The leadership team at TD Wealth Management and Insurance is getting a shakeup, effective June 14.
Dave Kelly, who’s been senior vice-president and head of TD Wealth Private Wealth Management (TD Wealth PWM) and TD Wealth Financial Planning since 2019, has announced he’s stepping down.
An internal memo from Leo Salom, group head of TD Wealth Management and Insurance, said Kelly “has made the personal decision to leave TD to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions,” though he will remain active until the end of September to guide the transition and protect “critical client relationships.”
Kelly will be replaced by Paul Clark, who’s worked at the bank for more than 30 years and is currently executive vice-president of Direct Investing, Wealth Delivery, at TD Wealth. The memo said Clark will lead both the wealth advice businesses and assume the title of CEO of TD Waterhouse.
“Paul will work closely with Dave over the next several months to transition the Advice businesses and build upon the great work taking place to accelerate our strategy,” the memo said. Further, Clark will bring “added focus to how we partner with Business Banking to take advantage of the unique opportunities OneTD creates when we deliberately deepen our cross-group relationships,” it said.
TD Wealth has been undergoing change and shifting its strategy for the last eight years. In 2013, for example, the bank dropped the Waterhouse name for all of its divisions, deciding to focus on its wealth capabilities and that branding. Then in 2016 the bank combined four wealth divisions under the TD Wealth PWM umbrella.
The memo said that Kelly, who’s been at the bank since 2007, has been “integral over the past several years in building and transforming our Advice businesses.” Through both his current role and in his other senior roles prior to 2019, Kelly was instrumental in helping triple the size and profitability of TD Wealth PWM and the financial planning business, Salom said.
“Dave is the influential leader our Advice businesses needed to put the right structure in place and to provide the tools and resources to deliver legendary experiences for both clients and colleagues,” Salom added.
Another one of Kelly’s projects has been guiding TD’s wealth businesses in the face of the Canadian Securities Administrators’ client-focused reforms (CFRs). There is “work being done across the enterprise,” the memo said, and Kelly will continue to help with efforts to conform.
In separate interviews with Investment Executive, Kelly commented on the bank’s decision to streamline its product shelf for its financial planners, which is one example of preparations being made in advance of the CFRs. That plan, which involves paring down planners’ access to third-party products as of July, was first announced internally in March and, said Kelly, “This is a hard change for our teams.”
Yet, the shift is crucial considering incoming product rules (e.g., know-your-product proficiency changes), and he and his team have been actively collecting advisor feedback.
While the product shelf is shrinking to focus mainly on high-quality products that are available through TD Asset Management and only legacy third-party products held by clients, Kelly said, “We’ve been sharing with our planners, ‘You’ll have access to best-in-class, of course […].’ We’ve also been clear that we will bring in outside managers inside those solution sets as needed,” and products will be developed to meet clients’ evolving needs.
On wealth planning overall, Kelly said, “We’re really, really focused on making sure we’re providing Canadians with financial confidence, [based] on a conversation that is around this is what matters [and] who matters to you and your families.”
In light of Kelly’s departure and Clark’s position change, TD’s direct investing business will also get a new leader. Raymond Chun, currently executive vice-president, and president and CEO, of TD Insurance (TDI), will replace Clark.
Chun has been with TDI for two years — and worked with TD Canada Trust prior to that — and the memo said Chun was tagged to lead Direct Investing and Wealth Business Architecture and Delivery for his “deep business acumen, proven track record of driving and delivering strong business results, and for being an exceptional people leader.”
Filling Chun’s role as head of TDI will be James Russell, currently senior vice-president, general insurance product, analytics and data, at TD Insurance. Russell has been with the bank for seven years and has more than 25 years of industry experience. The memo said he’s “been an integral member of the Insurance Senior Executive Committee since 2014 and has led the turnaround of the General Insurance business.”