Industry moves this week

Each week, Advisor’s Edge summarizes notable management shifts across the financial industry.

Wellington-Altus Financial Inc. added to its leadership team as the firm continues to focus on recruitment and supporting advisor business growth.

The Winnipeg-based firm has hired Todd Ferguson as senior vice-president and regional manager for Ontario and Eastern Canada. Ferguson was the managing director of advisory services at Manulife Securities Inc., and has worked in the wealth management space at major institutions such as Scotiabank and Toronto-Dominion Bank during a career spanning more than two decades.

Ferguson succeeds Dan Taylor, who was executive vice-president for Eastern Canada and is moving to a new role by year end. He’ll work alongside Christian Perreault, who oversees the Quebec region, and Gary Mayzes, the firm’s Western Canada lead.

After being recruited to join Wellington-Altus, part of Ferguson’s role will be to connect with and recruit new advisors.

“I have a serious interest in recruiting top talent and leadership,” he said, noting that attracting advisor teams requires more than just “picking up the phone and having expensive lunches.”

In his experience, advisors on the move are looking for environments where key stakeholders are happy and businesses can grow.

“If advisors feel like they can contribute to the culture of [a] firm in a meaningful way and they feel respected, then they become ambassadors for the brand,” he said. “Recruitment is part of any leader’s mandate,” and is especially important where a firm has “a strong growth mandate.”

Wellington-Altus has more than $20 billion in assets under administration and more than 90 advisor teams.

Also this week:

• On Monday, Scotiabank chief executive Brian Porter announced that he will retire at the end of January. The bank said Scott Thomson, currently president and chief executive of heavy equipment dealer Finning International Inc., will take over the top job.
• In a separate executive move also involving an investment industry veteran, full-service digital bank Wealth One Bank of Canada (WealthONE) named Michael Koshan as chief financial officer earlier this month. Koshan has more than 25 years of experience and most recently was CFO at Nuula, a Toronto-based company that offers a mobile app to small business owners. As part of his industry tenure, Koshan spent 11 years at HSBC Treasury and Capital Markets. He’ll succeed Jessica Fong, who has taken a senior advisory role within the bank.