Becoming a global leader

After almost 30 years in the financial industry, TD Asset Management CEO Bruce Cooper knows the importance of career evolution. His roles and skill set have changed over the years, but he regards the challenge of evolving with the industry as a gratifying experience.

After obtaining a bachelor of commerce from Queens University, a master’s in political science from McGill and a CFA charterholder certification, Cooper entered the industry as a research analyst at CIBC. From there, he moved on to a small independent firm called Lancaster Financial, where he worked on proprietary trading, investing the firm’s own capital.

When Lancaster was acquired by TD in 1995, Cooper was dropped into asset management. “I found my way as an equity analyst and equity portfolio manager,” he says. “I served as head of equities, became CIO in 2014 and became CEO in 2016. My background is as an equity portfolio manager. I think of myself as client-oriented and focused on investment excellence.” 

Transitioning from portfolio manager into a leadership role is something Cooper looks back on as one of the greatest challenges of his career – but also one of the most satisfying. “In this industry, you need to constantly learn and challenge yourself,” he says. “Quite a different skill set is needed to lead a business as opposed to being a portfolio manager. Before, I was building financial models; now I lead people and develop strategy.”

Competitive advantage

The atmosphere of constant change and nonstop learning was what first attracted Cooper to the financial industry. He has always had a natural fascination with news and learning about how different companies operate, which is something he’s come to embrace in leading TDAM. He’s very focused on keeping up with events that might impact the companies the firm follows on the investment side.

“This industry is competitive,” he says. “It is a challenge because every day, we are trying to win and outperform for the benefit of our clients and the bank. No two days are alike – every day is interesting.”

The days are also much different from when Cooper began in the industry. He started with a dream of managing a global equities fund; achieving that goal is something he considers a career highlight. 

“I did it for many years and loved managing a global equity fund,” he says. “It was a broad canvas to invest in companies everywhere in the world, understand different sectors and industries, and hone an investment philosophy.”

Cooper then set out to achieve new heights. In 2009, he helped launch TD’s asset allocation committee, aimed at structuring processes for constructing portfolios. Now, in his role as CEO, he’s focused on looking for new ways to add value and meet the needs of TD’s clients. 

At the centre of those initiatives is TD’s acquisition of Greystone Capital Management in 2018. “Greystone had capabilities in areas we didn’t in the alternatives or ‘real asset’ space,” Cooper explains. “They are a big investor in real estate and infrastructure, so we wanted to make sure we had those capabilities. The new capabilities help position us as an asset manager that differentiates from our peers, which is very gratifying.”

Embracing ETFs

Today, Cooper’s greatest satisfaction comes from his ability to shape the long-term perspective of TDAM’s business as CEO. “The asset management business is in the midst of significant change,” he says. “There has been a rise of passive investing, ETFs, pricing pressure and more global competitors in Canada. Making sure that we are positioned to compete and take a leadership role is something I find exciting.”

In addition to integrating Greystone’s capabilities, TDAM has also put an increased emphasis on enhancing its reach in the ETF space. The company launched a suite of ETFs in November 2018, followed by another in the spring and a plan to launch more this fall. 

“Building our ETF complex is one of the key growth initiatives at TDAM,” Cooper says. “We are looking to build a suite of 30 to 40 ETFs. Our goal is to embed our core investment capabilities in our ETFs. When you think of our core capabilities, one area is credit in fixed income, which we have been known for for decades. The second area we want to build on is dividend growth, as an equity philosophy. Also, quantitative investing is a core capability. These are not new investment capabilities – just embedding our current specialties in an ETF structure for clients to have a broad choice in portfolios.”

Moving forward, Cooper says TDAM’s focus will be emphasizing its investment excellence to clients. Whether it’s the Greystone integration or expanding the firm’s ETF lineup, Cooper says it all comes down to the idea of helping investors meet their goals.

“I think sometimes the industry gets too focused on products,” he says. “For our large institutional investors, it could be making sure pensions match liabilities, and for individual investors, the goal may be saving appropriately for retirement. Making sure our solutions align with the goals of our clients is our priority.” 

In September, Cooper passed his responsibilities as TDAM’s chief investment officer to Rob Vanderhooft, a move that he says will allow him to focus on TDAM’s growth initiatives. Given the wealth of experience he has gained during nearly three decades in the industry, Cooper is well placed to help TDAM take that next step in its growth and enhance its vision of being a global asset management leader.