A pair of high-profile Montreal brokers who were let go last week by Desjardins Group have landed at Richardson GMP.
As reported last week, Desjardins fired nine brokers, including Marc Dalpé and Jean-Marc Milette, over what the company said were concerns that they were making undisclosed investments in the Bahamas. Mr. Dalpé and Mr. Milette, who between them have 2,000 clients and manage about $1-billion in assets, maintain they did nothing wrong.
A spokesman for the pair confirmed that they are now employed by Richardson GMP, the wealth-management business co-owned by GMP Capital and the Winnipeg-based Richardson family.
Canadian brokerage firms are in a fight for advisers and assets, as companies like Richardson GMP try to build up their networks. Rather than training new advisers, and helping them through the grind of building up their businesses, brokerage firms are constantly trying to grab teams from one another.
Mr. Milette has already changed his LinkedIn profile to say he works at Richardson GMP.
In a statement last week, Mr. Milette and Mr. Dalpé said that "There are no grounds justifying Desjardins' decision and we will protect all of our rights and above all, our good name and reputation." The pair said they would be advising clients shortly of where they were headed following their parting with Desjardins.