Industry moves this week

Each week, Advisor.ca summarizes notable moves across the financial industry.

• The Federation of Independent Dealers (FID), formally the Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers, launched under its new name and “enhanced” mandate, and has a new board leader for 2024. Robert Smuk, president of Mississauga, Ont.–based Agora Dealer Services, is the new chair of the board. Smuk aims for industry innovation and growth, and hopes to boost dealer support, saying in a release that the coordination of investment and mutual fund firms will help highlight “the collective needs of independent dealers.” He joins eight others on the board: John Adams with PFSL Canada Inc., Élisabeth Chamberland with Peak Investment Services Inc., Bill Charles with Global Maxfin Investments Inc., Nelson Cheng with Sterling Mutuals Inc., Aly Damji with HUB Capital Inc., Richard Pyper with Monarch Wealth Corporation, Krissy Sukhraj with Keybase Financial Group, and John Webster with Queensbury Securities Inc. The two outgoing members are Maria Flores with Carte Wealth Management and Marie-Josée Audet with Desjardins. Matthew Latimer, who remains executive director of the group, said servicing new dual-platform dealer members (of which there are six in Canada currently, operating under the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization) is one priority.
• The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) also made board appointments, naming four new members and three outgoing members. The new entrants are industry and regulatory veteran Mary Condon as a consumer interest director, former auditor general of Ontario Bonnie Lysyk as a community director, Sarah Shody as an industry director (she’s associate general counsel for wealth with HSBC Canada), and CFA Societies Canada managing director Michael Thom as a consumer interest director. (The departing members are Catherine Adams, Carmela Haines and Bharat Mahajan.) This past fall, OBSI was designated as the sole provider of customer complaint resolution services for the banks, followed by a Canadian Securities Administrators proposal that considers binding authority for OBSI.
• Brad Gerster is managing director and head of product with BMO Global Asset Management, coming from Franklin Templeton where he was head of product, Americas. He’s worked in the industry, across several major firms and banks, for three decades.
• Jean François Dussault-Turcotte has joined the Groupe de gestion de patrimoine Boulanger Le Bon team in Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, with National Bank Financial Wealth Management. He works with four other wealth planning professionals and two associates.
• Louis Morisset, former president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers, joined the strategic counsel of business law firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP last month. Working out of the Montreal office, Morisset will leverage his “in-depth expertise in securities, corporate finance, and public and private mergers and acquisitions,” a release said. He noted when he joined that the firm’s reputation in Quebec and “coveted track record” across Canada were reasons for him to join.
• Keith Martin is the new executive director with the Canadian Association of Financial Institutions in Insurance. He spent seven years as co-executive director, leaning on his background in banking and insurance. Martin will continue to work on areas such as the fair treatment of customers plus fostering competition and industry innovation, a release said, adding that research into industry and consumer attitudes toward credit protection insurance also is key.

If you know of other people moves in the financial industry and/or would like us to consider your announcement, email Katie Keir at katie@newcom.ca.

Katie Keir

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Katie is special projects editor for Advisor.ca and has worked with the team since 2010. In 2012, she was named Best New Journalist by the Canadian Business Media Awards. Reach her at katie@newcom.ca.