Julie Gallagher has been named the next president and CEO of Richardson Wealth, taking the reins from Dave Kelly, outgoing president and CEO of RF Capital Group Inc.
Gallagher was most recently senior vice-president and head of investment products & solutions and capital markets at iA Wealth, and joined the firm in 2021 as chief compliance officer (CCO).
Before joining iA, she was senior compliance director with National Bank Financial. She also spent nearly a decade with BMO Financial Group as senior legal counsel. In addition, Gallagher has served in various roles at the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, including as president of the Quebec district council, for more than a decade.
In an interview, Gallagher acknowledged that her background “on paper” might strike some Richardson advisors as legal and compliance heavy.
“People that know me know that I’m really solution focused,” she said. “Yes, I did have my CCO hat, but I also was on the executive team at the dealer and I wore that business hat when I needed to review our strategic plans and move things forward.”
She added: “I think it’s a positive that the leader of the dealer understand regulation … because at the end of the day, we’re in a highly regulated industry, and if you don’t know how to navigate, it’s going to slow down progress.”
She also noted that she’s always been “involved and active” with the dealers at the companies she’s worked for, supporting advisors, working on team building, helping with selling of books and more.
Understanding how both dealers and the regulations work “will help me to move things forward for the dealer, to find innovative, creative ways, to support our advisors,” she said.
Gallagher said her role is ultimately to support advisors, help them grow their business and serve their clients better.
Gallagher has taken over during a period of transition for Richardson, which was acquired by iA Financial in October. As part of the acquisition, iA agreed to retire the Richardson name within 30 months.
The rebrand is one of Gallagher’s top priorities.
“We’ve got a once-in-a-lifetime chance of being able to choose our new brand identity, which will represent who we are and what we want to be known for, and will accompany us in our growth journey,” she said.
Gallagher anticipates presenting a new brand identity to advisors for feedback within the next couple of weeks, but notes that the implementation would be a 12-month project. A public announcement could be expected closer to year end, she said.
Another priority is to “protect” the Richardson culture, Gallagher said. “Richardson has a really strong, independent and family culture. … We’re going to build on that for the growth of this firm.”
She’ll also be embarking on a cross-country tour to meet with and hear from advisors about their needs in person.
“As we continue our expansion in the wealth management space, Julie possesses precisely the right combination of skills, experience and continuity we need,” Stephan Bourbonnais, executive vice‑president, iA Wealth, said in a release. “With iA now positioned as Canada’s largest independent wealth management firm, we are establishing a new standard in client service and advisor support by elevating the value proposition for advisors and deploying innovative, industry-leading platforms powered by artificial intelligence.”
Gallagher will have Kelly’s assistance until the end of June while he serves as vice-chair. He will remain a director after that.
The RF Capital acquisition brought an additional 142 advisor teams and more than $43 billion in assets under administration (AUA) to iA with a focus on the high-net-worth segment. The deal was pegged at $597 million before advisor retention costs, and cost $691 million all in.
Gallagher said the the Richardson advisor count hasn’t changed since the acquisition closed. She couldn’t provide any information on how long advisors who took the retention bonuses have agreed to stay with the firm. However, she noted that the core of iA’s retention strategy is developing personal relationships and trust with advisors – something that Bourbonnais has also been focused on, she said.
Additionally, Gallagher said advisor incorporation, which is currently available to mutual fund advisors, and which CIRO is working on extending to other advisors, is a priority.
“I believe that when you run a business and … when you’re on the independent side that you should be able to benefit from that,” she said.
“Will we see the implementation of a change this year? Maybe not, but at least we’ll be in a better position to align ourselves, to be prepared for it when it’s released.”
Bourbonnais previously confirmed that iA intends to keep its Richardson Wealth, Investia and iA Wealth channels distinct.
This story has been updated with comments from an interview.