bfinance, an international investment consultant firm headquartered in London, England, announced today the opening of its Toronto office under the leadership of Peter Wright.

The firm, which specializes in the search and evaluation of investment managers for Canadian and European institutional investors opened its first Canadian office in the fall of 2005 in Montreal.

bfinance bills itself as “the only international investment manager selection and review specialist with a bespoke, objective and comprehensive review process.” In the last year, bfinance conducted 80 searches representing assets under management of $18 billion of which $3 Billion for Canadian clients.

Peter Wright brings to bfinance over 20 years of extensive capital markets and investment experience, in both traditional and alternatives asset classes. Previously, he has worked for leading investment managers and banks such as YMG Capital, Flemings, Merrill Lynch, Bankers Trust International and CIBC.

“Canadian institutional investors are amongst the most sophisticated in the world. Peter’s knowledge of the needs of these institutional investors in Ontario is a great addition to our team,” says Marc Godin, bfinance’s managing director for Canada.

David Vafai, CEO of bfinance International Ltd. says “bfinance is committed to becoming the leading international manager search consultant in Canada where over 70% of manager searches by large Canadian plan sponsors are conducted with the assistance of a consultant.”

The firm’s Canadian pension plan clients include Torstar Corporation, Concordia University, as well as Desjardins Pension Plan. Financial institutions, such as National Bank Trust, as well as one of Canada’s largest private foundations are also among bfinance’s initial clients.