institute, which offers courses for mutual fund and exempt market proficiency, and for the life licence qualification program.
While the rebrand isn’t directly connected, the IFSE wind down is “definitely part of the market environment shift and the evolution of the industry,” Mr. Mitchell says, with the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) moving away from mandatory courses to exam-based proficiency next year.
With CIRO taking over more registration powers from provincial securities regulators, he says, it makes sense the self-regulatory organization will own more of the proficiency programs to meet its standards.
Instead of being an educational content developer, SIMA plans to be more of an education hub for members, Mr. Mitchell says, bringing over some of the IFSE employees to staff it.
SIMA has expanded to 34 employees from 27 at the beginning of the year.