$IAG.TO

WealthSimple to Offer Clients Early Access to Select Canadian and U.S. IPOs

Power Corporation of Canada's (POW.TO) WealthSimple unit will give Canadian retail investors early access to select initial public offerings (IPOs) at the offering price, something that is typically limited to institutional and high-net-worth investors, the company said on Thursday.The new capability, called IPO Access, will allow Wealthsimple clients to request shares, with no minimum requirement, of select companies going public on Canadian and U.S. stock exchanges. There is no fee to participate.Specific IPOs will be announced in the Wealthsimple app. If demand exceeds the shares Wealthsimple has available, participating clients are selected through a transparent process that is disclosed ahead of each IPO. Clients may end up with all the shares they requested, some, or none."Access to IPO shares is one of the starkest divides in public market investing," said Swapnil Parikh, Wealthsimple vice president of product. "Big institutions get to buy in at the offering price, while everyday investors are excluded. Wealthsimple is making it possible for Canadian investors to participate in IPOs on the same terms, at the same price."Power Corp shares were last seen up $0.04 to $80.96 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Price: $81.02, Change: $+0.10, Percent Change: +0.12%

iA Financial Group Announces Offering of $500 Million of 4.158% Fixed/Floating Unsecured Subordinated Debentures

iA Financial Group (IAG.TO) announced late Thursday an offering of $500 million aggregate principal amount of 4.158% fixed/floating unsecured subordinated debentures due May 26, 2036.The interest on the debentures at the rate of 4.158% per annum will be payable in arrears in equal semi-annual installments on May 26 and November 26, in each year, commencing on November 26, 2026, and continuing until May 26, 2031, said the company.From May 26, 2031, interest on the debentures will be payable at a rate per annum equal to Daily Compounded CORRA plus 1.15% payable quarterly in arrears on the 26th day of each of February, May, August, and November in each year, starting on August 26, 2031, the company stated.It plans to use the net proceeds from the sale of the debentures for general corporate purposes, which may include investments in subsidiaries and repayment of indebtedness.The offering is expected to close on or about May 26, 2026, said the company."The offering is being done on a best efforts agency basis by a syndicate of agents led by RBC Capital Markets, BMO Capital Markets and CIBC Capital Markets, as co-leads and bookrunners, and including, National Bank Financial Markets, Scotiabank, TD Securities, iA Private Wealth Inc., Casgrain & Company Limited and UBS Investment Bank," it added.

CIBC Reviews Canadian Lifecos' Q1, Says Results "a Little Disappointing", Updates Price Targets on Group

The Canadian lifecos' first-quarter results were "a little disappointing", writes CIBC analyst Paul Holden, with Great-West Lifeco (GWO.TO) the only name to beat consensus EPS. Holden also updated his price targets on the shares of the group.Three lifecos experienced significant negative reactions on the day of their results (Manulife, Sun Life and iA Financial). 2027 consensus EPS for the three stocks did not change that much (-0.3% on average), but multiples declined to reflect lower earnings visibility."While there were clear weaknesses in the results for each of these three names, the overall outcome was not as bad as it initially appeared. EPS was up 8% Y/Y on average and ROE was up 90bps. Buying on weakness is a good call," Holden adds.He still recommends lifecos over banks, pointing out the expected insurance earnings increased by 9% Y/Y on average. Earnings are expected to benefit from the move in equity markets post quarter-end, while lifecos also tend to benefit from higher inflation and interest rates. P/E multiples also remain at a 15% discount to the banks.Great-West and Manulife Financial (MFC.TO)are Holden's two outperformer names. Great-West does not have any meaningful challenges that need to be addressed and there is room for EPS upside, including from a potential acquisition. He has raised his price target on the shares by $6.00 to $81.00.Asia is producing exceptional growth for Manulife, and GWAM earnings are also expected to see a big rebound in the second quarter along with U.S. insurance experience, which is off to a good start in 2026. ROE is on track for 18% in 2027, implying ~5% upside to consensus EPS, Holden calculates. Manulife is also trading at the biggest discount in the group (9%). "We believe this is the stock to buy between quarters." Manulife price target has also been raised to $61.00 from $58.00.CIBC is maintaining a neutral rating on both Sun Life (SLF.TO) and iA Financial (IAG.TO). The price target on the shares of Sun Life has been raised by $7.00 to $102.00, while iA Financial share price target has been lowered to $180.00 from $184.00.Price: $78.76, Change: $+0.61, Percent Change: +0.78%

iA Financial Price Target Lowered to $180.00 at CIBC After Q1 Earnings

CIBC has lowered its price target on the shares of iA Financial (IAG.TO) by $4.00, to $180.00 after the company reported a mixed first quarter.Analyst Paul Holden, who is maintaining a neutral rating on the company, also lowered 2026 and 2027 EPS estimates by ~1% each due to a higher tax rate.Insurance experience was negative during the quarter, but earnings in the wealth management business was strong, increasing 24%, on the back of strong AUM growth, he noted. "We expect strong earnings growth will continue and model 13% growth in 2026," Holden said.iA Financial also reported mixed results for the Canadian segment, while U.S. segment core earnings declined 13%.Price: $161.26, Change: $+2.05, Percent Change: +1.29%

iA Financial Downgraded to Hold at TD

TD Securities downgraded iA Financial Corp. Inc. (IAG.TO) to Hold from Buy on Wednesday.Analyst Mario Mendonca lowered his price target on shares of the Canadian insurance and wealth management company to $190 from $193 following its Q1 results on Tuesday."Core EPS was lower than expected reflecting experience losses and slightly higher share count," Mendonca said in a note to clients."WM momentum (earnings/flows & RF deal) remains strong, while US results were softer (experience losses were surprisingly high)," the analyst said. "ROE and capital flexibility remain solid.""While this was a good quarter (raised div. by 11%), we expected IAG to easily beat estimates after delivering a very weak Q4/25 result," Mendonca said."We see better upside in large cap insurers at this time."(covers equity, commodity and economic research from major banks and research firms in North America, Asia and Europe. Research providers may contact us here: https://www..com/contact-us)

iA Financial Target Eased To C$179 From $181, Keeps Sector Perform at National Bank Which Notes Lower U.S. Profits and Experience Losses Drove Q1 Miss

Earnings Flash (IAG.TO) iA Financial Posts Q1 Core EPS $3.25 per Share, Up 12% YoY; 11% Common Dividend Increase

TSX Closer: Index Down In All But 1 of the Last 8 Sessions; Morningstar Cites 10 Top-Performing Dividend Stocks

The Toronto Stock Exchange has closed lower in all but one of the last eight sessions, with the latest losses on this Tuesday coming as U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US-Iran ceasefire "is not over" despite attacks in the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.The S&P/TSX Composite Index closed down 71.96 points, or 0.2%, at 33.566.91, even as most sectors were higher, led by Health Care, up 2.5%, followed By Base Metals, up 2%, and Energy, up 1.4%. Information Technology was down near 4.2% and the Battery Metals Index was down 2.6%.Among individual stocks, BNN Bloomberg TV cited Ero Copper, up more than 5% today and up just short of 100% over one year. The company reported first-quarter results earlier Tuesday. BNN also cited Parex Resources (PXT.TO), up near 5% as Frontera (FEC.TO) obtained a final order approving their plan of arrangement.On the negative side, BNN cited Shopify (SHOP.TO), down more than 15% after its Q1 results, and Keyera (KEY.TO), which lost more than 7% as the Competition Bureau moved to block its $5.15-billion acquisition of Plains All American Pipelines Canadian natural-gas liquids business.Still on individual stocks, Morningstar Canada said the top performing dividend payers in April included engineering and construction company Aecon (ARE.TO), Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM.TO), and asset management firm IGM Financial (IGM.TO). Morningstar noted dividend-paying stocks that "combine healthy balance sheets with hefty yields" can provide investors with "steady incomes, cushion against market downturns, and grow investments at a healthy clip".A screening of the Morningstar Canada Index, which measures the performance of Canada's broad regional markets, targeting the top 97% of stocks by market capitalization, for companies with a forward dividend yield of at least 1.5%, excluding real estate investment trusts, showed the best performing Canadian dividend stocks last month. This included the aforementioned Aecon, CIBC and IGM. The list also included National Bank of Canada (NA.TO), TD Bank Group (TD.TO), Industrial Alliance Insurance and Financial Services (IAG.TO), Power Corporation of Canada (POW.TO), TMX Group (X.TO), Sun Life Financial (SLF.TO) and Superior Plus (SPB.TO).Of commodities, gold traded higher by midafternoon, rising off a five-week low as treasury yields weakened. Gold for June delivery was up US$35.60 to US$4,568.90 per ounce.But West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.9% with the ceasefire between the United States and Iran seen holding, calming Monday's gains as violence in the Persian Gulf eased. WTI crude oil for June delivery closed down US$4.15 to settle at US$102.27 per barrel, after rising 4.4% on Monday, while July Brent oil was down US$4.24 to US$110.20.

iA Financial Forms Strategic Partnership with PINQ2 and Algolab to "Pioneer Quantum Computing in the Canadian Insurance Industry"

iA Financial Group (IAG.TO) has formed a strategic partnership with PINQ2 (Plateforme d'Innovation Numerique et Quantique in French - Digital and Quantum Innovation Platform), the company said on Wednesday.iA Financial Group is the first Canadian insurer to partner with PINQ2's Advanced Hybrid Platform, using classical and quantum computing to drive innovation, said the company and added that it aims to explore quantum computing power to enhance its operations and services.Through this partnership, iA Financial Group will benefit from PINQ2's "orchestrated access to the Canadian quantum ecosystem," working with specialized partners including Enterprise Quantum and the AlgoLab at the Institut quantique, stated the company."This partnership not only demonstrates our commitment to merging the strengths of our team's human expertise with the power of digital technology but also emphasizes our dedication to being a learning organization-one that continually adapts, invests in knowledge development and fosters ongoing innovation," said Denis Berthiaume, Executive Vice-President, Strategy, Performance, Mergers and acquisitions of iA Financial Group. "By leveraging these advanced tools and cultivating a culture of learning, we will be able to deliver increasingly innovative and high-performing solutions for our clients."The company's shares were last seen down $0.29 at $173.77 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.Price: $174.19, Change: $+0.13, Percent Change: +0.07%

Great West Lifeco Remains Top Pick in CIBC Q1 LIfecos Preview

CIBC Capital Markets expects Canadian life insurers to post double-digit year over year earnings per share growth on average.Great West Lifeco (GWO.TO) remains top pick. Analyst Paul Holden expects the company to post the highest Y/Y EPS growth in the first quarter (19%). There is potential upside from a number of growth levers at Empower and a strong demand backdrop for capital solutions, he adds. An Empower bolt-on acquisition is a potential catalyst with estimated EPS accretion of ~6%. The stock is trading at a 6% premium to the group average on P/E, consistent with the historical premium.Manulife (MFC.TO) is another outperformer. Holden is looking for a better quarter from the company, noting that Manulife printed strong headline results last quarter but disappointed the Street on some KPIs. "We look for an improvement in U.S. insurance experience, Asia APE sales and GWAM net flows as potential upside drivers."Holden also wants to see double-digit EPS growth and continued progress towards the 2027 18% ROE objective. Manulife is trading at a 5% discount to the group average P/E and recent history suggests an in-line multiple is possible, he adds.CIBC lifted its Q1 EPS estimates for Great West Lifeco by 2%, Manulife and Sun Life by 1% each due to FX and company-specific factors, and decreased the estimate for iA Financial (IAG.TO) by 5% due to seasonality for U.S. dealer services and auto finance."As a group the stocks have not traded all that great YTD (+2.8% on average), and the discount to the banks on P/E now stands at 15% (five-year average is 11%)," Holden writes. He favors lifecos over banks given the valuation discount and strong fundamentals.Price: $70.45, Change: $+1.18, Percent Change: +1.70%