Mark Machin knew "virtually nothing" about the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board when a headhunter rang him up about a job more than four years ago. Now he's preparing to step into the role of chief executive officer.
The CPPIB has grown significantly in assets and global footprint since Mr. Machin signed on to run the fund's Asian expansion and Hong Kong office in 2012, a role that would grow to include overseeing international investment activities. Hailing from Cheshire, England, Mr. Machin will become the first foreign-born leader of Canada's largest pension fund. CEO Mark Wiseman will leave after nearly four years to take a senior position at asset management juggernaut BlackRock Inc.
These two leadership moves underscore the CPPIB's increasing prominence on the world stage. The fund has evolved from a passive investor in vanilla stocks and bonds to an active global asset manager with foreign offices, expertise in alternative asset classes such as private equity and real estate, and an increased appetite for risk that has helped attract larger and more diverse investment opportunities and partners. Story
Mark Wiseman: What's next?
Even for some who know him personally, the news that Mark Wiseman is leaving Canada's largest pension plan – and one of the most prominent investors on the planet – was a shock.
The subsequent announcement that he's departing for BlackRock Inc., the biggest investor of them all, made it much easier to compute.
As one senior Bay Street investment banker who advises the pension fund put it: If the news was solely that the head of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board was leaving after only four years, there would be widespread confusion. "But if your second line is, 'He's joining BlackRock,' that's really interesting."
That Mr. Wiseman is moving on isn't all that surprising – even good pals describe him as "ambitious." Some people pegged him to go into politics; others thought he could run the Bank of Canada. Moving to BlackRock, where he will chair the global investment committee, makes sense. Story
Canaccord's bonus policy sparks discord
A change to the way Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. distributes bonuses has sparked opposition from some key members of the firm.
Canada's largest independent brokerage is asking some of its senior employees to commit to staying with the company for the next year in order to receive their fiscal year-end bonuses, which are due in the next few weeks. Employees who leave within 12 months would be required to pay back the bonus, according to people familiar with the matter.
A group of core bankers has opposed the changes, according to sources.
Dan Daviau, Canaccord's chief executive officer, declined to comment, citing a blackout period ahead of the company's quarterly financial results, which will be released June 1.
According to sources, the bonus policy affects between 30 and 40 senior investment bankers, traders and analysts at the director and managing director level whose compensation exceeds $500,000 a year.
The bonus stipulation would be a rarity on Bay Street.
"I've never heard of that," said Chris Shaw, managing director of investment banking at Cormark Securities Inc., an independent brokerage. "We pay out our bonuses quarterly, and there's no restriction on that bonus. If you want to leave, you can leave. You don't have to give that bonus back." Story
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce chief executive officer Victor Dodig took steps Wednesday to reassure staff of his commitment to workplace safety after a Globe and Mail story shed light on allegations of misbehaviour on the bank's trading floor. Story
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