Henri-Paul Rousseau Vice-Chairman, Power Corporation of Canada & Power Financial Corporation – “Is there any value in financial advice?”
Not a day passes without a comment in the media about the high fees that financial institutions charge to Canadians. Much criticized are the fees charged for managing individual savings, particularly in the case of mutual funds. Explanations from the industry that such fees help cover the cost of advice are met with skepticism.
Some academic research seems to support these assertions. The research purports to show that financial professionals cannot, by definition, systematically beat the market; and that when they do, any gain made for their clients is eaten up by the fees that those professionals charge.
Yet, on the other hand, it is a fact that almost two thirds of Canadian personal financial wealth is managed with advice by professionals, and that a good third of Canadian households of all income levels use financial advice.
These apparent contradictions raise the question of the value of financial advice. Henri-Paul Rousseau will address this question at this joint conference of the Canadian Club and of the Club canadien de Toronto.
Bio
Mr. Henri-Paul Rousseau obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Economics at the Université de Sherbrooke. He continued his education at the University of Western Ontario, where he received the T.M. Brown Thesis Prize for the best doctoral dissertation in economics.
Mr. Rousseau has been a Vice-Chairman of Power Corporation of Canada and of Power Financial Corporation since 2009. He is a Director of several Power group companies. He is a member of the Board of Directors of Santander Bank N.A. He is Chairman of the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation and is active in a number of community and not-for-profit organizations in the sectors of health and education.
Previously, he held the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the Laurentian Bank of Canada, and served as Vice-Chairman and President and Chief Executive Officer of Boréal Assurances Inc., as well as Senior Vice-President of the National Bank of Canada. He was a professor of Economics at both Université Laval and Université du Québec à Montréal.
In recognition for his contributions as an economist, accomplished manager, and involved citizen, he was awarded honorary doctorates from Concordia University, Université Lumière Lyon 2, Université Laval, and Université de Sherbrooke. In 2006, he was named a “Great Montrealer” by the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal’s Academy of Great Montrealers.
Canadian Club – Curse of Politics