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MD Financial Management’s CEO has announced his retirement and new leadership is to take over on Nov. 1.

Brian Peters, MD Financial’s president and chief executive officer, will be handing over his duties to Daniel Labonté, currently executive vice-president of client engagement and experience.

Mr. Labonté will assume the role of CEO on Nov 1., although Mr. Peters will remain with the company Financial throughout the transition until Feb. 29 .

MD Financial was created by the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) to provide financial services to Canadian physicians. Last October, it was acquired by the Bank of Nova Scotia for $2.6-billion.

With $49-billion in client assets, MD was an attractive acquisition for Scotiabank, but many MD clients were upset with the CMA for not consulting them before the sale.

Now almost a year later, Mr. Peters says his planned 2020 departure ensured he would be able to “act as a steadying hand” during MD Financial’s acquisition by Scotiabank.

Mr. Peters made the announcement in a blog post on the company’s homepage. In the announcement, he wrote his decision to retire was made a “couple of years ago” after the birth of his first grandson and was a plan he was “transparent” about with Alex Besharat, Scotiabank’s senior vice-president and head of Canadian wealth management.

“We agreed that the best leader for MD’s next phase would embody the DNA that makes MD so unique and have the vision to chart a bold new path forward,” Mr. Peters wrote.

Both Mr. Peters and the Bank of Nova Scotia could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Labonté has been with MD for more than 20 years and has held several executive roles in various departments including technology, marketing, client engagement and wealth.

“He will focus on staying true to what makes MD so different and help drive the firm forward as we continue to deliver new and innovative value to physicians and their families,” Mr. Peters said in his post.

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