Over the last decade, AGF has been undergoing a notable transformation. Several acquisitions plus new leadership led to above-average investment-professional turnover as well as product rationalizations. The firm’s high turnover has eased—a positive—but many flagship strategies are now managed by tenured portfolio managers without a clear succession plan. The firm has been successful in gathering assets in the equity space, but it has struggled in terms of growth in fixed income and asset allocation, despite improved performance.
Industry veteran Kevin McCreadie, the firm’s CEO and CIO since 2018, has presided over AGF through much of its transformation. He has united the firm under a common objective to provide investors with differentiated products, and indeed the firm’s lineup comprises funds that help diversify investor portfolios including concentrated equity, global, and emerging markets fixed income and alternative strategies. However, some uncertainty remains as investors adjust to an evolving regulatory environment that pits Canada’s bank-distributed funds against those offered by independent firms like AGF.