Doce Tomic is relishing the opportunity of heading up Credential Financial Inc., the primary provider of wealth-management services to the Canadian credit union system. The 43-year-old industry veteran is eager to see the Vancouver-based firm build on its strengths in its efforts to grow.

“I am very much a student of the wealth-management industry,” says Tomic, who became president and CEO of Credential on Jan 1. “This is an area that continues to fascinate me. I consider it to be as much a hobby as it is work.”

In moving into the top spot at Credential, Tomic, who once ran wealth-management divisions for Toronto-based Royal Bank of Canada and for Winnipeg-based Wellington West Capital Inc., will have plenty of cause to roll up his sleeves.

Credential went through the bulk of 2008 without a permanent CEO, after former CEO Don Rolfe left in February 2008 to become CEO of Central 1 Credit Union. Between Rolfe’s departure and Tomic’s arrival, the company was run on a “caretaker” basis, first by chairman Bob Hague and later by a steering committee of board members.

“Having a gap [between CEOs] may have caused us disruption,” Tomic says. He does, however, praise the stewardship of the interim leaders.

Within that time frame, Credential also has dealt with the challenge of securing a workable solution for those of its clients who held asset-backed commercial paper. Credential announced in April 2008 that it would reimburse clients holding less than $1 million of ABCP, pending the passing of the Crawford committee’s restructuring plan. That plan passed last month.

Finally, although Credential remains far and away the credit union system’s largest provider of wealth-management services — through its securities dealer, mutual fund dealer, managing general agency and direct brokerage — it has lost a number of major credit union partners to rival dealers. A number of credit unions have moved their business to Vancouver-based Qtrade Financial Group or to Markham, Ont.-based Worldsource Wealth Management Inc. over the past year.

“I can’t speak to why some credit unions left,” Tomic says. “When you’re No. 1 in this area, you will always have competition. My job is to ensure that we’re well positioned for future growth; that we, first, retain the partners we have today and, second, start to re-establish communication with the ones who have left, so we can provide ourselves with the opportunity to regain their business.”

To accomplish those goals, Tomic’s strategy will focus on three key priorities: solidifying operational excellence; expanding advisory services capabilities; and continuing to invest in technology in order to support practice management.

Ultimately, Tomic wants to strengthen the relationships that Credential has with its almost 240 credit union partners, which account for $9 billion in assets under administration. Some 2,200 advisors — 2,000 of whom work on the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada platform and about 200 on the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada platform — hold their registrations through Credential. These advisors are hired by — and work for — their individual credit unions.

Credit union leaders have for years been discussing ways they can work together to grow their wealth-management businesses. A study commissioned last year by the credit union sector reported that credit unions were capturing a 13% share of their customers’ investible assets, a meagre slice compared with the big banks’ 30%-50% share of their customers’ investment dollars.

Tomic believes Credential can use its wealth-management expertise and other strengths to work with each credit union to tailor a strategy and a service platform that is ideal for the individual credit union.

During Tomic’s first month at the helm of Credential, he met or spoke with 20 senior credit union executives. He and his staff are putting together a “90-day plan” to go across the country, visiting credit unions, meeting with industry leaders and attending the annual general meetings of credit union centrals.

“When you haven’t had a CEO for a while, it’s critical to ensure that Credential’s voice is heard,” Tomic says. “That’s at the top of our list of things to do.”

Tomic, who has not worked in the credit union system, says that more and more Canadians are turning to credit unions for their banking services.

“I’m really starting to see a shift in consumer behaviour,” he says. “Many Canadians in the mid-affluent, affluent and mass-affluent ranges are now looking at credit unions as a primary relationship.”

@page_break@Many Canadians now view dealing with a credit union as an equally safe or safer option than dealing with a bank, in part because credit unions, which are provincially regulated, can offer high or unlimited levels of deposit insurance, depending on the province.

That, says Tomic, gives the sector a great opportunity to grow its wealth-management services.

“We have a clean slate,” he says, “particularly in this economic environment, to grow wealth management.”

For Tomic, the move to Credential not only represents a new chapter in his career, it’s also a return to his Vancouver roots. He and his wife, Lana, an accountant, are both natives of British Columbia.

Tomic began his career in 1988 as an investment advisor, first with Pemberton Securities Inc. in Vancouver, and later with RBC Dominion Securities Inc. after it bought Pemberton. In 1992, Tomic became a branch manager and, in 1996, he moved to Victoria to serve in the same role.

In 2000, Tomic moved to Toronto to work first as chief operating officer, then as president and CEO with RBC Direct Investing (then called Action Direct). In 2002, he became COO of RBC’s wealth-management arm and, in 2003, its CEO. In 2004, Tomic left RBC after a shakeup in the executive ranks.

Tomic landed at Wellington West in 2005 as COO and as president and CEO of its asset-management arm. He commuted to and from the brokerage’s head office in Winnipeg while still living in Toronto, where his wife continued to work. Tomic’s operational experience and his wide-ranging understanding of the industry were key reasons for bringing him on board, says Charlie Spiring, chairman and founder of Wellington West.

“He has a lot of skill in dealing with the intricate details in any operation,” Spiring says of Tomic. “Yet, at the same time, he’s an advisor’s advisor. He’s done a lot of jobs in our industry.”

In early 2008, Tomic left Wellington West and took over as president of Toronto-based Ticoon Technology Inc., a developer of software for the financial services industry. However, his tenure there was short.

In December, Tomic left Ticoon for the opportunity at Credential, which, he says, both gives him a chance to run a smaller wealth-management firm and allows him and his wife to re-establish themselves in Vancouver, where they both have family.

The Tomics have sold their house in Toronto and moved themselves and their dog, Bentley, a Weimaraner, to a new home in Vancouver.

Tomic is looking forward to taking advantage of the outdoor lifestyle the Vancouver region affords. “We like to golf, hike and ski,” he says, “and my wife is currently doing better than I am at all those things. So, I’m looking to get some practice in again.”

The opportunity to lead Credential is, in Tomic’s view, a way to bring together and make use of his past experience in the industry.

“I enjoyed those experiences,” he says, “and I know I’ll enjoy this one.” IE