Toronto-based Raymond James Ltd. Wednesday announced that industry veteran David Burnes will join the firm as senior vice president to lead its correspondent services business.

His appointment is effective June 18, and he will be based in Toronto.

Burnes joins Raymond James from National Bank of Canada where he was the chief operating officer of NB’s Correspondent Network (NBCN) and instrumental in growing that business over the past 20 years.

“David brings an exceptional pedigree and reputation for forging strong client relationships and delivering integrated custodial solutions to many of Canada’s leading wealth management firms,” said Paul Allison, CEO of Raymond James Ltd., in a release.

“We believe the time is ripe to offer an enhanced version of our correspondent services business and provide wealth management firms in Canada with a competitive independent alternative,” said Allison.

“The opportunity to add such a well-respected partner to lead our efforts is integral to our ability to better serve portfolio management firms and other correspondent services clientele,” he added.

Raymond James Correspondent Services will provide Canadian wealth management firms end-to-end services for their custodial and clearing needs, or stand-alone services including: custody, compliance, governance, asset management, equity research, technology, strategy and capital.

Raymond James Ltd. is the Canadian arm of Raymond James Financial, Inc., one of North America’s leading full service investment dealers. Through its network of approximately 6,200 financial advisors across Canada, the United States and key international centres, Raymond James serves over 2.4 million clients and manages more than $407 billion in client assets under administration.