Canaccord Genuity Wealth saw its assets under management and revenue soar in North America in the first quarter of fiscal 2015 as well as reporting strong growth in the UK and Europe.

Canaccord Genuity Wealth saw its assets under management and revenue soar in North America in the first fiscal quarter of 2015, the quarter ended June 30, 2014, as well as reporting strong growth in the UK and Europe.

Globally, Canaccord Genuity Wealth generated $64.1 million in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

Revenue from Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management North America increased 20.5 per cent to $32.4 million, mostly due to improved market conditions, the firm said. However, after intersegment allocations, the firm recorded a net loss of $2.3 million before taxes in the first quarter.

Assets under administration in Canada jumped by 17.5 per cent to $11.0 billion at the end of June 2014, up 18 per cent from $9.3 billion for the same period a year ago.

Assets under management in Canada increased by 44.3 per cent to $880 million, compared to a year ago, due to the continued focus on the transition from traditional commission-based accounts to fee-based and managed accounts. There were 163 advisory teams in Canada, a decrease of 10 from a year ago.

Fee-based revenue in the North American operations as a percentage of revenue was relatively consistent with the first quarter of 2014 and accounted for 31.6 per cent of the wealth management revenue in Canada.

Expenses for the first quarter were $30.4 million, an increase of 11.7 per cent or $3.2 million from a year ago, driven by a $3.7 million increase in incentive compensation expense.

Canaccord said that the improved market conditions in Canada combined with the Company’s cost reduction initiatives resulted in a lower loss before income taxes for the three months ended June 30, 2014.

“The momentum we are building in our Canadian wealth management division and the impact of strategic and operational changes led to a 56 per cent reduction in year-over-year losses for this business,” Canaccord said in a statement.

“We are committed to growing our global wealth management operations and we have begun to invest strategically in advancing the scale and scope of this business. The Canadian launch of our proprietary Global Portfolio Solutions product is expected later in the fiscal year. In the UK, the November 2014 projected launch of a new front- and back-office system will provide the necessary infrastructure for continued growth in the region,” said Canaccord.

UK and Europe

Wealth management operations in the UK and Europe generated $30.1 million in revenue, an increase of 11.7 per cent compared to a year ago and recorded net income of $5.1 million before taxes. Fee-based revenue in UK and European operations accounted for 66.6 per cent of total revenue.

Assets under management in the UK and Europe wealth management operations increased 27 per cent to $20.5 billion over the same period last year.

For the group as a whole, Canaccord Genuity saw revenue increase 31.2 per cent for the three months ended 30 June to $245.6 million, up from $187.2 million compared to the same period a year ago.

“All of our geographic segments generated higher revenue compared to the first quarter 2014, demonstrating the strength of our global business and the success of our efforts to diversify our revenue streams. While the strength of our global business and diversified revenue streams were the main drivers of our strong revenue performance in the first quarter 2015, the impact of foreign currency translation also partially contributed to the increase in revenue over the same quarter in the prior year,” Canaccord said.

“Commissions and fees revenue earned in connection with the Canaccord Genuity segment decreased by $1.3 million compared to the same period last year as a result of reduced institutional trading activity. However, this reduction was more than offset by increases in the Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management segment of $2.9 million in Canada and $3.2 million in the UK and Europe,” Cannacord added.