2016 Annual Report
Shareholder information

(1) Transactions valued above C$1.5 million.

Canaccord Genuity

With operations in 10 countries worldwide and the ability to list companies on 10 exchanges, Canaccord Genuity is a leading independent global investment bank focused on growth companies.

Our unique global perspective and cross-border capabilities are what differentiate us from our competitors. Our ability to leverage relationships and deep expertise across multiple regions allows us to provide a diverse range of growing companies with access to global capital markets, at all stages of the business cycle.

Introduction

Canaccord Genuity provides investment banking, advisory, sales and trading, equity research and fixed income services to corporate and institutional clients in Canada, the US, the UK & Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. We are differentiated by our proven execution capabilities and our ability to deliver truly global ideas and perspective in key sectors of the economy. In all regions, clients of Canaccord Genuity enjoy a consistent service offering that is rooted in deep industry experience and focused client attention. Operating as a culture of partners, we promote the sharing of ideas, best practices and value creation opportunities around the world.

During 2016, we placed a stronger emphasis on improving global coordination across our capital markets operations. We also added to the depth and quality of our regional leadership teams and invested strategically to improve our global capability in our core focus sectors. In doing so, we have created a platform that encourages cross-border collaboration and one we expect will create stronger outcomes for our clients and our shareholders.

At every stage of the business cycle, we are dedicated to delivering measurable value for clients focused on growth.

During fiscal 2016, our global capital markets operations earned revenue of $532.3 million. Our US operation was the strongest contributor to this total, with annual revenue of $217.4 million, a record for this business.

Our UK & Europe operation continued to be negatively impacted by the market downturn, most notably during the second half of the fiscal year as issuers remained cautious in their approach to capital raising activities, driven by persistent economic uncertainty and an impending referendum. During the fiscal year, we took steps to significantly refocus this business, to improve its long term stability and profitability. This was also a difficult year for our Canadian business, a historically strong performer. With improving performance in diversified sectors and early signs of activity in the natural resource sectors, we are confident this business will quickly return to material profitability.

In the Asia-Pacific region, our Australian business continues to be a strong and growing competitor. During our fourth fiscal quarter, we announced the sale of our Singapore operations, a non-core asset. This development allows us to provide greater focus on our remaining Asia-Pacific operations, which complement the broader capabilities of our operations in North America and the UK & Europe. We continue to invest in our capabilities in Dubai and Tel Aviv, both of which complement our global capital raising abilities and enhance our global distribution to investors with increasing demand for exposure to investments in global growth opportunities.

While a difficult global market environment continued to impact activity levels across our capital markets operations throughout the fiscal year, we used the period productively to refocus our businesses and align our core offerings, so that we can compete globally in our core focus sectors, increase cross-selling opportunities and, ultimately, grow our profitability.

In the second half of the year, we undertook restructuring initiatives to focus our operations and exit underperforming businesses. A leaner and more focused structure allows us to prioritize coverage in the areas where we can be the mid-market leader, capable of delivering stronger returns in the coming year.

We are beginning to see results of our initiatives to streamline our global capital markets operations and reduce our fixed costs. Excluding significant items, we were able to decrease total expenses for this business by 6% over the fiscal year. The impact of our restructuring initiatives was also evidenced in our fourth quarter general and administrative expense, which decreased by 30% compared to the previous fiscal quarter, while revenues for this business increased by 14% over the same period.

During the year, we reorganized our global sales and trading desks to promote cross-border collaboration and drive cross-selling opportunities, which we expect will strengthen our client relationships and, ultimately, our profitability. Additionally, by enhancing our cross-border equity research and corporate access capabilities, we look forward to improving returns on our marketing efforts, while lowering our overall costs.

We also began the international rollout of Quest®, Canaccord Genuity’s proprietary offering of online analytical tools, valuation models and market commentary. Based on the success of the initial launch in the UK & Europe, we expect Quest® to provide opportunities for revenue growth and to become a valuable tool for enhancing our client relationships.

In all of our markets, we continue to experience an excellent recruiting environment, which we have used to our advantage to strengthen core teams in alignment with our global efforts. We are also fortunate to have cultivated a pipeline of activity in all of our primary markets, and we are very well positioned to successfully execute on these mandates when market conditions permit.

In any market environment, we are relentlessly focused on capturing operating efficiencies and further integrating our global capital markets operations to strengthen cross-border coordination and drive profitability.

Global Investment Banking and Advisory Revenue by sector during Fiscal 2016 (Percent of revenue) - Core sectors(Global) listed first, followed by Regional Expertise
Sector Percentage of revenue
Core Sectors (global)
Metals and Mining 5%
Energy 4%
Technology 26%
Real Estate 13%
Sustainability 10%
Life Sciences 17%
Regional Expertise
Consumer and Retail 5%
Infrastructure 3%
Transportation and Industrials 1%
Financials 12%
Media and telecommunications 2%
Other 2%
UK & Europe Revenue (C$ millions, fiscal years)
Year Data
2012 51.2
2013 158.0
2014 212.3
2015 155.9
2016 145.4
Canada Revenue (C$ millions, fiscal years)
Year Data
2012 232.3
2013 204.3
2014 148.5
2015 204.6
2011 131.4
US Revenue (C$ millions, fiscal years)
Year Data
2012 79.5
2013 153.4
2014 216.5
2015 203.0
2016 217.4
Asia-Pacific Revenue (C$ millions, fiscal years)
Year Data
2012 10.5
2013 25.3
2014 38.5
2015 49.6
2016 38
CANACCORD GENUITY REVENUE (C$ millions, fiscal years)
Year Data
2012 373.5
2013 541.0
2014 615.8
2015 613.1
2016 532.3
Fiscal 2016 Revenue by Activity
Activity Data
Adivisory 30%
Commissions 29%
Investment Banking 23%
Principle Trading 17%
Interest and Other 1%

Investment Banking

Canaccord Genuity’s global team of investment banking professionals have deep industry knowledge and strong professional ties in key sectors of the global economy, with practical experience in over 70 countries worldwide. Our fully integrated global business provides industry leading independent expertise and direct access to institutional investors around the world. Our specialist teams are closely involved in assignments from initiation to completion and work closely with their global counterparts to ensure that clients benefit from a broad range of experience and expertise. We are committed to adding measurable value at all stages of the business cycle.

During fiscal 2016, Canaccord Genuity participated in 157 transactions to raise $35 billion for global growth companies. Of these, Canaccord Genuity led 66 transactions globally, to raise total proceeds of $4.3 billion.

Throughout the fiscal year, we took steps to better align our global investment banking teams and prioritize coverage in the sectors where we can compete, and win. While our focused sector diversification strategy provides stability, we are also pleased to see resurgence in capital raising activity in the mining and energy sectors. During the fiscal year, we made investments to strengthen our global resource investment banking and distribution capability, and we are confident that we will maintain our position as the leading independent investment bank for the natural resource sectors.

Fiscal 2016 Significant Regional Investment Banking Transactions
Fiscal 2016 Significant Regional Investment Banking Transactions Region
£2.45 billion for Worldpay Group PLC on the LSE UK
£451.0 million underwritten rights issue for Optimal Payments PLC on AIM in relation to its proposed €1.1 billion acquisition of Skrill Group UK
£227.0 million for Playtech PLC on the LSE UK
Two transactions totalling £205.8 million for The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited on the LSE UK
C$460.1 million for Pembina Pipeline Corporation on the TSX CA
C$402.5 million for Acasta Enterprises Inc. on the TSX CA
C$250.3 million for Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Investment Trust on the TSX CA
US$531.3 million for Atlassian Corporation PLC on NASDAQ US
US$206.9 million for Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. on NASDAQ US
US$155.2 million for ConforMIS, Inc. on NASDAQ US
€23.75 million private placement for TiGenix NV on EuroNext Brussels US
Two transactions totalling AUD$157.3 million for Orocobre Limited on the ASX AU
AUD$32.0 million for Starpharma Holdings Limited on the ASX AU
AUD$75.0 million for ImpediMed Limited on the ASX AU
Canada

While a challenging market environment impacted the performance of this traditionally strong business segment during fiscal 2016, for five years in a row Canaccord Genuity in Canada has been the top Canadian underwriter by number of transactions and the leading independent investment dealer for IPOs in the region(1). Following the appointment of Pat Burke as President of Canadian Capital Markets, we have realigned our leadership and sector head structure and successfully recruited into our strategic sectors, to strengthen our offering and maintain our position as the dominant independent investment bank in the region.

US

Our US investment banking business strongly supports our global capabilities and provides increasing opportunities for us to deliver solutions for clients in key sectors of the market. Throughout the year, we successfully leveraged and invested in our capabilities in our key sectors, including the TMT, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Industrials, Sustainability, Real Estate and Consumer practices, to complement our global efforts, which resulted in this region being the strongest contributor to our global investment banking franchise, accounting for 31.5% of fiscal 2016 revenue.

UK & EUROPE

Our investment banking operations in the UK & Europe continued to be negatively impacted by the market downturn, as issuers remained cautious in their capital raising activities, driven by persistent economic uncertainty and the upcoming UK referendum. Throughout the fiscal year, we took steps to strategically refocus this business in alignment with our core focus areas, to improve its long term stability and profitability. We have also added senior hires in a number of sectors to improve coordination with our global efforts.

ASIA-PACIFIC

The strength of our Australian investment banking operation has made this business an increasingly important contributor to our global franchise. This highly experienced capital markets team, focused solely on the mid-market, is carving out a very strong market-leading position in the mid-market and is currently the top independent investment bank in the region by proceeds raised(2). With a highly diversified revenue base, we continue to leverage the strength of this business to increase market share and drive growth in the Australian market.

(1) Source: FP Infomart. Transactions over C$1.5 million. Excludes convertibles, preferreds, full credit league table.

(2) Source: ThomsonOne

Advisory

Canaccord Genuity’s global advisory teams share a relentless focus on developing and executing transactions that define – and redefine – the marketplace. Our talented professionals form a unified and multilingual team, operating from offices in all of our geographies. With our unparalleled service offering and deep regional and global expertise, clients receive strategic advice and idea origination from some of the most experienced professionals in the industry. We commit to our clients for the long run and we believe in building lasting relationships, ensuring a clear strategy and a genuine interest in delivering successful outcomes.

While fiscal 2016 was a challenging year for capital raising activities, firm-wide revenue generated from advisory activities increased by 5% compared to the previous fiscal year and contributed 30% of our total capital markets revenues. Throughout the year, we made further progress to strengthen integration across our global advisory teams. By operating globally, we expect to strengthen our market share and materially improve our performance. Additionally, our independence and global capability are key differentiators for our restructuring and debt advisory business, which contribute to improving opportunities and activity levels in this segment.

Fiscal 2016 Significant M&A and Advisory Transactions
Fiscal 2016 Significant M&A and Advisory Transactions Region
Optimal Payments on its €1.1 billion acquisition of Skrill CA, UK
Amica Mature Lifestyles Inc. on its C$986 million sale to BayBridge Seniors Housing Inc. CA
Distech Controls on its C$318 million sale to Acuity Brands CA, US
COM DEV International Ltd. on the C$455 million sale of its equipment business to Honeywell International Inc. and the C$125 million spin-out of exactEarth CA, US
LED Linear on its €61 million sale to Fagerhult SE, DE
NYX Gaming Group Limited on its C$150 million acquisition of Chartwell Technology Inc. and Cryptologic Limited CA
Ashley Park Financial Services Corp. on its cross-border debt financing CA
Linxens SAS on the €1.5 billion sale to CVC Capital Partners from Astorg Partners UK
Investcorp, through its investment vehicle, Orca Bidco Limited, on the £66.7 million acquisition of OpSec Security Group PLC UK
Charles Bank Capital Partners on its acquisition of Six Degrees Technology Group Limited UK
Ephesus Lighting, Inc. on its sale to Eaton Corporation PLC US
American Eagle Energy on its sale to Resource Energy Can-AM LLC US
Shoe Sensation, Inc. on its sale to J.W. Childs Associates, L.P. US
Harvest International New Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Sunshine Kaidi New Energy Group Co. of China, on the C$147.0 million acquisition of Alter NRG Corporation CA
Canada

Canaccord Genuity is the sole independent Canadian investment bank with a dedicated global advisory practice. For the fiscal year, our Canadian capital markets team contributed 37% of our total global advisory revenues. Our strong market position is attributable to our long-standing relationships and, in addition, to the track record of success we have historically achieved for our clients in the region. We are proactively focusing on leveraging our global platform to harness increasing numbers of advisory opportunities in our core focus sectors.

US

Our US advisory business earned record advisory revenues of $31.2 million in fiscal 2016 and contributed 44.7% of this region’s total investment banking revenues, reflecting the solid progress of our diversification strategy. Both our cross-border capability and our debt origination and restructuring capabilities helped to expand opportunities for increasing share of wallet. We are a leading provider of independent advisory services, which means that clients can trust that our strategic advice is free of conflict.

UK & Europe

Canaccord Genuity has strong advisory capabilities across continental Europe. While the operating environment for our business in this region has been challenging, we have made significant progress in refocusing this business and have taken steps to integrate our corporate broking and advisory capabilities, so that we can maximize our offering to clients who require more than one service. We have also added strength to our Debt Advisory and Private Equity teams.

Asia-Pacific

With professionals located in Australia, China and Hong Kong and access to a large network of global professionals, our Asia-Pacific advisory business is a key element of our growth strategy in the region. While lower overall M&A activity in the region negatively impacted fiscal 2016 performance in this segment, our strong cross-border advisory capability allows us to deepen client relationships and increasingly provide access to global opportunities for our clients.

Canaccord Genuity Advisory Revenue (C$ millions, fiscal years)
Year Data
2012 107.3
2013 179.2
2014 138.9
2015 151.2
2016 158
CANACCORD GENUITY ADVISORY REVENUE BY REGION DURING FISCAL 2016
Region Data
Canada 37%
US 20%
UK & Europe 40%
Asia-Pacific 3%

Sales and Trading

Our integrated global sales and trading platform delivers powerful distribution and execution capabilities for companies and investors focused on growth. Canaccord Genuity’s global sales and trading team is passionate about connecting the right idea with the right client, at the right time. We are dedicated to developing solid client relationships that allow institutional investors to gain meaningful access to established and emerging entrepreneurs.

From our 14 international trading desks, we are active participants on 10 global exchanges. With experienced professionals located around the world and deep institutional relationships, we take pride in having the broadest account coverage of any mid-market bank.

During fiscal 2016, we were able to increase principal trading revenues by 19.2% compared to the previous fiscal year, led by our US operations. Throughout the year, we reorganized our global sales and trading desks to strengthen collaboration between regions and disciplines and increase impact from our existing offering. Looking ahead, we expect to drive incremental revenue growth through our newly established International Desks in the US, Canada and the UK and increase our share of significant cross-border commission opportunities in our core geographies. During fiscal 2016, we also formed a dedicated resource sales team, to ensure that clients in all regions are able to take advantage of our deep sector expertise and proven execution capabilities.

Canada

Canaccord Genuity is the top independent trader in Canada(1). We have deeply established trading relationships with domestic and international clients, and our market-leading execution capabilities have allowed us to increase global product placement into Canada. During fiscal 2016, we invested in our electronic trading capability and added an ETF trading capability to improve our participation in this rapidly growing market. We also better integrated our foreign exchange and stock loan capabilities, to further improve our market share.

UK & Europe

Throughout the fiscal year, we have improved our processes to provide more discipline around account coverage and worked to improve alignment with our global equity research team, to strengthen sales and trading activity in our core focus sectors. Our dedicated Quest® sales team has been working to support the phased rollout of this differentiated product to our other geographies. We also launched a dedicated UK International Desk, to drive additional revenue through cross-border collaboration with our global sales and trading teams.

US

Driven by the performance of our International Equities Group, our US principal trading business increased fiscal 2016 revenues by 32% compared to the previous fiscal year. On the back of a consistent and focused effort, we have made significant traction in growing cross-border revenue streams that leverage our new issue, research, access and trading flows with our UK and Canadian businesses. Our investments in new systems and in sales and trading strategies – such as National Market System (NMS) and cross-border solutions – give us confidence in our ability to generate further growth in this business.

Asia-Pacific

With experienced professionals integrated across our Sydney, Perth, Melbourne and Hong Kong offices, our sales and trading team has cultivated strong relationships with institutional and high net worth investors across the Asia-Pacific region, which forms a strong complement to our global execution capability. This business is providing increasing opportunities for our distribution capabilities and is delivering a growing number of cross-border marketing opportunities for corporates in the region.

(1) Source: Bloomberg. Trading volumes April 2015 to March 2016.

Equity Research

We analyze close to 1,000 global companies across a broad range of market sectors, identifying value and defining risk for our clients.

Canaccord Genuity’s global team of research professionals are inquisitive, experienced and committed to generating actionable investment ideas for our clients. We leverage our independent global perspective to clarify current events and anticipate market trends in trusted daily, weekly and monthly publications.

Our clients benefit from our thorough and sophisticated knowledge of the diverse sectors we cover, and as part of our commitment to providing timely and relevant ideas for clients in all markets, we regularly add to our coverage universe.

In many of our markets, we take pride in having the highest rated independent equity research product with more coverage than any of our independent peers.

In fiscal 2016, we continued to improve global coordination of our research offering and broaden our reach to institutional investors around the world. We also eliminated coverage of non-core sectors and made strategic investments to add regional coverage in our core focus sectors, to ensure the delivery of a truly global perspective for our clients.

quest - A division of canaccord genuity logo

Quest® is Canaccord Genuity’s proprietary stock screening and idea generation tool. For two decades, clients have trusted Quest® to provide superior data integrity and analytical tools, which help generate and compare investment ideas across sectors and markets, free of objective or bias.

Additionally, Quest® provides the foundation for numerous Canaccord Genuity products and services. The platform provides global strategists, equity research analysts and asset managers with the ability to combine proprietary equity analytical techniques with a wide range of more conventional financial analyses.

A year ago, we relaunched a stronger, broader and more flexible platform. The new Quest® covers an equity universe that comprises 95% of total global market capitalization, on a scalable platform that allows for the addition of new coverage and functionality as market conditions change.

Following the successful relaunch in the UK & Europe, we have begun to introduce Quest® to our clients in Canada, the US and Asia-Pacific. We have also integrated Quest® analyses into many of our global equity research products. Looking ahead, we expect this differentiated offering to provide opportunities for revenue growth and to become a valuable tool for enhancing our client relationships in all of the regions where we operate.

Canada
Canada
#1 independent research firm in Canada for the sixth year in a row and #2 in small-cap research, 2015 Brendan Wood Survey
7 “top 5” analysts in the 2015 Brendan Wood Survey
7 top ranked analysts in the 2016 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards
UK
UK
#5 ranking in the 2016 Extel UK Small and Midcaps Survey
5 top ranked analysts in the 2016 Extel UK Small and Midcaps Survey
3 top ranked analysts in the 2016 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards