Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. CF-T, the country’s largest independent investment bank, is reworking leadership of its U.S. division in the wake of a US$80-million settlement with market regulators.
On Sunday, Canaccord announced Jeff Barlow, head of the company’s New York-based U.S. investment bank for the past 11 years, is retiring “effective immediately” in an internal memo sent to employees and reviewed by The Globe and Mail. Mr. Barlow will continue to work as an adviser to the company.
Toronto-based Canaccord chief executive officer Dan Daviau will temporarily oversee the U.S. division while the dealer finds a successor to Mr. Barlow, the memo said.
Earlier this month, Canaccord and three U.S. financial regulators announced the investment bank would pay an US$80-million fine to settle a three-year investigation of compliance issues that included failings in the bank’s anti-money-laundering surveillance program. Regulators said it was the largest penalty ever imposed against a broker-dealer for violating the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act.
Mr. Barlow joined Canaccord in 2007 after spending 15 years at rival U.S. investment banks. As head of the U.S. division, he made a number of acquisitions and hired bankers and financial advisers to build what is now the company’s largest division, with 350 professionals and $500-million in annual revenues.
Canaccord to pay more than $100-million in settlement for breaking U.S. banking laws
“Jeff is transitioning at a time when this business is stronger than ever and positioned for its next phase of growth,” Mr. Daviau said in the memo.
“We are grateful to Jeff for his long-standing partnership and contributions,” Mr. Daviau said.
Mr. Daviau served as head of Canaccord’s U.S. investment banking team from 2012 to 2015, when he became CEO of the company. Mr. Barlow succeeded him.
In June, 2023, Canaccord disclosed it faced a potentially “significant penalty” from a regulatory investigation into an arm of its U.S. equity trading business, the wholesale market making unit. In April, 2025, Canaccord sold the market making business to Cantor Fitzgerald LP.
As part of the recent settlement, Canaccord said that, over the past three years, the company “has undertaken a comprehensive transformation of its compliance framework to address these matters and more fully align with regulatory expectations.”
The dealer agreed to penalties applied by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Canaccord’s settlement was widely expected and did not weigh on the company’s stock price, which is up 38.5 per cent over the past 12 months.
In October, Canaccord disclosed it was reviewing strategic options for its wealth management business in Britain, including a potential sale of the business. The division has $74.6-billion in assets under management and analysts have estimated it could sell for more than $1-billion.
With the settlement finalized, analysts said Canaccord executives can turn their full attention to the future of the British operations and other strategic issues. In a recent report, analyst Jeff Fenwick at ATB Cormark Capital Markets said: “We remain focused on the prospect of a strategic transaction to divest the U.K. wealth management unit, which could provide a material catalyst to valuation.”
Canaccord’s total assets under management, including its Canadian, British, U.S. and Australian wealth management units, are $144.8-billion.
Canaccord is turning in a strong financial performance this year on the back of a bull market that features numerous stock sales and acquisitions by mining and tech companies.
Through the first nine months of its 2026 fiscal year (ended last Dec. 31), Canaccord revenues were up 24 per cent to $1.6-billion while net income excluding significant items jumped 48 per cent to $127.8-million. The U.S. division accounted for 21 per cent of the investment bank’s revenues.
In June, 2023, Canaccord executives abandoned an attempt to take the firm private for $1.1-billion, in part owing to uncertainty around the regulatory investigation. The executive team that made the bid is still in place, and Canaccord’s market capitalization is roughly the same as it was three years ago, at $1.2-billion.