A street sign for King St. West hangs off a light standard at the corner of King St. West and Bay St. on Jan 12 2015.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
After a five-month search, National Bank of Canada has appointed Laurent Blanchard as president of National Bank Direct Brokerage.
Mr. Blanchard will be replacing Nancy Paquet, who has taken on the role of vice-president of partnerships at National Bank of Canada. Ms. Paquet led the direct brokerage for just more than three years.
"This is an area that is quickly growing and we are seeing a lot of transformation happening," said Martin Gagnon, senior vice-president, intermediary business solutions, at National Bank of Canada. "The direct brokerage industry is one in where you have to stay current with the emergence of new online tools and competitive pricing in the marketplace."
Mr. Gagnon spent five months interviewing candidates for the role, including several overseas prospects.
"We were looking to bring on someone who had a strong technology background as well as an expert within the direct brokerage space," Mr. Gagnon added.
National Bank Direct Brokerage launched more than 25 years ago. Today, the company has approximately $14-billion in assets under management with approximately 115,000 online clients.
Mr. Blanchard will oversee the brokerage operations, including InvestCube – an online offering similar to the robo-adviser platforms that are emerging in the Canadian marketplace.
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Blanchard was vice-president and general manager at Desjardins Online Brokerage, where he gained brokerage experience in various management positions since 1999. He also held positions at Penson Financial Services Canada Inc. and Nexa Technologies Ltd.
Clare O’Hara