Reid McLaren (right) with his wife Tyrelle Hunt and their son Callum, on Callum's first trip to Canada last summer. The family is returning to Canada as Mr. McLaren joins Designed Wealth Management.Supplied
On the Move is Globe Advisor’s roundup of recent hires and departures across Canada’s financial services industry.
Reid McLaren has gained much life experience over the past few years, from changing jobs and countries to getting married, having a child and becoming a stay-at-home dad.
It should all serve him well in his new gig as relationship manager at Designed Wealth Management in Toronto, which he started earlier this month.
Mr. McLaren took the job after he and his physician wife, Tyrelle Hunt, decided to move back to Canada from the United States. Dr. Hunt completed her residency in Detroit and took a position at a clinic in Southern California.
While Mr. McLaren pursued wealth management roles in the U.S., based on his almost 14 years of experience in various roles at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the Trump administration’s visa policies made it more challenging.
Then, his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child in November, 2024, which prompted Mr. McLaren to become a stay-at-home dad for the first 15 months of his son’s life.
“It was quite a change from working full-time to being a full-time dad. But I took it head-on and it was a lot of fun,” he says.
Late last year, the couple decided to give up the California sunshine and head back home to be near their families in Ontario, where they each grew up, because of the uncertainty around their U.S. work visas and the professional limitations.
“Being close to family and friends was definitely a big part of the decision,” says Mr. McLaren, who is currently in Toronto while his wife wraps up her work in California. His family will be moving to Belleville, Ont., this summer.
Once they decided to move back to Canada, Mr. McLaren started reaching out to financial firms in Toronto, which led him to Designed Wealth Management, an independent wealth management firm for investment advisors and portfolio managers.
He had a couple of contacts at the company and was looking for a more hybrid-friendly workplace with an entrepreneurial culture where he says he felt valued.
“What attracted me to Designed is its adaptability and agility, where the leaders empower people the right way to deliver services for advisory teams and their clients,” he says. “You get a lot of exposure to different aspects of the wealth business here, whereas you might be more pigeonholed at some of the larger firms.”
While Mr. McLaren misses California, especially during March snowstorms, he looks forward to getting reacquainted with peers in Canada’s financial services industry.
“I’m very excited to start working with advisors and helping them build their business,” he says.
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When Brent Gillis decided to switch firms earlier this year, it wasn’t for a drastically different role. Instead, it was a chance to work at what he describes as a “rapidly growing firm” with a “strong culture fit.”
“I have the ability to create greater change and have greater influence because of the pace at which they’re changing and growing,” Mr. Gillis says of his new role as vice-president, operations and transitions at Harbourfront Wealth Management Inc. in Vancouver, where he started earlier this month.
He worked at Nicola Wealth Management Ltd. for five years and, before that, at Connor, Clark & Lunn Financial Group for almost a decade.
Mr. Gillis’s advice to others looking to make a career change is to lean into relationships built over the years.
“It’s the relationships you form along the way that will serve you well throughout your career; you just don’t know when or how,” he says.
His other tip is for advisors to step out of their comfort zones and bet on themselves.
“As humans, we tend to stay in an area that’s comfortable, but pushing the boundaries can only elevate you personally and professionally,” Mr. Gillis says.
Other recent moves
- Imran Chaudhry joined RBC Insurance as senior director and head of trading. Mr. Chaudhry was most recently vice-president and senior portfolio manager at Fiera Capital Corp., at which he managed $9-billion in assets.
- Adam Mamdani re-joined Sun Life Assurance Co. of Canada as senior vice-president, distribution and channel management, retail advice and solutions. Mr. Mamdani moved from RBC Insurance, at which he served as vice-president and head of third-party and bank distribution, but he had previously spent more than nine years at Sun Life in various roles, including as an advisor.
- Zainab Williams, certified financial planner and founder of Elleverity, recently launched FundEvolve, a financial decision-making platform. In an e-mail, Ms. Williams said the platform was created in response to the “overwhelming and often conflicting financial advice” Canadians get online, especially on social media. FundEvolve helps users evaluate that advice and offers tools for budgeting, debt repayment and investing, she said.
ICYMI:
After a six-month executive search, Peter Moores, the chief executive officer of Raymond James Financial Ltd.’s U.K. operations, will jump across the pond to lead the company’s Canadian operations. Mr. Moores will replace Raymond James Ltd. interim CEO Paul Allison, who stepped into the role last September after the unexpected departure of former CEO Jamie Coulter.
And iA Financial Group Inc. executive Julie Gallagher will take over as chief executive officer of Richardson Wealth Ltd., which iA acquired last summer.
Recently switched firms? Got a big promotion? Left to start your own firm? Or retired to start that side hustle (even if in another sector)? Send the details to: bbouw@globeandmail.com and put “On the Move” in the subject line. We look forward to hearing about your next chapter.