Canaccord Genuity capital markets head made $11.7-million last year

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Daniel Daviau, Canaccord Genuity Group Inc.'s top investment banker, made $11.7-million in fiscal 2015, according to the firm's proxy circular, earning more than most major bank chief executive officers and scores of other household names in business.

The 50-year-old CEO of North American capital markets was paid a salary of $494,000, owns $2.6-million worth of restricted share units (RSUs) in Canaccord and was paid an $8.6-million bonus.

Only 10 CEOs of publicly traded companies in Canada made more money than Mr. Daviau last year. He earned more than George Cope, the CEO of BCE Inc. and Michael Pearson, CEO of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., who made $11.5-million and $11.4-million respectively.

Among the big bank CEOs, only David McKay, CEO of Royal Bank of Canada, who made $12.8-million, took home more than Mr. Daviau. (Canaccord's fiscal year ends on March 31, so Mr. Daviau's compensation stretches into this calendar year, unlike the big Canadian banks whose fiscal year ends on Oct. 31.)

Canaccord had a strong year in 2014 in investment banking. It ended the year in seventh place in the Canadian equity underwriting league tables according to Bloomberg data, two places higher than in 2013.

Canaccord uses a discretionary formula to calculate bonuses, but basically the more responsibility an investment banker has on a deal, the more they get paid. Relationship managers who originate deals typically get paid the most. The online gambling sector accounted for about $60-million in investment banking revenue for Canaccord last year and Mr. Daviau brought in the bulk of that business.

Mr. Daviau was the company's rainmaker on Amaya Inc.'s $4.9-billion (U.S.) acquisition of Oldford Group Ltd., the seventh biggest deal in Canada last year by value. Canaccord was the lead Canadian adviser for Amaya and it was the lead underwriter on a $500-million bought deal that was part of the financing package.

The takeover has since come under scrutiny by Quebec's Autorité des marchés financier (AMF) and other regulators in a sprawling insider-trading investigation that to date targets officials at Amaya, Canaccord and Manulife Inc.'s Montreal branch. Mr. Daviau has not been targeted in the investigation.

Despite the fatness of his paycheque, Mr. Daviau isn't the best-paid investment banker in Canada. Doug McGregor, group head of capital markets with RBC Dominion Securities Inc., made $13.3-million last year. RBC generated about three times more revenue than Canaccord in its Canadian equity capital markets division in 2014.

Mr. Daviau wasn't the only Canaccord executive with a sizable compensation package.

Mark Whaling, the 40-year-old global head of equity sales and trading, made $6.5-million. The majority of his pay came from $5.3-million in RSUs in Canaccord shares. Companies generally pay RSUs to employees to encourage them to stay for a long period of time. Canaccord RSUs typically vest over a period of three years.

Edward Hirst, global co-head of investment banking, was paid $3.6-million. The bulk of his pay was based on a bonus of $2.8-million.

Paul Reynolds, the former CEO of Canaccord who died earlier this year, made $8.4-million.