Industry moves this week

Each week, Investment Executive summarizes notable moves across the financial industry.

• Christopher Puma is now a wealth and investment advisor with Richardson Wealth, moving from MD Financial Management. Also part of that move and taking on the same role is his colleague Karim Mohamed. Alongside Scott Warnez and Rick Shrum, both of whom also moved to Richardson Wealth from MD Financial this year, the four have created WSMP Wealth Management Group. Warnez and Shrum have each worked in the financial industry for more than 20 years, across various wealth firms. Puma and Mohamed each have more than 10 years of experience, with the past five spent at MD Financial. In a statement provided by Richardson Wealth, Puma and Mohamed said they wanted to work as a team plus have “greater control over the number of clients we service and how.”
• Heather Mason-Wood has been appointed president and chief strategy officer of portfolio manager Canso Investment Counsel Ltd., based in Richmond Hill, Ont. She joined the firm in 2003 as a portfolio manager, and will continue to serve in that capacity. Her new role also will involve working on non-investment aspects like product development and overall strategy, a release said. Nearly half of her 35-year industry career was spent with Bank of Nova Scotia in areas such as corporate and commercial banking, and risk management.
• As announced in January through an internal memo, Barbara Hooper is slated to become group head of Canadian business banking with TD Bank Group starting in May. Hooper has been senior executive vice-president and COO of Canadian business banking since Jan. 18, having first joined the executive team in 2021 and building on her decades-long career with the bank. Kelvin Tran, who’s been with the bank for 20 years, officially adopted the role of group head and CFO with TD Bank Group on March 9. Tran joined the executive team in 2021 as senior executive vice-president and CFO, and had accepted expanded duties last month.
• Daniel Dufort will be president and CEO for the Montreal Economic Institute, effective April 5, transitioning from his role as vice-president of operations. He first joined the firm in 2018 and started in his most recent role in July 2022.

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.