COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

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1 FINANCIAL SERVICES

2 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 Nova Scotia has over 3,200 financial services firms primarily located in Halifax that employ about 18,000 people. Halifax is the regional headquarters of Canada s largest banks - the Big 5. They added almost 500 new employees in Halifax from Majority of Canada s top insurance firms are located in Halifax. Halifax s insurance industry is expected to grow 25% between 2010 and 2013, according to the Conference Board of Canada. Halifax is home to a number of global financial services providers including Citco Fund Services, Marsh, Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services, Admiral Administration (Maitland), Meridian Fund Services and Conifer Fund 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

3 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 CIBC Mellon Castle Hall Alternatives Marsh Analyse Re Meridian Fund Services BF&M Insurance Admiral Insurance Manulife ING Medavie Bluecross Conifer Fund Service 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. Insurance industry facts Only reinsurance technology firm in Canada east of Montreal is in Halifax Growing international component with firms such as UK-based Admiral Insurance, New York-based Marsh Captive Solutions and Bermuda-based Flagstone Re, 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 Over 360 firms in Nova Scotia: providers, brokers, and related companies Industry contributes $460 million in direct annual GDP and $757.4 million in indirect annual GDP in the province Industry directly employs 4,500 in Nova Scotia Almost 20% employment growth from with an expected 25% growth in the next three years Industry hires young professionals coming out of college and university Halifax has been lauded for its supportive and local development network

4 INSURANCE EMPLOYMENT INTENSITY IN HALIFAX % of the Maritime Provinces Employed Workforce TOTAL INSURANCE LABOUR FORCE 33.3% INSURANCE CARRIERS & RELATED ACTIVITIES (NAICS 524) 35.3% INSURANCE CARRIERS (NAICS 5241) 40% AGENCIES, BROKERAGES & OTHER INSURANCE RELATED ACTIVITIES (NAICS 5242) 30.1% Source: NHS 2011 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 and Meridian Fund Services; insurance and reinsurance firms like Marsh, Admiral Insurance and Analyze Re; and due diligence firms like Castle Hall.

5 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, Montreal, 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 selfsufficient 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. Downtown Halifax has an extremely high stable power supply, with a System Average Interruption Duration Index of 0.98 meaning that the downtown core is, on average, without service for less than one hour each year. Nova Scotia Power Inc. provides comprehensive disaster recovery plans and services to clients to meet their specific reliability needs. 100% Broadband availability. Fee-based broadband service is now available across the entire province. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS & ORGANIZATIONS Insurance Brokers Association of Nova Scotia Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA) Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nova Scotia Institute of Internal Auditors (Maritime Chapter)

6 INDUSTRY VOICES Alex MacDonald Vice President Admiral Group Halifax s airport and international connections were a critical factor as we determined our new location. 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. William Keunen Global Director Citco Fund Services 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. Chris Addy CEO Castle Hall Alternatives In Nova Scotia, we can access an experienced and stable pool of accounting and investment talent to support our ongoing growth. Chris Varin Managing Director Marsh We ve identified Nova Scotia as a key location to improve our customer experiences and enhance our high quality of service.

7 BUSINESS COSTS & INCENTIVES Halifax has significantly lower business costs related to financial services than most other North American cities. COMPARATIVE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IN INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES New York London (UK) Boston Seattle Toronto Vancouver Montreal Manchester (UK) Halifax Source: KPMG Competitive Alternatives 2012 TAXATION CORPORATE INCOME TAX General Rate 16.00% Manufacturing & Processing 16.00% Small Business Rate 3.50% CORPORATE CAPITAL TAX General Rate Eliminated Financial Services 4.00% Payroll Tax Nil Source: Nova Scotia Department of Finance

8 Competitive salaries. Financial services salaries in Halifax tend to be lower than in other Canadian and American cities a real competitive advantage for companies located here. AVERAGE BASE SALARY FOR A CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT (8 YEARS EXPERIENCE) & SENIOR FINANCIAL ANALYST (8 YEARS EXPERIENCE) City Chartered Accountant Base Salary Senior Financial Analysts Base Salary Manchester (UK) $60,899 $72,367 Seattle $71,424 $82,060 Halifax $71,796 $69,933 Montreal $73,429 $72,636 Boston $75,253 $81,880 London (UK) $78,594 $83,782 New York $78,927 $84,723 Vancouver $80,324 $77,589 Toronto $84,079 $76,690 Source: Payscale, August 2013 Inexpensive office space. According to CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the average rental rate for class-a office space in downtown Halifax is $18.14/sq. ft., well below that of other major cities across North America. Comparable office space is more expensive in Washington, Seattle, Boston, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. 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. Capital Investment Incentive Receive provincial funding to help offset the cost of buying technologically-advanced machinery, clean technology, equipment, software and hardware. 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.

9 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 30,000 students are enrolled at these universities every year, while some 6,805 earn degrees and certificates. This is in addition to the 10,688 students across Nova Scotia who attend the Nova Scotia Community College, as well as students graduating from universities in nearby towns and provinces. Three universities and one college in metro Halifax offer programs important to the financial services sector. ACCESS TO GRADUATES With 1,706 commerce and administration graduates in 2011/12 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 provinces, Province Enrolment Graduates Nova Scotia 42,878 9,628 New Brunswick 23,461 4,981 Prince Edward Island 4, Total 70,754 15,305 Source: Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission Commerce & Administration enrolment by province, Province Enrolment Graduates Nova Scotia 6,945 1,088 New Brunswick 2, PEI Total 10,236 1,706

10 RELATED EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT HALIFAX S POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS Dalhousie University Program Certificate Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Science Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Computer Science Master of Arts Master of Business Admin. Master of Science PhD. Areas of Focus Related to Financial Services Business Management, Financial Management, Human Resource Management Economics, Mathematics, Statistics Economics, Mathematics, Statistics Accounting, Business Management, Entrepreneurship, Finance, International Business, Marketing Logistics, Marketing Management Computer Science, Informatics Economics Marketing, Finance, Financial Services, International Business, Leadership Mathematics, Statistics Economics, Statistics Mount Saint Vincent University Program Areas of Focus Related to Financial Services Bachelor of Science Mathematics Bachelor of Arts Mathematics, Economics Diploma Business Administration Nova Scotia Community College Program Areas of Focus Related to Financial Services Diploma Business Administration (Accounting, Advanced diploma in Financial Services, Financial Services, Investment Management, Management, Marketing, Software & Information Management), Human Resource Management, International Business, Office Administration Software and Information Management, Information Technology ( Database Management, Programming, Systems Management/Networking, Web Development) Public Relations Saint Mary s University Program Certificate Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Commerce Bachelor of Science Master of Business Administration Master of Finance Master in Mgt. of Cooperatives and Credit Unions Ph.D. in Business Administration Areas of Focus Related to Financial Services Human Resource Management, Financial Instrument Analysis Economics Accounting, Computing and Information Systems, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Finance, General Business Studies (Custom-Design), Global Business Management, Honours Economics, Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations, Management, Marketing Mathematics (Honours) Finance, Management Consulting, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, International Business, Marketing

11 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. SOURCES KPMP Competitive Alternatives Conference Board of Canada Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission Nova Scotia Business Inc. Payscale

12 A COMMITMENT TO HELPING YOU GROW HERE The Greater Halifax Partnership is the lead economic development organization for Halifax, NS, the economic hub of Atlantic Canada. 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 the customized business case and unique value proposition relevant to your business needs marketing materials focused after-care program SmartBusiness, business retention and expansion program For more information contact: Nancy Phillips Director, Investment and Trade Partnership Tel: Toll-free: nphillips@greaterhalifax.com

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