Halifax Financial Services 2017 HALIFAX FINANCIAL SERVICES PROFILE
FINANCIAL SERVICES HALIFAX IS ATLANTIC CANADA'S HUB CITY AND FINANCIAL SERVICES CAPITAL, WITH ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCENTRATIONS OF FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES IN CANADA. INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS Halifax has almost 2,000 financial services firms that employ about 16,000 people. Halifax is the regional headquarters of Canada s largest banks the Big 5. Halifax is home to a number of global financial services providers including Citco Fund Services, Marsh, Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services, Admiral Insurance, Maitland Group and Conifer Financial Services. Halifax is strategically located. With our North American time zone, financial services companies can easily do business with Europe and across North America on the same work day. Travel to and from global financial hubs like New York and London is also easy with direct air connections from Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES National and Global Centre for Insurance Fastest-growing hedge fund administration centre in Canada according to KPMG Dynamic back and middle office operations Reliable and secure telecommunications infrastructure Producing the talent you need Competitive business costs and incentives to meet your needs Immigration friendly policies to attract foreign workers Strategic location NOTABLE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMPANIES Nova Scotia s financial services and insurance sector has seen exceptional growth with major international firms establishing shared services, middle and back office operations in Halifax, including: Citco Fund Services Castle Hall Alternatives Marsh Analyze Re Admiral Insurance Manulife Financial Medavie Bluecross Conifer Financial Service BF&M Insurance
NATIONAL & GLOBAL CENTRE FOR INSURANCE Halifax has one of the highest concentrations of insurance industry firms and employment among urban centres across Canada. Halifax s infrastructure and concentrated urban economy enable national and international insurance firms to have significant regional offices in the city. Insurance brokers, adjusters and a variety of industry support activities, on the other hand, are distributed around the province. The concentration of economic activity in the hub enables the broad infrastructure that is necessary to support the success of the industry throughout Nova Scotia and beyond. INDUSTRY INSURANCE FACTS Only reinsurance technology firm in Canada east of Montréal is in Halifax. Growing international component with firms such as UK-based Admiral Insurance and New York-based Marsh Captive Solutions, all with large-scale operations in Halifax. The majority of property and casualty insurance companies in Halifax provide services to support local and national markets. Industry hires young professionals coming out of college and university. Halifax has been lauded for its supportive and local development network.
GLOBAL CENTRE FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES MIDDLE AND BACK OFFICE OPERATIONS Halifax has developed significant middle and back office operations, which includes: international hedge fund administrators like Citco Fund Services; insurance and reinsurance firms like Marsh, Admiral Insurance and Analyze Re; and due diligence firms like Castle Hall. RELIABLE AND SECURE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE Hibernia Atlantic s Halifax International Exchange Centre. The Hibernia Atlantic network provides fast and secure transmission of data between commercial North American and European clients via redundant routes through more than fifty commercial centers, including Dublin, Manchester, London, Halifax, Montréal, Boston and New York. Halifax is home to Hibernia Atlantic s network cable landing station, known as the Halifax International Exchange Centre. This site acts as a switching hub, and is capable of routing data directly to London without going through common back-office data sites. Stable power grid. The province is essentially self-sufficient with respect to serving in-province load and is not reliant on external power sources. As a result, the province was unaffected by the August 14, 2003 blackout that wiped out power in New York and Toronto. Central Nova Scotia has an extremely high stable power supply, with a System Average Interruption Duration Index of 2.26 meaning Halifax is, on average, without service for less than two and a half hours each year. Nova Scotia Power Inc. provides comprehensive disaster recovery plans and services to clients to meet their specific reliability needs. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia (IBANS) Chartered Professional Accountants of Nova Scotia (CPA Nova Scotia) Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia (ICANS) Institute of Internal Auditors (Maritime Chapter)
In Nova Scotia, we can access an experienced and stable pool of accounting and investment talent to support our ongoing growth. CHRIS ADDY, President and CE0, Castle Hall Alternatives We see Halifax as a strategic centre to develop our Canadian operations. With Nova Scotia's education infrastructure and competitive advantages, we know it is the right place for our new office and training centre. WILLIAM KEUNAN, Global Director, Citco Fund Services Halifax's airport and international connections were a critical factor as we determined our new locations. As well, a familiar legal structure to its UK operations and a strong population base were both major selling features. Frankly, it's just easy to set up a business here. ALEX MACDONALD, Vice President, Admiral Insurance
BUSINESS COSTS & INCENTIVES Halifax offers more competitive business costs compared to other cities across North America. COMPARATIVE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES* *KPMG compares cities across the world against the average cost of doing business across all American cities, which is represented by 100 in the graph. Source: KPMG Competitive Alternatives 2016 TAXATION CORPORATE INCOME TAX CORPORATE CAPITAL TAX General Rate 16.00% General Rate Eliminated Manufacturing 16.00% Financial Services 4.00% Small Business 3.00% Payroll Tax Nil Source: Nova Scotia Department of Finance
MEDIAN SALARY FOR CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT & FINANCIAL ANALYST (EIGHT YEARS EXPERIENCE) CITY CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANT SALARY FINANCIAL ANALYST SALARY Halifax $67,898 $58,132 Montréal $75,340 $62,229 Vancouver $78,141 $62,826 Toronto $79,749 $64,583 Boston $102,521 $73,286 Seattle $110,775 $74,847 New York $124,388 $81,843 Source: Payscale, June 2016. Salaries are in their respective currencies. INCENTIVES TO MEET YOUR PARTICULAR NEEDS Whether starting, relocating or expanding a business, you will benefit from a number of incentives at both the federal and provincial level to help you invest in Halifax. We ll be glad to assist you in identifying the ones that best suit your needs. NOVA SCOTIA PAYROLL REBATE The Nova Scotia Payroll Rebate, administered by Nova Scotia Business Inc., supports companies improving their competitiveness in export markets through innovation, productivity improvements or investments in product development, as well as companies locating or expanding in the province. The rebate has been a key tool in securing financial services investment to Halifax in recent years. The rebate is a return on a company s gross payroll taxes. The rebate amount depends on the economic benefit generated to the Province and is generally paid out annually over a term not exceeding five years. To be eligible for the rebate, a company must create or retain a targeted number of jobs, at a minimum determined salary, within a set time frame, and must also demonstrate it is meeting set targets associated with the coinciding project, including expenditure targets. WORKPLACE INNOVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY SKILLS INCENTIVE Receive provincial funding to invest in employee and management skills development, and improve productivity. It also helps companies adapt to the introduction of new technology and innovative processes, and enhance international competitiveness.
WORKFORCE ONE OF THE LARGEST CONCENTRATIONS OF UNIVERSITIES IN NORTH AMERICA, PRODUCING THE TALENT YOU NEED. Halifax has among the highest ratios of educational facilities to population in North America, with six universities offering a multitude of undergraduate and graduate programs. More than 31,000 students are enrolled at these universities every year, while some 7,549 earn degrees and certificates. This is in addition to the 10,951 students across Nova Scotia who attend the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as students graduating from universities in nearby towns and provinces. ACCESS TO GRADUATES With 2,287 commerce and administration graduates in 2014 and seven university level commerce programs throughout the province, Nova Scotia continues to train a steady flow of workers for the next generation of business. Below are recent enrolment and graduate numbers in the Maritime provinces, as well as programs offered by Halifax s universities and community college. TOTAL UNIVERSITY ENROLMENT AND GRADUATES IN THE MARITIME PROVINCE, 2014 2015 PROVINCE ENROLMENT GRADUATES Nova Scotia 44,037 9,737 New Brunswick 20,118 4,246 Prince Edward Island 4,272 905 TOTAL 68,427 14,888 BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ENROLMENT AND GRADUATES BY PROVINCE, 2014 2015 PROVINCE ENROLMENT GRADUATES Nova Scotia 9,282 2,287 New Brunswick 3,169 903 Prince Edward Island 727 175 TOTAL 13,178 3,365
RELATED EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT HALIFAX S POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS Three universities and one college in metro Halifax offer programs important to the financial services sector. DALHOUSIE PROGRAM Bachelor of Technology Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Commerce Master of Computer Science Bachelor of Management Masters of Arts AREAS OF FOCUS RELATED TO FINANCIAL SERVICES Small Business Management Economics Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, Actuarial Science Accounting, Entrepreneurship, Finance, International Business, Marketing Logistics, Marketing Management Computer Science, Informatics Business Management, Commerce Co-op, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Leadership & Organization Economics Masters of Electronic Commerce Master of Business Administration Master of Science Financial Services, Leadership, Corporate Residency Mathematics, Statistics Master of Applied Computer Science PhD Economics, Statistics, Mathematics MOUNT SAINT VINCENT UNIVERSITY PROGRAM Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Business Administration AREAS OF FOCUS RELATED TO FINANCIAL SERVICES Mathematics, Computer Science, Applied Statistics Mathematics, Economics, Applied Science Business Administration
SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY PROGRAM Certificate Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Science Master of Business Administration AREAS OF FOCUS RELATED TO FINANCIAL SERVICES Human Resource Management, Financial Instrument Analysis Economics Accounting, Computing & Information Systems, Entrepreneurship, Finance, General Business Studies, Human Resource Management, Management, Marketing Computing Science & Business Administration Executive MBA, CPA Stream Master of Finance Master in Management of C0-operatives & Credit Unions PhD in Business Administration NOVA SCOTIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAM AREAS OF FOCUS RELATED TO FINANCIAL SERVICES Business Administration (Accounting, Financial Services, Management, Marketing, Software & Information Management), Human Resources Diploma Management, International Business, Office Administration, Information Technology (Database, Administration, Programming, Systems Management/Networking), Public Relations
IMMIGRATION-FRIENDLY POLICIES TO ATTRACT FOREIGN WORKERS Bringing temporary foreign workers into the province is straightforward and fast. The Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP) Skilled Worker stream helps employers hire workers whose skills may be in limited supply in the province. The stream helps employers recruit and retain immigrant workers with the required skills for these positions. Work permits issued from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration are processed more quickly, on average, than most other provinces. A COMMITMENT TO HELPING YOU GROW The Halifax Partnership is the economic development organization for Halifax, Nova Scotia. As a public-private partnership, we bring together all three levels of government, industry, post-secondary and community partners to create and nurture the necessary relationships for business development across a broad range of industry sectors. We can assist you during your site selection process and relocation to Halifax by providing you with: Strategic support In-depth research and economic data Connection to business resources, incentives and financing Marketing materials Focused after-care program SmartBusiness, our business retention and expansion program The customized business case and unique value proposition relevant to your business needs FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT Jason Guidry Director, Investment, Trade & International Partnerships Halifax Partnership 902.490.6115 1.800.565.1191 jguidry@halifaxpartnership.com
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