Over four decades ago, a friend gave Ken MacPherson some good advice. “Never stop hustling,” he said to Ken, who had recently started as a chalk boy on the floor of the Vancouver Stock Exchange, “and you’ll get noticed.” He soon was, and years later he became part of an elite team of industry experts that helped design the automated trading system that replaced the old trading floor where he began his career. Ken’s remarkable 40-year journey at Canaccord has been marked by his willingness to shoulder increasing responsibilities in almost every area of the firm. Today, as Senior Vice President, Trading, Ken MacPherson’s unique combination of operational experience and cultural understanding are critical to the efficiency of Canaccord’s trading operations. “We’ve always been an extended family here,” says Ken, “and I believe it’s the compassion and commitment of being like a big family that can still set Canaccord apart even as we grow.”

 

We believe that an important part of Canaccord’s social responsibility is to support community initiatives in health, education, arts, and economic and social development. Our employees invested many hours of their time and the firm contributed more than $1.2 million in fiscal 2007 to hundreds of important “ideas that count” at the local, national and international levels.

Our contribution to establish the Canaccord Learning Commons at the University of British Columbia supports student access to new information technology tools and will help to highlight the Sauder School of Business as a global leader in management thinking.

Canaccord is proud to sponsor the Canaccord Capital Exploration Gallery at the Vancouver Aquarium. This initiative supports environmental responsibility in our community and is the world’s first aquarium to be gold certified under the international Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System. The gallery offers interactive exhibits that challenge, inform and educate visitors.

Canaccord is the title sponsor for the Big Brothers Whistler Golf Classic, a charitable golf tournament that helps raise over $450,000 each year in support of the Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver. Additionally, employees participate every year in Bowl for Big Brothers, an event that supports Big Brothers’ mentoring programs for the promotion of healthy development of children and youth through guidance, support and friendship. In Toronto, Canaccord participated in the 10th Annual Bay Street Softball Tournament that raised over $250,000 for the Bloorview MacMillan Children’s Foundation to help build their new facility. In the United Kingdom, Canaccord employees support Absolute Return for Kids, an organization that aims to transform the lives of children victimized by abuse, disability, illness and poverty, particularly in Romania and South Africa. Tommy’s, a charity focused on early life, promotes research into pregnancy related complications and premature birth. Through the Children’s Safety Fund, Canaccord also sponsors a “street smart” program in London that encourages safety and helps distressed children.