Montreal’s Letko Brosseau names new president as co-founders step back after 40 years

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc., a veteran and vocal institutional money manager based in Montreal, has named a new president, marking a significant leadership change as the firm’s two co-founders step back after 40 years.

On Monday, the firm announced David Després is taking the reins as co-founder Daniel Brosseau steps back to a senior adviser role. Mr. Brosseau created the firm with Peter Letko in 1987, and Mr. Letko took his own step back in 2024.

Mr. Després is a familiar face to employees. He joined the money manager in 2001 and rose to lead the investment team. Most recently, he was executive vice-president.

In an interview, Mr. Després characterized the transition as a “planned and thoughtful process” that started a decade ago with the creation of an independent board of directors. “This is really the outcome of a ten-year cycle,” he said.

Mr. Després also stressed that both the Letko and Brosseau families will remain significant shareholders of the privately held firm. Letko Brosseau had $22.5-billion in assets under management as of May.

The firm was created in 1987 after the two co-founders worked for Canadian National Railway’s pension fund, and they built a reputation for speaking out on matters they felt was of public importance. In 2019, for instance, the firm held 4 per cent of Encana Corp.’s shares – the company has since been re-named Ovintiv – and Letko Brosseau publicly fought the company’s relocation to the United States.

“The proposed move is contrary to Encana’s best interests, and reflects a profound absence of concern for the protection and enhancement of shareholder value,” Letko Brosseau said in a statement at the time.

Decades ago, fund managers routinely spoke out because they held a lot of sway in public markets, but it is much less common today. Letko Brosseau, though, has kept it up.

In 2023, Mr. Letko and Mr. Brosseau testified before the House of Commons’ standing committee on finance and submitted a 62-page supporting document to its members, arguing that Canadian pension funds should have incentives to make investing more money at home more attractive.

It was a full-circle moment for the two men, who had argued the opposite two decades before. Canadian pension funds used to invest most of their money at home, because legislation prevented them from investing more than 10 per cent of their assets outside of Canada.

Asked whether the firm will continue to speak up, Mr. Després, the new president, said it will continue where appropriate. “This is really part of our DNA,” he said. “We are known for doing our in-depth, independent research,” he said, adding that “there is definitely a need in the marketplace for a firm like this.”

One thing that has changed recently, however, is an expansion of Letko Brosseau’s services to high net-worth clients and advisers. Historically, the firm managed money for institutional investors, but this spring it opened its doors to a broader range of clients, something some of the largest investment managers around the world have also been doing.

“The idea was simply to make available our investment strategies to retail advisers,” Mr. Després said, adding that nothing much changes.