Culture
About us
Optimum Financial Group is dedicated to the financial security of its clients since 1969. Global and privately-owned, it is active in the sectors of actuarial consulting, global asset management, general insurance, information technology, life insurance, life reinsurance, and real estate. The Group has 645 employees within diverse subsidiaries operating in 20 business places in Canada, the United States and in France. Its revenues are over 1 billion Canadian dollars, its assets under management in Canada, the United States and in France totalise nearly 8 billion Canadian dollars and its total assets rise up to nearly 6 billion Canadian dollars.
Corporate values
Our employees share our values which guide our decision-making and operational processes. These values strengthen the sense of belonging in the great Optimum family and are an integral part of our DNA, on top of support our brand image. We build the future on solid values as one unified group.
Client focus
We focus our efforts on client satisfaction and prioritize maintaining long-term relationships with them and with our business partners.
Employee focus
We pay special attention to our employees, their expectations and their professional development.
Integrity
We require a high level of ethic, honesty and righteousness in our daily actions, and reflect it in our commitments and our policies.
Expertise
Our most precious resource and our capacity to distinguish ourselves reside in the talent, the expertise and the sense of innovation of our team.
Risk management
We ensure that risk management is an integral part of all our decisions.
Rigorousness
We distinguish ourselves by our rigor in every activity, and at every level of the organization.
Solidity
Our development is applied in a perspective of measured and profitable growth, which reinforces our financial strength, our stability and our sustainability.
Careers
Your professional development is important to us. You will evolve in an environment filled with experts where you will be called to participate in many projects aiming to broaden your field of expertise. Your ability to influence will enable you to have a real impact on the course of our business.
Our privately-owned global financial group is solid and constantly growing. Throughout the years, it has diversified into seven activity sectors while maintaining a human scale. You will thus have the opportunity to develop your talents within these dynamic sectors. The success of our multidisciplinary teams is based both on our managers and our well-rounded employees. Our group has maintained a warm atmosphere and is proud of its corporate values and philanthropic commitment.
Well-being
Your well-being contributes to your fulfilment within our Group. As an employee, you can participate in various conferences and activities with colleagues as part of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Months. You will strengthen bonds with your team members during your company's annual event and benefit from additional mental and physical health support, if desired, with our Well-Being Program.
Internships
We offer paid internships in many activity sectors. This initiative is aligned with our desire to attract top talent by offering a financial support, along with a stimulating and rewarding work experience.
Jean-Sébastien Côté
Montreal
At Optimum, being able to carry out diversified mandates is an indescribable source of motivation. Knowing that we are supported by teams of experts from various fields allows us to dive into innovative and large-scale projects. The human size of the organization gives us the opportunity to use our entrepreneurial skills and stand out in the market. There is never a dull moment with all the challenges we take on as a team, not to mention their rewarding aspect.
Larisa Emes
Toronto
As a company that prides itself on “the strength of expertise,” I can surely attest to this throughout my longstanding career journey with Optimum. I am proud to be working with a team of dedicated, talented, and knowledgeable underwriting experts. This has allowed me ample opportunity to grow as a professional as well as an individual. Within the organization, I have always witnessed a collaborative culture and a management which is sincerely focused on the growth of its people.
Melanie Netzer
Dallas
Two key elements of any business are Family and a Business sense. Optimum is the perfect combination of both. I should know, I grew up in a family business where no task was too big or too small to take on. There are many opportunities to test your problem-solving skills and challenge you, making it an ideal learning ground to grow with the support of your peers. What more can I say, “we are a family!”
Doug Fairhust
Burnaby
Entering my sixth year with Optimum it feel as though I have found my “forever home.” The organization provides a welcoming environment for employees to shine. Past experience is appreciated and celebrated, and achievements are acknowledged and rewarded. We work in an environment that both encourages and facilitates growth. Thanks to the hybrid work model, employees can balance their work and home lives, which proves the understanding of the organization that great results come from employees who can benefit from a flexible work environment.
Philanthropy
Vulnerable women who experience violence
Since 2022, Optimum and its employees generously support vulnerable women who experience violence by donating various items and volunteering with regional organisations playing a key role in supporting and housing victims.
During the second annual Group-wide fundraising campaign in fall 2023, cumulative donations to the benefit of six regional organisations reached nearly CAD 125,000 to give back to the communities in which we operate.
ESG Charters
Green Charter
By signing this charter, our companies are committing to:
- Promote simple actions at work such as choosing reusable water bottles, turning off lights after use, using refillable pens, shutting off laptops after use and taking the stairs between floors.
- Encourage walking, biking, scootering, public transit, car sharing and carpooling as the main means of commuting to work.
- Replace physical tools with digital technology by using virtual notetaking, dual screens, electronic signatures and IP telephony.
- Print only as much white multi-purpose paper as necessary.
- Aim to recycle a maximum of paper.
- Continue sorting waste at workstations, in meeting rooms or in the employee kitchen.
- Encourage open projects initiated by subsidiaries to implement new innovative green initiatives and participate in ecological or environmental restoration projects.
- Practice responsible consumption by giving outdated office furniture and equipment to employees and then to charities before contacting a recycling company.
- Dispose of obsolete computer equipment by donating to charities or by dismantling parts that can be donated to recycling associations.
Diversity and Inclusion Charter
By signing this charter, our companies are committing to:
- Promote the application of non-discrimination and ethics principles to guide our actions and decisions, especially in all stages of human resources management.
- Foster the recognition, promotion and retention of all talents, regardless of their differences, and support them through corporate policies and a climate of trust.
- Educate and train our managers involved in recruitment, training and career management on the added value of diversity.
- Proudly demonstrate our commitment to all stakeholders so that they are encouraged to implement and apply these principles.
- Act on all levers to foster gender equity in a way that accurately represents the population.
- Provide a safe and healthy workplace where our employees can be their authentic selves and fully express their potential.
Nautilus symbol
The nautilus is a symbol of stability and sustainability. Much like the nautilus which adds new and larger chambers to its shell at the pace of its growth, the Group continues its measured expansion and consolidates its gains before initiating any new commitment. Since its foundation, the Group seeks a balanced development to ensure its long-term performance.
