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WEBINAR | MGA Show & Tell: Insurance Innovations from Leading Industry Executives

Webinar Advisor Productivity
"The greatest risk facing advisors today isn't markets — it's continuity."

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The managing general agent (MGA) landscape in Canada is evolving fast, and the executives leading it are making bold decisions about technology, compliance, advisor independence, and succession. In this candid show-and-tell session, five top MGA and distributor leaders share what they're building, what they're prioritizing, and what they believe will define the advisor of 2026.

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Our guest panelists

Session agenda

  1. The advisor opportunity of 2026: Why Canadians need advice more than ever
  2. Total cost reporting and demonstrating value: What's coming in January 2027, and how comprehensive planning becomes the differentiator
  3. Independence without isolation: What advisor-centric platforms actually look like in practice
  4. AI, technology, and the future of the MGA: Agentic AI in compliance, underwriting, and policy management
  5. Succession planning as a business design decision: Why starting early is everything
  6. What the MGA of the future looks like: Shareholder-first vs. advisor-first, and why it matters

What you'll learn

  • How to prepare for total cost reporting before the January 2027 deadline and why advisors who act early will seize the most opportunity
  • What the advisor of 2026 looks like: digitally enabled, compliant by design, and spending more time with clients, not less
  • How leading MGAs are using agentic AI to automate compliance, policy management, and underwriting, and what that means for the advisors they support
  • Why succession planning isn't an exit strategy, but a business design decision, and the best time to start is when you don't urgently need it
  • The difference between an MGA that is forward-thinking through the lens of the shareholder versus one that operates through the lens of the advisor
  • How to build a practice with transferable enterprise value and why that distinction matters more than ever

About our experts

Joel Welch, CFP, CKA, RRC

Senior Vice President, Business Development & Advisory Practices | Global Maxfin Investments Inc.

Joel Welch leads business development and advisory practices at Global Maxfin Investments Inc., working with advisors and leadership across Canada to build the tools, partnerships, and infrastructure that help independent advisors grow. A CFP with decades of industry experience, Joel is a vocal advocate for comprehensive financial planning as the ultimate differentiator in an era of total cost reporting, and for equipping advisors with everything they need to demonstrate provable, tangible value to clients.

Maria Jose Flores Suarez

President & Chief Compliance Officer | Carte Financial Group

Maria Jose Flores is the President and Chief Compliance Officer of Carte Wealth Management Inc. and Carte Risk Management Inc. With 16 years at Carte, rising from co-op student to CCO in 2014 and President in 2022, she has built one of Canada's most respected independent dealer compliance cultures. Under her leadership, Carte has been ranked the #1 Mutual Fund Dealer for seven consecutive years in the Investment Executive Dealer Report Card. Currently serving as Chair of the ACCP for 2026 and named one of Insurance Business Canada's Elite Women 2026, Maria brings a practitioner's conviction that compliance should empower advisors and not restrict them.

Kirk Purai

Founder & CEO | Carte Financial Group

Kirk Purai is the Founder and CEO of Carte Financial Group, which includes Carte Risk Management, a national MGA serving over 1,800 insurance advisors, and Carte Mutual Fund, a national mutual fund dealer. A CFP and longtime MDRT Court of the Table member, Kirk built his career on the conviction that independent advisors deserve the most supportive, forward-thinking platform available. Under his leadership, Carte has invested heavily in agentic AI to automate compliance, contracting, and policy management with the goal of giving advisors back the time they need to focus on what matters most: their clients.

Jim Brownlee, CFP, CLU, CH.F.C.

Executive Vice President, Distribution | PPI Management Inc.

Jim Brownlee is the Executive Vice President of Distribution at PPI Management Inc., Canada's oldest and largest MGA. With nearly 40 years in the Canadian life insurance industry, Jim has spent his career connecting independent advisors with the tools, expertise, and support they need to build serious businesses. At PPI, he works alongside a senior leadership team committed to the firm's founding belief: that independent advice, delivered by well-supported advisors, is the best way to serve Canadian clients. His perspective on the MGA's evolving role — from operational backbone to strategic growth partner — is shaped by decades on both the carrier and distribution sides of the industry.

Jeff Holtzman

Vice President, Sales | Qualified Financial Services (QFS)

Jeff Holtzman is Vice President of Sales at Qualified Financial Services (QFS), bringing 28 years of financial services experience spanning roles as an advisor, wholesaler, MGA operations manager, and most recently Director of Wealth Sales at Sun Life. At QFS, he leads the business development team with a straightforward mandate: to be a true business partner to every advisor in the network and help them move the needle on their practice. Jeff is drawn to QFS's advisor-first philosophy: the belief that treating everyone like family and helping everyone be better at what they do is a decision-making framework that shapes everything the firm builds.

Keep the conversation going

Explore these Equisoft resources on the themes covered in this session from compliance and succession to technology and practice growth.