A Bay Street sign is seen in Toronto, May 1, 2013.Mark Blinch/Reuters
Dundee Capital Markets has hired a trio of senior analysts in an attempt to bolster its research department ahead of a planned spinout from parent company Dundee Corp.
Former long-serving Canaccord Genuity energy analyst Phil Skolnick is among those joining the firm. Most recently, Mr. Skolnick has been with Chicago-based hedge fund company Citadel LLC. He parted ways with Citadel in February.
Previously, Mr. Skolnick worked at Canaccord for 15 years, where he was head of North American research.
"Phil's relationships are extensive on both sides of the street and the border, especially in the hedge fund community," wrote David Morrison, head of equities at Dundee, in an e-mail sent to staff on Monday.
Dundee has also hired former Merrill Lynch Canada financial services research analyst Steve Theriault, who left the U.S. brokerage in March after it downsized its operations in Canada. Earlier in his career, Mr. Theriault spent more than a decade in the research department at BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.
Tal Woolley also joined Dundee as a consumer products analyst. He was previously with CIBC World Markets Inc., where he covered consumer products, media and telecom. Mr. Woolley also spent about seven years at RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
The plan is for the equity to be split between Dundee Corp. and a number of new partners. In its most recent management discussion and analysis, Dundee Corp. said that it expects the deal to be completed in the second half of the year.
Dundee Capital has been pitching the privatization to new hires as an incentive to attract them to the dealer. Dundee is said to be on the lookout for a number of additional new hires, particularly on the sales desk.
Not all of Dundee's senior capital markets employees have been won over by the potential of taking an active hand in a new shop. Last week, Maxim Sytchev, Dundee's head of equity research left the firm to join National Bank of Canada. He had spent the past three years at Dundee.
Dundee Capital had a tough 2015. The unit reported a $10.6-million loss last year, with investment banking revenue falling by more than 54 per cent and trading commissions sliding 28 per cent.
Dundee faces the same fundamental challenge as all Canadian boutiques heavily dependent on the traditional sales and trading model: Widespread secular changes over the past five years that have put relentless pressures on margins.
This year appears to have started off a lot better than the tail end of 2015 for Dundee. Year to date, the firm has participated in 20 stock underwriting deals, according to Bloomberg data – many of those in the resource sector.
Dundee has benefited from the surge in the number of sizable bought deals that have been unveiled this year in Canada. One of its biggest wins was being named on the underwriting syndicate that distributed $603-million in Stantec Inc.'s securities in March.
Dundee was also named as an underwriter in Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd.'s $173-million bought deal in February. Dundee is in 18th position in the league tables that rank investment banks according to stock offerings.
Niall McGee