Thomas M. Birks is the President of Birinco Inc. a merchant bank with investment portfolios ranging from private equity to passive investments.
Mr. Birks previously served as the President of Henry Birks and Sons Ltd. from 1985 to 1989 and has extensive global experience having worked in various countries including Australia, Japan and South Africa for Coles-Myer, Mitsubishi Bank, and Van Zwam, Vladykin and Douglas, respectively.
Mr. Birks has served as Chair of the board of directors of Viterra Inc. as well as Chair and board member of numerous corporations (including Prenor Inc., Télécité Inc., Société Générale de Financement and Air Canada), educational institutions, hospitals and foundations.
Mr. Birks graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School. He has studied at the University of Lausanne, the University of Fribourg and the University of Paris. Mr. Birks has also attended programs in corporate governance at the Harvard Business School.
Our Story
Letko Brosseau is an independent investment manager founded in 1987. The firm manages $28 billion in assets for more than 410 institutional investors and several thousand private clients and has offices in Montreal, Toronto and Calgary. Our results over the last 31 years have been remarkable.
Not only have we kept pace with the markets during this time but we have added more than $12 billion in additional value to our clients' portfolios.
Our balanced strategy has ranked #1 over 20 years amongst one of the industry’s largest and most comprehensive universes of Canadian pension plans.
But results are only part of the story.
Wishing for good returns says little on how to achieve them. The true story is in the purpose, the values and the discipline we bring to the investment process.
Board of Directors
Thomas Birks, Chairman 
Daniel Brosseau
Graduate of both the engineering (B.Sc. Industrial Eng.) and business schools (MBA) of the Université de Montreal, Mr. Brosseau joined the CN Investment Division in 1978 and was involved in virtually all areas of activity of the Division. He reported to the President and, in his last year with the Division, he combined the functions of Manager, Oil and Gas, Manager, Private Placements, and Manager, International Investments. As a senior manager of the Division since 1981, he was actively involved throughout in setting overall investment policy for the CN Pension Fund. From 1981 to 1987, he was particularly active in the oil-and-gas industry and set up the pension fund’s wholly owned oil-and-gas subsidiary. He founded Letko Brosseau with Mr. Letko in 1987.
Jean-André Élie
Mr. Jean-André Élie has served on the boards of public and private companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Alimentation Couche-Tard, serving since 1999.
Previously, he served on the boards and audit committees of various entities such Hydro-Quebec, Loto-Québec, Industry Canada, and Office of the Comptroller General under the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. He was also a director of IIROC, the Canadian investment industry’s regulatory body. Over the years, Mr. Élie has also been involved as director of several community and cultural organizations, including the OSM.
After twelve years at Rolland Inc., one of Canada’s important producers and distributers of fine paper, where he held the position of Vice-President, he pursued his career as an investment banker at Burns Fry (today BMO Nesbitt Burns) from 1981 to 1995 where he acted as VP and Director of Government and Corporate Services. He subsequently served as General Manager for a Canadian bank owned by Société Générale (France) from 1998 to 2002.
Mr. Élie is a recipient of the Order of Canada for his ongoing contributions to governance in the arts and for his philanthropy in support of numerous causes. He is also a recipient of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award (Governor General Award) for voluntarism in the Performing Arts and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for his contribution to the community.
Mr. Élie has a BA from the University of Montreal, a law degree B.C.L. from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Previously, he served on the boards and audit committees of various entities such Hydro-Quebec, Loto-Québec, Industry Canada, and Office of the Comptroller General under the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. He was also a director of IIROC, the Canadian investment industry’s regulatory body. Over the years, Mr. Élie has also been involved as director of several community and cultural organizations, including the OSM.
After twelve years at Rolland Inc., one of Canada’s important producers and distributers of fine paper, where he held the position of Vice-President, he pursued his career as an investment banker at Burns Fry (today BMO Nesbitt Burns) from 1981 to 1995 where he acted as VP and Director of Government and Corporate Services. He subsequently served as General Manager for a Canadian bank owned by Société Générale (France) from 1998 to 2002.
Mr. Élie is a recipient of the Order of Canada for his ongoing contributions to governance in the arts and for his philanthropy in support of numerous causes. He is also a recipient of the Ramon John Hnatyshyn Award (Governor General Award) for voluntarism in the Performing Arts and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for his contribution to the community.
Mr. Élie has a BA from the University of Montreal, a law degree B.C.L. from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
Peter Letko
Graduate of McGill University (B.Com.), Mr. Letko is also a CFA® charterholder. He joined the CN Investment Division in 1972 and was involved in virtually all areas of the CN Pension Fund’s activities. He reported to the President as Manager, Investments. As a senior member of the Pension Fund’s staff, he had responsibilities in the determination of investment policy for the Fund, as well as specific responsibilities for the management of portions of both private and publicly traded equities. He also represented the Pension Fund as a director on the boards of companies in diverse industries including leasing, real estate, oil and gas, and venture capital. He founded Letko Brosseau with Mr. Brosseau in 1987.
Robert Marien
Dr. Marien is an orthopedic surgeon. He has been practicing medicine for 38 years in various Montreal hospitals including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal General Hospital and LaSalle General Hospital.
Dr. Marien is also Assistant Professor of Surgery at McGill University. He was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award in 1995.
He has also served as Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of the McGill Combined Orthopedic Lecture Series for Residents.
Dr Marien has been an active lecturer with a particular focus on his specialty, injuries and surgeries of the lower limbs.
Dr. Marien received a B.Sc. (Hon) Biology from Queen’s University and an M.D.C.M. from McGill University.
Dr. Marien is also Assistant Professor of Surgery at McGill University. He was awarded the Teacher of the Year Award in 1995.
He has also served as Co-Chairman and Co-Founder of the McGill Combined Orthopedic Lecture Series for Residents.
Dr Marien has been an active lecturer with a particular focus on his specialty, injuries and surgeries of the lower limbs.
Dr. Marien received a B.Sc. (Hon) Biology from Queen’s University and an M.D.C.M. from McGill University.
For more information about the Board of directors
View board charters
Our Team of Experts
The strength of our team and structure is predicated upon the contributions of many different individuals with strong academic credentials and relevant industry experience.
Meet The Team
Meet The Team
Ethics
In addition to complying with the firm’s Code of Ethics, Letko Brosseau employees must respect the CFA Institute's Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. On a yearly basis, employees are required to certify that they are in compliance with the Code of Ethics and that they agree to continue to abide by its terms in spirit and in letter.
Our firm has never been under investigation or fined for non-respect of regulation of organizations overseeing our sector of activities.
Balanced is best.
Let’s Talk.
Independent for 31 years, Letko Brosseau has provided clients with long-term outperformance.
No alternative investments.
No alternative facts.
Simple ingredients:
- Low cost
- Long-only investments
- No leverage
- All public market holdings
- Fundamental research
- A talented team
Balanced
Composite
Returns:
11.4
annualized return for over 31 years
3.7
annualized benchmark outperformance
Performance results referenced above are annualized and presented in Canadian dollars gross of fees for the Letko Brosseau Global Balanced (Canadian Bias) Composite from January 1, 1988 to March 31, 2019. This $12.2 billion composite includes all discretionary balanced mandates with a bias towards Canadian equities and asset mix targets within the ranges of 30-70% for fixed income and 30-70% for global equities. The benchmark is 5% FTSE Canada 91 Day T-Bill Total Return Index, 40% FTSE Canada Universe Bond Total Return Index, 20% S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Capped Index and 35% MSCI All Country World Total Return Net Index. The benchmark from June 1, 2007 to December 31, 2017 was 5% FTSE Canada 91 Day T-Bill Total Return Index, 40% FTSE Canada Universe Bond Total Return Index, 20% S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Capped Index and 35% MSCI World Total Return Net Index. The benchmark from January 1, 2001 to May 31, 2007 was 5% FTSE Canada 91 Day T-Bill Total Return Index, 40% FTSE Canada Universe Bond Total Return Index, 30% S&P/TSX Composite Total Return Capped Index and 25% MSCI World Total Return Net Index. The benchmark from January 1, 1988 to December 31, 2000 was 5% FTSE Canada 91 Day T-Bill Total Return Index, 40% FTSE Canada Universe Bond Total Return Index, 35% TSE 300 Composite Total Return Index adjusted to cap the weighting of any associated group of equities at 10% of the index and 20% MSCI World Total Return Net Index.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Value added represents the excess return of the Letko Brosseau Global Balanced (Canadian Bias) Composite over the benchmark from January 1, 1988 to March 31, 2019.
*Peer comparison universe is RBC Investor & Treasury Services Canadian Defined Benefit Plans Universe, dated March 31, 2019.