Jonathan Wellum, CEO and chief investment officer of Portland Investment Counsel Inc., will leave the company on December 31.

Michael Lee-Chin, executive chairman, will resume the role of CEO and Randy LeClair will take on the role of Portland Investment Counsel’s chief investment officer, the company said Thursday.


Portland Investment counsel was formed after Manulife Financial Corp. bought the mutual fund assets of AIC Ltd. from Lee-Chin.


“We have reached a natural transition point,” stated Lee-Chin, “ I’d like to thank Jonathan for his commitment and dedication to Portland Investment Counsel over the last twenty years and I wish him every success in the future.”

Lee-Chin continued

“Portland is in a tremendous position to excel and I am excited to steward Portland into its next stage of growth and development. Going forward, investors can remain confident that portfolio management will continue within a value investing framework.” 



LeClair joined Portland Investment Counsel in July 1998 as senior fixed income analyst and became vice president and portfolio manager in December 1999. He was promoted to senior vice president in January 2007. His career started in retail banking. He also worked as an investment analyst for a multi-asset portfolio for an insurance company (CUMIS) and subsequently spent seven years managing a fixed income portfolio for the Regional Municipality of Halton.

“Randy is a very principled investment professional whose extensive experience in the financial services industry and track record make him a perfect fit for the role of Chief Investment Officer,” said Lee-Chin.



Portland Investment Counsel, with assets under advisory of over $2.2 billion Canadian dollars, provides investment advisory and portfolio management services and products to individual private clients and to institutional investors across Canada, the U.S. and Caribbean

IE