Murray Taylor is confident he is passing on a better version of Investors Group Inc. than the one he inherited 12 years ago.
The president and CEO of the Winnipeg-based mutual fund giant will officially retire at the company’s annual general meeting on May 6 and pass the torch to Jeff Carney, his counterpart at Mackenzie Financial Corp. for the last three years.
Taylor, 60, who started with the Power Financial group of companies 40 years ago when he accepted a job with Great-West Life, says the same investment principles and importance of helping clients meet their financial goals are in place today as when he took over the top job but the way the company accomplishes them has expanded.
“That includes the variety of products, the multiple markets, particularly with the down market and the financial crisis, and the alertness to making sure your portfolio is sound and making good investments for the long-term future,” he said.
Carney will also become president and CEO of IGM Financial Inc., the parent company of Investors Group and Mackenzie, a position he has shared with Taylor since 2013. His replacement at Mackenzie hasn’t been named but will be announced in the coming weeks.
Carney anticipates a smooth transition to his new position, which will include him moving to Winnipeg — he has one son still in high school in Toronto so his family won’t join him immediately — but people shouldn’t expect the status quo under his leadership.
“The world is always changing and companies are always changing. Standing still isn’t going to work. It’s up to us to define a vision and strategies that will continue to define us as market leaders and continually evolve our model,” he says.
Carney says he’s not anticipating any difficulty making the switch to a company with a dedicated sales force as he has spent most of his career on the retail side, including founding TD Evergreen and heading up Toronto Dominion Bank’s branch network in Canada as well as running Fidelity Investments’ retail and 401k businesses and Charles Schwab’s retail channel, all out of Boston.
“I’ve been around advisors my whole life. I have a deep understanding of them and I understand the financial consumer really well, whether self-directed or full service,” he says.
Taylor spent 25 years at Great-West, including a stint where he lived in London, Ont. after the company acquired London Life. He moved over to Investors Group after it purchased Mackenzie in 2001.
He and his wife, Charlotte, are looking forward to doing more volunteer work with charities and their church as well as travelling, particularly to visit their children and grandchildren living across the country.
“We have our health, the company is in a very strong position and we have a whole new chapter of our lives that we’d like to pursue,” he says.
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