Tag Archives: Tom Caldwell

Press Release

The CSE Announces Thomas S. Caldwell’s Departure and Four New Directors Elected to the Board

Last month, Thomas S. Caldwell retired from the Board of Directors of the Canadian Securities Exchange and stepped down as Chairman, a role he had filled since 2012. The move was prompted by a new recognition order from the Ontario Securities Commission requiring the Exchange to have an independent director serve as Chairman. 

Mr. Caldwell, President and CEO of Urbana Corporation, played an enormous role in the CSE’s success. In 2012, Urbana led the recapitalization of CNSX Markets Inc., which operates the CSE. Mr. Caldwell was intimately involved in supporting the CSE’s strategy and spearheading its growth. At the time of Urbana’s investment, the CSE had 189 listings, average daily trading volume of 4.22 million shares, and a cumulative market capitalization for all its securities of $1.18 billion. Today, the CSE is a substantial global stock exchange with 610 listings, average daily trading volume of 101.62 million shares, and a cumulative market capitalization of $25.33 billion.

“It is impossible to overstate Tom Caldwell’s contribution to the success of the Canadian Securities Exchange,” said Richard Carleton, CSE Chief Executive Officer. “The success we have achieved in capitalizing on growth opportunities, including those in the cannabis sector, is directly attributable to his leadership. To put it simply, the CSE would not be where it is today without him.”

“I couldn’t be prouder of what the CSE team has achieved over the last eight years,” said Mr. Caldwell. “Back in 2012, I recognized that Canada needed a strong alternative platform that truly met the needs of emerging issuers. Today, there is no doubt that the CSE has fulfilled its promise and is recognized as a preferred public market option for leading entrepreneurs.”

Steve Blake has assumed the role of Chairman of the CSE. Mr. Blake has been a director of the CSE since 2018, and he has more than 20 years of experience in senior financial roles at a range of companies. He was most recently Chief Operating Officer of the Child Development Institute, an accredited children’s mental health agency in Toronto. He previously served as Chief Financial Officer for The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited.

“I am honoured to be named Chairman of the Canadian Securities Exchange,” said Mr. Blake. “While no one can truly replace Tom Caldwell, I am confident that we have an outstanding leadership team in place that is well equipped to drive the next stage of the CSE’s growth and continue to deliver superior service to all of its stakeholders.” 

Four New Directors Elected

At the CSE’s Annual and Special Meeting of Shareholders last month, four new, highly talented nominees were elected to the Board of Directors: Hema Barkhouse, Michael Bluestein, Brendan T.N. Caldwell, and Eric Sites. Both Ms. Barkhouse and Mr. Bluestein are independent directors. Three of the CSE’s long-time directors did not stand for re-election: Thomas S. Caldwell, George Elliott, and Joel Strickland.

“We are delighted to welcome four new directors to the Board of the Canadian Securities Exchange,” said Richard Carleton, “They are replacing three truly outstanding directors. Tom, George, and Joel made enormous contributions to the CSE and oversaw a period of significant growth for the Exchange.”

Hema Barkhouse is Vice President, Accounting and Controls at Canadian Tire Corporation Ltd. She has more than 25 years of experience in the retail, consumer packaged goods, telecom, and financial services industries. In addition to Canadian Tire, Ms. Barkhouse has held executive roles at Loblaw Companies Ltd., George Weston Ltd., and Bell Canada.

Michael Bluestein is a Corporate and Securities Lawyer and the Founder of the CC Corporate Counsel P.C. law firm. He has more than 13 years of experience in M&A, corporate finance, registration, compliance, and securities law. He has advised numerous reporting issuers and helped multiple start-ups achieve their goals, from incorporation to successful exits.

Brendan T.N. Caldwell is President, CEO, and CIO of Caldwell Investment Management. He is also Co-Portfolio Manager of Caldwell’s major exchange-related investments, including Urbana Corporation and the Caldwell Growth Opportunities Trust. His securities exchange memberships have included Toronto, New York, the Chicago Board Options Exchange, the Kansas City Board of Trade, and the American Stock Exchange.

Eric Sites is Vice President and Portfolio Manager at Horizon Kinetics LLC, a firm he joined in 2004. He is a member of the firm’s research team and a member of its investment team for certain Horizon private investment vehicles and other registered investment companies. Mr. Sites currently serves on the Council of the Bermuda Stock Exchange, where he heads the New Business Development Committee.

In addition to the four new members, the Board consists of Steve Blake (Chair), Jim Dale, and Jeffrey MacIntosh.

“With our strong new directors and outstanding management team, the Canadian Securities Exchange is well positioned to continue fulfilling its mandate to be the exchange of choice for entrepreneurs,” said Mr. Blake.

CSE TV

CSE CEO speaks with Proactive Investors

Video

Richard Carleton, CEO of CSE – Canadian Securities Exchange recently spoke with Proactive Investors and discussed the recent rebranding from CNSX to CSE, the advantages of listing on the exchange, and touched on the specific reasons why Ned Goodman and Tom Caldwell are active investors in the company.

http://youtu.be/twRSIpp1e8s

Industry Insights

CSE Chairman Talks Regulation on BNN

CSE Chairman Thomas Caldwell went One-on-One with Andrew McCreath on his weekly BNN program to discuss regulation and the markets and most pressingly addressed the question: Is too much regulation hurting the securities industry?

Click here to watch the entire interview discussing regulation

Tom Caldwell discussed regulation on BNN
Tom Caldwell discussed regulation on BNN

Tom, a vocal advocate of improving securities regulation in Canada, lent his thoughts on the current state of “over regulation” in the Canadian securities industry, exemplified by his early comments in the interview :

“I think we’ve reached a tipping point where the volume, the mass of regulation is so great – and a lot of it is not substantive in protecting investors – but the volume is representing a massive cost, not only to independent brokerage firms, but also to companies raising money – ergo it’s impacting the economy.”

Tom then touches on the spiralling growth of regulation as illustrated by this point:

“Take a look at the Ontario Securities Act – a year ago it was 2800 pages, this year it’s 3500 pages. it’s been expanding at 20% a year.”

One issue he is particularly concerned about is the upcoming Client Relationship Model, which could have dire consequences on transactional brokers that invest in junior companies:

“Brokers will no longer recommend junior or new companies to investors. The risk is too high for the broker – it’s going to hurt that industry big time.”

From a securities firm perspective, the increasing growth of regulation is making the business model of running a brokerage unsustainable:

“The costs of regulation are now the killer… typically one third to one half of all your administrative costs relate to regulation, that is an unsustainable business model.”

Ultimately, Tom offers his thesis on where the industry needs to look to improve, for the betterment of the economy:

“I think we should take a look at securities regulation and see how we can make it better – better being simpler… because in securities regulation less is more, simpler is better. Because it is easier to police and it is easier to focus on from the broker to comply.”

Not dismissing the importance of regulation (it is very important), Tom makes the telling statement about how growth in regulation can be misinterpreted as a positive by saying:

“Sarbanes-Oxley never saved one investor one dollar!”

The second portion of Tom’s interview focuses on his market outlook.

Click here to watch hear Tom’s view on the markets

Tom_Caldwell_BNN_2

Some quick insights from the second portion of his interview with Andrew:

  • A self-identified “incurable optimist”, Tom is still positive on the markets – both in Canada and the US.
  • He still sees value in some stocks that others might not including Barrick Gold, bought as a turnaround last year (he’s a self-professed “garbage man”),  and US Banks including Citibank, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America – who have tremendous earning power when the economy improves. He believes they will become substantial dividend payers again as they gradually reacquire stock.
  • Likes Canadian banks as an investor but not as competitor.
  • Inflation will be back and it makes sense to own stuff rather then be a lender in this type of environment.
  • Tom discusses Urbana Corporation (CSE:URB) and thinks there is a great model with closed-end funds as they are cheaper to run than a mutual fund. He attests that a lot of fortunes were made in these vehicles 60 years ago.