John Hanrahan craves a challenge. A driving force behind Acadian Securities Inc.’s growth into the largest independent investment dealer in Atlantic Canada, he is now launching his own firm, Citadel Securities.

After more than seven years as the president and CEO of Halifax-based Acadian, Hanrahan has sold his shares back to the company. Citadel, which is in the process of registering with the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, will offer a distinct range of services and a unique vision, what Hanrahan calls the “New Atlantic.”

“The view of the Atlantic from the rest of the country is of quaint little fishing and farming villages occupied by a ‘hard work’ work ethic,” Hanrahan says. “While I agree with that view — and certainly we are proud of our cultural history — there are a great many that now live in the Atlantic who didn’t grow up with this history. They are from other parts of Canada and around the world. The term ‘New Atlantic’ is intended to represent all of us.”

At Citadel, “representation” means reaching out to everyone who calls the region home, both native and newcomer, he says. It also means addressing investment needs in the broadest possible terms.

“Atlantic Canadians want to look for growth opportunities here and outside of Atlantic Canada,” says Beste Alpargun, who has left Acadian to join Citadel as chief financial officer and vice president of research.

Hanrahan, 53, says growth is key to Citadel, and it will not be restricted to the Atlantic region. “Our market will be national. We are looking at being based in the Atlantic but working beyond. We represent something new: a younger, more contemporary attitude.”

Hanrahan’s viewpoint is not new, says Alpargun: “John had that vision at Acadian. But he needed a team that shared that vision.”

The team is coming together. While going through the registration process, Citadel is operating as a branch of NBCN Inc. and is restricted to three traders, all of whom are in place. The other team member is Jonathan Blanchard, formerly with Bea-con Securities Ltd. , another of the region’s independents. Blanchard will oversee the fixed-income desk.

But that is the proverbial tip of the iceberg. Hanrahan has high hopes for his new firm. “We will have many traders,” he says. He anticipates upward of 20 in Halifax, Citadel’s home base.

Hanrahan doesn’t expect a problem drawing brokers into the new company’s fold: “We offer brokers all of the support that they would ever get from a large national institution. We also offer them much better payouts and employee ownership.”

As well as trading services, Citadel is offering portfolio-management services. It’s a differentiating factor, says Hanrahan: “We will be the only independent portfolio-management IDA firm in Atlantic Canada. This is a large part of what we will be doing.”

The new kid on the block will also be doing corporate finance and institutional sales and trading. Hanrahan is confident the combined market thrusts will make Citadel stand out from the crowd and “be quite different from anything in the market.”

Hanrahan admits the competition will be stiff, both from bank-owned dealers and the independent dealers. But that doesn’t worry him. “There is a gap in the market,” he says. “The banks are not interested in junior companies or smaller firms.”

Indeed, says the Antigonish, N.S., native, the arrival of Citadel on the East Coast should not scare anyone. “It is good news for the industry in Atlantic Canada, both for investors and for brokers,” Hanrahan says. “We want to ensure that Atlantic Canadian investors are exposed to the same opportunities that are available to investors across Canada.”

Certainly, it’s business as usual for Atlantic Canada’s investment dealers. Without so much as an apparent hiccup, Acadian hired David Beazley to replace Hanrahan. Beazley was formerly the IDA’s Atlantic Region director. David Hennigar, co-owner of Acadian since its inception, has purchased Hanrahan’s shares.

In fact, the possibility of increased competition is winning a collective shrug, which may reflect the fact that there is plenty of business to go around. Halifax is a hot market right now: three hedge fund companies from Bermuda have opened offices in the past few months; Stephen Lund, president and CEO of Nova Scotia Business Inc., says more announcements are pending.

“The area is seeing some momentum develop,” says Hanrahan. “We’re on the threshold of very exciting times in Atlantic Canada. We want to help entrepreneurs raise capital, and investors make the most of their money.”

@page_break@The two service components are captured in the new name, he says. A citadel is historically a fortress located on the highest point of land in an area. It is both a vantage point and a comfort zone.

“You can look out and you can see opportunities,” says Hanrahan. “But you’re also protected.”
IE