Canadian Medical Association Looks for a CIO to Run $2.6B Windfall

A high-profile board is in place to oversee this major new pool of capital.

Illustration by II

Illustration by II

The Canadian Medical Association is searching for a chief investment officer to manage roughly C$2.6 billion from its sale of MD Financial Management.

The physician advocacy group has appointed a high-profile board of directors to oversee the asset management effort, a spokesperson said Friday. This unit will operate under the name CMA Investco.

The CMA reaped nearly C$2.6 billion in cash from selling MD Financial — a financial services provider for physicians and their families — to Scotiabank in May 2018.

Now that the deal has closed, the industry group has named directors to the Investco board, the spokesperson said in an email. Members include Jill Pepall, former CIO of the Investment Management Corporation of Ontario; Anne Marie O’Donovan, president for O’Donovan Advisory Services; Gaelen Morphet, most recently CIO of Sentry Investments; George Vasic, a corporate director at MD Financial; Rob Jeffrey, executive vice president at Armco Capital’s affiliated companies; and Tim Smith, chief executive officer of the CMA.

The board, according to the spokesperson, “assembles individuals with extensive experience in the investment industry and the expertise required to manage the financial assets under its purview.”

[II Deep Dive: New $3 Billion Foundation Needs a CIO — And, Eventually, Asset Managers]

Sponsored

With a pool of capital and an expert board in place, CMA Investco is looking for its inaugural CIO and a small team to manage the new fund, as per a job listing posted two weeks ago on LinkedIn.

[II Deep Dive: This Ultra-Competitive CIO Search Has a Winner]

The CIO will be responsible for managing short- and long-term investment portfolios, and is expected to have at least 15 years of experience. This position reports to CMA CEO Smith, the listing says, and will focus on global and “balanced” investing. Notably, the successful candidate can choose to be based in Toronto, Montreal, or Ottawa. He or she will have the opportunity to build a small team.

It’s unclear where the CMA is in the hiring process. The recruiter declined to comment via email.

Related