2024 IIAC Operations Day

As we navigate through the ever-evolving world of post-pandemic work in 2024, the number of people working exclusively from home has fallen, but hybrid work has gained ground. The hybrid workplace model is not a simple formula or a panacea for all workplace challenges. How have firms’ Ops been impacted and how have they adjusted? Is it a sustainable model for the longer term?

And what about the Ops workforce of the future? Evolving client and advisor expectations, technological transformation, regulatory pressures and baby boomers retiring, has put a greater focus on the need to reskill and upskill the support and operations workforce and to attract a broad range of talent to fill a wide range of vital roles. Where are the gaps and what strategies are firms adopting to build the talent pipeline?

Moderator

Tracy Pontone
Vice President – Professional Services
Infinite Investment Systems Ltd.

Speakers

Melissa Ghislanzoni
Counsel
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Michele Hansson
Vice President – Strategic Initiatives, Process Excellence, and Learning & Development
National Bank Independent Network

Leona Tranter
Professor; Program Coordinator – Wealth Management
George Brown College

Firms are faced with the daunting task of managing, storing and interpreting immense data volumes used for transaction processing, account management, risk management, regulatory reporting, financial reporting, forecasting, and customer segmentation, as examples. Key technological breakthroughs such as big data and artificial intelligence have improved data management capabilities, led to faster and more informed decision-making, enhanced real-time risk assessment, and made operations more efficient. They also present challenges related to security, privacy, and integration complexities.

Moderator

Yuqing (Wendy) Wang
Associate Vice President – Regulatory Affairs & Reporting
Raymond James Ltd.

Speakers

Laurent Bensemana
Chief Executive Officer
Ndex Systems

Jenny Lin
Chief Architect – Global Technology Operations
Head – Enterprise Platforms Engineering
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.

Christopher Mendes
Head – Data & Analytics Strategy & Planning
BMO Financial Group

Ali Zahedi
Chief Executive Officer
Infinite Investment Systems Ltd.

The lack of automation in end-to-end account transfers within and between financial institutions can be frustrating for clients, advisors, and operations professionals. New technology-driven solutions can help streamline the client onboarding process and eliminating the need for manual interventions to resolve errors and inefficiencies in the account transfer process, but it can be a complex undertaking. Can we get to straight-through processing?

Moderator

Karen Woodman
President
Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada)

Speakers

Marie-Josée Audet
Vice-President – Operational Excellence and Administration
Desjardins Financial Security Investments Inc.

Liz Samson
Director – Investing Operations
Wealthsimple

Richard Wallace
Senior Director – Wealth Management Operations & Support
National Bank of Canada

Scott Wilkinson
Head Canada Wealth Solutions
Broadridge Financial Solutions

This session will focus on understanding the current corporate actions landscape, including the trends and drivers, and the strategies and best practices operations professionals are using to respond to various events to drive efficiencies and reduce risk.

Presentation & Moderator

Lawrence Bajek
Vice President – Strategic Wealth Solutions
Broadridge Financial Solutions

Panel

Stephanie Fay
Director – Corporate Actions & Income
CIBC Mellon

Carrie O’Brien
Director, Head – Canadian Global Custody Operations
BNY Mellon

In April 2023, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) jointly published changes to enhance total cost reporting (TCR) disclosure. Industry views on implementation issues were canvassed through IIAC roundtables of IFMs and dealers from integrated and independent models as well as through the IIAC’s surveys. These helped to inform the implementation framework presented in this session.

Speaker

Steve Braugiroux
Senior Manager – Dealers Operations, Reconciliations & Estates
National Bank of Canada

Rapidly advancing technologies, regulatory requirements, and increasing service demands continue to reshape and transform operations across the industry ecosystem. What does the future of Ops look like and how can firms navigate the road ahead.

Speaker

Ronald Landry
Vice President, Head – Asset Manager and ETF Solutions
CIBC Mellon