By James Langton

(January 10 – 16:20 ET) – The facelift of the Canadian brokerage industry continues, as regulators approve changes to the control of several investment dealers.

Today the Toronto Stock Exchange announced that it has approved the change in control of Goepel McDermid, which has been acquired by Raymond James Holdings (Canada) Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Raymond James Financial Inc. The acquisition was completed on December 29, 2000, and the Goepel name will disappear as a result.

At the same time, the Investment Dealers Association has approved the amalgamation of Dundee Securities Corp. and Peelbrooke Capital Inc., effective January 1, 2001. Following the amalgamation, the merged firm will continue to be known as Dundee Securities. This marks the disappearance of Peelbrooke, which was created out of the wreckage of publicly traded brokerage Marleau Lemire Inc. a couple of years ago.

Finally, the IDA has also approved the change in control of HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. as a result of a reorganization, effective December 19, 2000. HSBC Securities (Canada) remains indirectly owned by HSBC Holdings plc and a wholly owned subsidiary of James Capel Canada Holdings Inc.