Fiscal 2008 was a year of outstanding accomplishments for Canaccord Support Services. The entire team – operations, information technology (IT), compliance, risk management, legal and finance – worked diligently on many fronts to boost service levels and productivity across the organization.

We saw excellent returns in fiscal 2008 on our recent investments in technology, which enabled us to accommodate a record level of transactions with only small incremental costs. With our infrastructure investment cycle now substantially complete in Canaccord Adams’ operations in the United States, IT has shifted its focus to projects intended to improve productivity and service. The team launched the first two phases of a global deal management system for initial public offerings and initiated the first stages of an integrated risk management system that will enable us to manage and mitigate risk across Canaccord’s operations. During the first quarter of fiscal 2009, institutional, private and correspondent clients gained customized access to the ideas they specifically need through a new online portal to Canaccord’s research products.

Our Pinnacle Correspondent Brokerage Services, which offer a turn-key reporting and trade settlement solution to brokers, enjoyed a breakout year in fiscal 2008. New clients helped push revenues to record levels. Pinnacle continues to broaden its service offering through strategic relationships for wealth management solutions such as separately managed account administration and investment counsellor services, and through the development of leading edge integration to support automated execution for stock-based incentive plans.