Scotiabank buying Montreal investment firm for $950 million

TORONTO — The Bank of Nova Scotia’s mostly stock deal to buy Montreal’s Jarislowsky Fraser investment firm for $950 million will create the third-largest active money manager in Canada amid growing consolidation in the wealth management industry.

The agreement announced Monday gives Scotiabank more than $40 billion in assets under management and comes after the Canadian lender told shareholders earlier this month that it is interested in acquiring more institutional and private wealth assets, as it moves to generate more earnings from its wealth division.

Glen Gowland, Scotiabank’s senior vice-president and head of asset management, said the deal arose out of a long-standing, working relationship with Jarislowsky Fraser.

He said the iconic firm’s business is “complimentary” and a formal tie-up will help Scotiabank diversify the mix of its wealth business, where earnings come primarily from retail.

This is the latest acquisition for Scotiabank in recent months, after announcing two deals aimed at expanding its reach in Latin America.

Last month, the lender announced an agreement to buy Citibank’s consumer and small and medium enterprise operations in Colombia for an undisclosed amount.

In December, Scotiabank said it had secured a deal to buy a 68 per cent stake in a Chilean banking operation, BBVA Chile, for $2.9 billion.