Dennis Mitchell.
A major shakeup at Sentry Investments has seen Dennis Mitchell, chief investment officer, exit the company.
Sentry announced, effective today, it has ended its employment relationship with Mr. Mitchell. His sudden departure has shocked the investment industry, including contacts within the company. He was expected to appear on BNN-TV this afternoon to explain his departure, but later canceled, according to the television channel's website.
Phil Yuzpe, Sentry's president and chief operating officer, reassured the reasoning was not in connection with Mr. Mitchell's management of the funds.
"Out of respect for Dennis we are not at liberty to discuss the reasons behind the decision," says Mr. Yuzpe, in an interview with the Globe. "Unequivocally, the decision had nothing to do with the management of the funds and we have no concerns over the future management of the funds."
Mr. Mitchell joined the company in 2005. Over the years, Mr. Mitchell has become one of the larger public figures within the company and was a frequent guest speaker on the Business News Network (BNN). Despite Mr. Mitchell's strong brand recognition within the industry, the company is not concerned with any fallout his departure may bring.
"Sentry stands for excellent client service, best in class risk adjusted performance and award-winning portfolio managers," says Mr. Yuzpe. "The brand is not attached to any one individual but rather to an organization and what we represent."
Prior to joining Sentry, Mr. Mitchell spent a year with RBC Financial group and just over three years at Scotiabank as a financial adviser.
Mr. Mitchell, who was also the lead manager of Sentry Global Growth and Income Fund/Class and co-manager of Sentry Global Balanced Income Fund, will be replaced by Sandy McIntyre, vice-chairman of Sentry. Mr. McIntyre previously held the CIO position for Sentry Investments from 2008 to 2012.
Mr. McIntryre is also taking on lead management responsibility for Sentry's global fund line-up, which includes Sentry Global Growth and Income Fund, Sentry Global Balanced Income Fund, the recently launched Sentry Global Mid Cap Income Fund, and the global equity sleeve of the four Sentry Personal Pension Portfolios.
"I'm looking forward to working more directly with our portfolio management team again," said Mr. McIntyre in a statement. "Having been in the financial services industry for 40 years, I've found few greater rewards than working with and mentoring investment talent to serve the interests of investors. I'm also extremely excited to be in charge of our global line-up, alongside an experienced investment team."
The company's core funds include Sentry Canadian Income Fund, Sentry U.S. Growth and Income Fund and their balanced fund counterparts (Sentry Conservative Balanced Income Fund and Sentry U.S. Balanced Income Fund) and account for over $10 billion of the company's mutual fund assets under management.
Sean Driscoll, Sentry's Chief Executive Officer, says the company is confident that similar value can be delivered for securityholders within the global fund line-up with Mr. McIntyre as the lead.