On December 1, 1883, he retired and left the firm to his nephew, John Kennedy Tod, as well as other junior partners who reorganized the firm under the name J. Kennedy Tod & Company. In retirement, Kennedy broadened his role as a financier with diverse interests in leading New York financial intermediaries. Kennedy held the post of president pro tem of the Bank of the Manhattan Company from 1883 to 1884, when he became vice president until he resigned for reasons of health in 1888.