Our Physician Council meets during times of change
It’s a tumultuous time at a global level, but as always, we’re here for our physicians and continue to provide support in any way we can. With spring on the horizon, we recently assembled the MD Physician Council to explore many important topics that affect our business.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is clearly terrible, and our deepest sympathies go out to those affected. We have kept a watchful eye on this senseless war, which is having a devastating impact on Ukraine and has rocked the global economy. While MD Financial Management has always invested minimally and responsibly in Russia, we’ve scrutinized our holdings to confirm we have very low exposure there (read more here).
In other matters: We updated the Council on the development of a multi-employer pension plan for incorporated physicians, the Medicus Pension Plan™. Since MD and Scotiabank made the announcement on March 9, we have already seen high engagement rates — which tells us it’s a much-needed offering that physicians are excited about. We’re now focused on getting the plan off the ground and building out operations with an aim to launch in 2023.
It’s been a time of even greater integration between MD and Scotiabank, as our teams work together on our shared purpose of providing value to our clients. Our teams will continue to do what we do best: provide unique, physician-centred financial solutions for medical professionals at all career stages.
We’re always striving to improve and to find efficiencies where we can. At a previous meeting, the Council had shared helpful feedback on the Scotiabank Healthcare+ Physician Banking Program, which they believe is set up for success. Amid further discussion, questions and feedback, Council members said they liked how we are making customized banking advice accessible to all physicians and medical students in Canada, and how we are really digging in to support medical students as they transition from academia to medicine.
In a recent survey, we gauged how physicians perceive MD compared with our competitors. Client feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with physicians seeing MD as a specialized service just for them, which, as a business, is our point of differentiation.
In closing, change is coming to our MD Physician Council as we embark on a phased plan to rotate in new members. We’ll bring on three new physicians each year — all with diverse backgrounds — as three current members reach the end of their commitment. I want to thank all our inaugural members for their time, thoughtfulness, and dedication to helping us serve the emerging and real-time needs of Canada’s medical community.