Ralph Desando

Deputy CEO – Alternative Investments

Yorkville Asset Management

Kent Willmore

Founder and CEO

Crescero Natural Capital

Kent Willmore is a seasoned agricultural entrepreneur and thought leader with over 30 years of hands-on experience in Canadian farmland operations, investment management, and sustainable land stewardship. As the Founder and CEO of Crescero Natural Capital, Kent leads one of Canada’s most respected farmland asset management firms, headquartered in Chatham, Ontario.

Under his leadership, Crescero has launched and managed four farmland investment funds, each delivering strong, risk-adjusted returns while aligning the interests of investors and farm families. Kent’s approach centers on a simple but powerful premise: restoring and managing natural capital is the key to unlocking both ecological resilience and long-term economic value.

He is the architect of Crescero’s investment philosophy, which treats soil health, water access, and biodiversity not just as environmental goal posts but as core drivers of asset performance. Through proprietary diligence frameworks, infrastructure upgrades, and disciplined stewardship, Kent and his team improve farmland productivity while delivering scalable, institutional-grade outcomes for investors.

Kent holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Waterloo, where he was recognized as an All-Canadian Academic Athlete. He is an active member of the Canadian Association of Farm Advisors (CAFA) and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

Fardan Ali

Vice President, Wealth Strategy & Advisor Enablement

Designed Wealth Management

Fardan is Vice President, Wealth Strategy & Advisor Enablement, where he works closely with advisors and leadership to develop platform strategy, investment solutions, and practice management initiatives that help advisory teams grow and serve clients more effectively. In his role, Fardan focuses on helping bridge the gap between investment managers, dealers, and advisory teams. His work includes evaluating investment solutions, supporting advisor education, and building initiatives that improve the advisor and client experience across the firm. Throughout his career, Fardan has conducted more than 200 branch audits, interviewed over 80 asset managers, and played a key role in hiring and developing talent. He is known for his practical approach to navigating regulation, product innovation, and advisor growth.

Josh Booth

Partner

Dawson Partners

Josh Booth is a Partner at Dawson, a global alternative asset manager focused on providing structured solutions to private markets. Josh joined Dawson in 2019 and has 13 years of private equity and investment banking experience. Prior to joining Dawson, Josh worked as a Principal and senior member of the Funds investment team at CPPIB in Toronto and London, UK. Josh was primarily responsible for sourcing, executing and monitoring private equity fund investments and managing several of CPPIB’s largest GP relationships. In addition, Josh represented CPPIB on several limited partner advisory boards in North America, South America and Europe and was also a member of the Funds, Secondaries and Private Equity Asia investment committees for CPPIB. Josh began his career in investment banking at Paradigm Capital. Josh holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Economics from Queen’s University and is a CFA® charterholder.

Andy Yan

Principal & Portfolio Manager

Westcourt Solutions

As Principal & Portfolio Manager, Westcourt Solutions, Andy is responsible for the growth and development of Westcourt’s partner firms. Andy is registered as a Dealing Representative.

Andy previously worked at a large alternative equities manager focusing on long/short strategies where he facilitated the national roll-out of two new alternative mutual funds (both liquid alts) across Canada’s bank advisory and independent wealth management platforms. He was also responsible for covering institution clients and the due diligence/model portfolio teams within the bank advisory channels. With his deep knowledge of alternative investments, Andy advised his clients on the roles that these strategies play in a well-diversified client portfolio.

Andy earned a Bachelor of Mathematics degree from the University of Waterloo and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. He also completed the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) from the Canadian Securities Institute.

Laurence Vigeant-Langlois

Partner

AE Industrial Partners, LP

Dr. Vigeant-Langlois is a Partner at AE Industrial, with a primary focus on new business development and portfolio management across AE Industrial’s funds in private equity and venture capital, where she serves on the Investment Committee of AE Ventures, and on AE Industrial’s Origination Guiding and Responsible Investment Committees. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors of AEI portfolio companies: Alpine Air, Applied Composites, Columbia Helicopters and G.S. Precision, and on the Boards of Directors of AE Ventures portfolio companies: EVIO, FLYR, Gamma Alloys, Near Earth Autonomy and Revolution Space. She previously served on the board of Edge Autonomy prior to its sale to Redwire in 2025, and recently volunteered her time as a Senior Commercialization Advisor with DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US Department of War focused on breakthrough technologies for national and economic security.

Prior to joining AE Industrial, Dr. Vigeant-Langlois worked for GE Aerospace as Chief Executive Officer of the GE Passport joint venture with Safran Aero Boosters (Belgium) and IHI (Japan), and as program management executive responsible for the GE Passport, CF34-3 and CF34-8C engines on Bombardier and Mitsubishi’s aircraft. Previously at GE, Dr. Vigeant-Langlois joined the tiger team that founded GE Additive to transform industrial 3D printing, and led the strategy and global field marketing teams supporting the sale of GE Aviation’s engines, systems and services across commercial, business and military aviation.

Before GE, Dr. Vigeant-Langlois led commercial, product and engineering teams in aerospace and high- tech industries. At Sikorsky Aircraft (Lockheed Martin), she launched new engineering innovation, ran defense offset programs and led the Operations Analysis and contract R&D teams. At aircraft lessor CIT (Avolon), she gained increasing responsibilities in acquiring $9B of aircraft and engines. At The Weather Company, she led the democratization of cockpit weather information and the launch of SiriusXM Aviation Weather. She also previously transported air freight flying Learjets across North America.

She received SM and PhD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a BEng in Mechanical Engineering from McGill University, is a graduate of the International Space University space studies program, UTC’s Darden executive program, several GE Crotonville programs, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School and completed the CFA Level 1. She is a certified FAA commercial pilot with Learjet privileges and a flight instructor in gliders. She also serves as Board Advisor to AI health tech company Triangulate Labs, and is a member of The Wings Club and PEWIN.

Shael Soberano

Chief Investment Officer

Sharno Group Inc.

Shael Soberano, CFA, is the Chief Investment Officer of Sharno Group, a privately owned independent principal investment group and family office focused on identifying strategic, value-add investment opportunities across a wide range of traditional and alternative asset classes and strategies.

Shael is also the President & CEO, Portfolio Manager & Chief Compliance Officer of Sharno Capital Corporation, a registered Investment Fund Manager, Portfolio Manager, and Exempt Market Dealer with the Ontario Securities Commission. Sharno Capital Corporation manages the Azalea Fund LP, a private investment fund focused on smaller capitalization public equities, utilizing a fundamental value and research-intensive approach.

Prior to the Sharno Group of Companies, Shael Soberano was Vice President, Senior Analyst at Vision Capital Corporation, a leading Toronto-based Hedge Fund manager focused on publicly traded real estate related securities. Shael first joined Vision Capital as an Analyst in 2009, shortly after its inception. He was promoted to Vice President, Senior Analyst in 2014, and was registered as an Advising Representative with the Ontario Securities Commission in 2017. With a wide range of roles spanning both business development and investment management initiatives, Shael’s contributions were integral in growing Vision Capital’s assets under management and contributed to its award-winning risk-adjusted performance over that period.

Shael is a CFA Charterholder and completed the Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies Honours Degree with a Specialization in Finance at the University of Western Ontario. Shael completed the Partners, Directors, and Senior Officers (PDO) Course in 2019 and the Canadian Securities Course (CSC) in 2010, provided by the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI).

David Manzano

Managing Director

Golub Capital

Mr. Manzano joined Golub Capital in 2020 and is a Managing Director on the Global Product Group within the Investor Partners Group. He is responsible for supporting business development and investor relations as a subject-matter expert for the Firm, strategies and products. Previously, Mr. Manzano was a Partner, Managing Director and co-head of the Senior Debt Business in the Private Debt group at AEA Investors, where he was responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of middle market club and syndicated leveraged loans. Prior to this position, he was a Principal and Portfolio Manager at Callidus Capital Management, where he managed several collateralized loan obligations. Prior to that, Mr. Manzano was an investment banker in the Leveraged Finance group at Merrill Lynch & Co. and began his career at The Chase Manhattan Bank. Mr. Manzano earned his BA in Government from Cornell University. He received an MBA in Finance from Columbia University.

Saad Hassan

Principal and North American Head

Hassan Family Office

Saad Hassan is Principal and North American Head of Hassan Family Office, a Abu Dhabi–based single‑family office dedicated to private alternative investments. As a member of the firm’s Investment Committee, he collaborates with fellow principals and family members to shape strategic asset allocations across private equity, venture capital, real estate and private credit.

In his North American role, Saad leads deal sourcing and due diligence for co‑investment opportunities throughout the region, leveraging an extensive network of sovereign wealth funds, institutional allocators and top‑tier general partners. He applies a data‑driven investment framework combined with hands‑on value‑creation initiatives—focusing on operational improvement, risk management and ESG integration—to optimize long‑term risk‑adjusted returns.

A University of Waterloo alumnus with a Bachelor of Business Administration, Saad began his career in financial services and consulting, where he honed the analytical rigor that informs his investment philosophy today. He regularly serves as a judge at startup competitions and mentors emerging entrepreneurs on fundraising, business models and scaling high‑growth ventures.

Adrian Barber

President

Barber & Associates

Adrian Barber is the President of Barber & Associates(B&A), a single-family office based out of Mississauga, Ontario.

Overseeing a ‘wheel-spoke’ model, Adrian utilizes a range of partners to allow for both operational efficiency as well as best-of-breed execution. Investment management, operations, governance, succession and multi-generational planning fall within his purview. B&A’s portfolio is fully diversified and overweight private markets.

Sean O’Hara

Co-Founder & Chief Investment Officer

Obsiido Alternative Investments Inc.

Mr. O’Hara holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations.

Ryan Tomicic

Partner

Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Venelina Arduini

Co-Leader, Alternative Investments Canada

Mercer

Venelina works with clients to build and maintain their alternatives portfolios, helping them with portfolio construction and manager selection. She joined Mercer in 2011. Venelina is also a Board of Director member for the West Park Hospital Foundation based in Toronto. Venelina holds an MBA from Ivey Business School. She also earned the CFA and CAIA designations.

Daniel Cohen

Head of Canada, Capital Formation

Coller Capital

Daniel is Head of Canada, Capital Formation. Daniel also works closely with the wider Investor Relations team to help grow the distribution capabilities to institutional investors across Canada.

 Before joining Coller Capital, Daniel was Head of Investor Relations at Fiera Comox, a global investment management firm with investments in Private Equity, Private Credit and Natural Capital (Agriculture and Timberland). Daniel was responsible for the investor relations program for institutional and private wealth investors, globally. Daniel began his career as a corporate lawyer at Stikeman Elliott LLP, where he practiced primarily in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, securities, and corporate law, with a focus on cross border private equity transactions.

River Ewing

Director

Hadley Family Office

River is a Director at Hadley Family Office, where he partners with entrepreneurs to acquire and build enduringly profitable small businesses as a leading investor in entrepreneurship through acquisition.

In 2019, River founded the Hadley Family Foundation, a registered Canadian charity and private foundation focused on high-impact philanthropy in food systems. River earned a BA in Philosophy from the University of Western Ontario and an HBA from the Ivey Business School. He also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

François Ritchot

Investment Director

Sagana

François is an impact investing transaction and strategy professional. He is an Investment Director at Sagana, advising UNWHI and family offices investing in companies and funds with attractive financial returns and significant human and planetary impact. At Sagana, Francois leads investment activities in the Food and Agriculture sector globally. He was previously an Associate Director at Palladium Impact Capital (formerly Enclude) where he provided capital raising services to impact enterprises (pre-revenue to growth-stage) and mission-driven financial institutions as well as impact fund placement.

Jean-François (J-F) Démoré

Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer

Innova Wealth Partners

Jean-François (J-F) Démoré, CIM, CFP, MBA, is the Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer of Innova Wealth Partners, an independent wealth management firm overseeing more than $900 million in client assets. While leading one of Northern Ontario’s rapidly growing wealth management firms, J-F remains very much “in the trenches” as a practicing advisor, working directly with families, professionals and business owners. He also oversees nearly $500 million invested through Innova’s proprietary investment pools, which have made extensive use of alternative investment strategies since 2019. This gives him a unique perspective as both an allocator and the advisor ultimately responsible for explaining portfolio decisions, liquidity, risk and outcomes directly to clients.

J-F’s background also bridges finance and technology. He holds an Honours degree in Commerce and Computer Science, has been actively involved in the development of software and application of AI within financial services, and was a founding member and later Co-Chair of the Advocis Technology Task Force. He also consulted with one of North America’s most active angel investment organizations by deal flow, which gave him a keen understanding of the venture capital and private equity landscape.

His entrepreneurial and industry contributions have been recognized with RelèveON’s Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and Northern Ontario Business’ 40 Under Forty. J-F also holds an MBA, for which his graduate research focused on tactical asset allocation.

Constance Everson

Managing Director

Capital Markets Outlook Group, Inc.

Connie Everson is Managing Director of the economic & investment strategy consulting firm, Capital Markets Outlook Group (CMOG) in Boston, which she founded with a colleague in 1992. Connie is represented on the CFA Institute Speakers Bureau, and is a past- president of the Boston Economic Club. She serves on the investment committee of Mass PRIM, the pension fund for public employees in Massachusetts, and the Investment and audit committees of the Weredale Foundation in her native Montreal.

Wilson Tow

Managing Partner

Altrust Investment Solutions

Guy Côté

Senior Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Manager

Guy Côté Integrated Wealth Management – National Bank Financial

Guy Côté, CFA has 30 years of experience in finance and asset management. He holds a BAA in Finance, he is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA),has taken courses on derivatives (options) and financial planning offered by the investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada.

Guy can count on the complete range of National Bank Financial products, services and specialists as well as on his extensive network of experienced professionals, in meeting all the specific needs of his clients.

He is a director of the Lise Watier Foundation and La Pietà musical ensemble. He is also actively involved with other foundations.

Cam Richards

Chief Investment Officer

Guardian Partners

As Chief Investment Officer at Guardian Partners, Cameron’s mission is to combine the investment strategies and disciplined portfolio construction and risk management utilized by pension funds and endowments, with the customization and client responsiveness required by private clients, to increase the robustness of investment solutions and to enhance the experience of Guardian Partners’ clients. Previously, he served as CIO of the Nova Scotia Health Employees’ Pension Plan, and was the Head of Real Assets at Albourne Partners in London, England. He also served as the Co-Chief Investment Officer of University of Toronto Asset Management (UTAM), and Chair of the Investment Committee for the entirety of the university’s investment assets. Before joining Guardian Partners, he founded Isengard Capital Management, which provided capital markets research to Albourne Partners and also designed a research platform which applied global macro, stock selection and quantitative strategies to generate long and short exposures in stocks.

Cameron is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Queen’s University, earned an MBA from the Schulich School of Business and is a CFA® Charterholder. He has been called to the Bar in Ontario.

Theresa Shutt

Chief Investment Officer

Harbourfront Wealth Management

In her role as Chief Investment Officer with responsibility over the Portfolio Management Department and overall investment platform, Theresa Shutt is a key member of Harbourfront’s executive team, contributing to the leadership and strategic vision of the firm with a focus on increasing AUM and developing innovative investment strategies.

Theresa brings over 20 years of experience in private and public markets with demonstrated success in leading asset management teams. Prior to joining Harbourfront, Theresa was the Head of Corporate Debt for Fiera Capital, where she was responsible for the overall strategic direction of Fiera’s corporate private debt strategies. In this role, she provided leadership in support of business development, investment approval, fund strategy and portfolio management. Theresa joined Fiera from Integrated Asset Management where she was Chief Investment Officer with responsibility for private market strategies.  

Theresa began her career working as an economist for the Conference Board of Canada. She has held a variety of roles at large Canadian financial institutions marketing public fixed income to asset managers as well as structuring bond and equity derivative backed products for retail investors.

Theresa is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder and also holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics (Honours) from the University of Alberta, a Master of Arts (MA) in Economics from McMaster University, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Rotman School of Management of the University of Toronto.

Ida Khajadourian

Senior Portfolio Manager, Senior Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

For over 20 years, Ida has worked closely with Institutions, Family Offices, wealthy entrepreneurs, and high net worth families building trusted relationships and delivering a high level of holistic Wealth Management services.

Ida’s beliefs include the importance of estate planning, tax minimization, capital preservation and evolutionary portfolio construction using alternative strategies to achieve consistent absolute returns with a risk reward-oriented approach.

Ida obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto with specialization in Finance and major in Economics. Ida is a multi award winning Portfolio Manager and obtained her Chartered Alternative Investment Advisor (CAIA®) designation in 2005.

Martin Pelletier

Senior Portfolio Manager

Wellington-Altus Private Counsel

Martin has over 20 years of investment industry experience including senior-level positions in both institutional equity research and portfolio management.

Martin is currently a senior portfolio manager at Wellington-Altus Private Counsel (previously TriVest Wealth), an award-winning portfolio management firm (Wealth Professional 5-Star Asset Manager 2022), where he is the co-manager of the firm’s risk-managed balanced fund and helps oversee custom built, HNW and UHNW private client portfolios.

Prior to co-founding TriVest and its sale to Wellington-Altus in early 2020, Martin’s career was focused on institutional energy equity research and capital markets primarily at two top-ranked boutique investment banks. He provided investment recommendations on energy markets, commodities, and individual security selections to institutional fund managers located in Canada, the U.S. and Europe.

Martin is regularly featured in the media as a market strategist including his weekly column to the Financial Post’s Investment Pro section for the past decade. He was won numerous awards for his passion for financial education and quality of service provided for his clients.

Martin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a specialization in finance from the University of Alberta, studied international economics and finance at Örebro University in Sweden, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder.

Martin grew up in a small farming community in Northern Alberta and believes in the power of positive innovative change having lived in Canada’s first Eco-community. He and his family is also passionate about mental-health awareness initiatives focused on youth impacted by ADHD, OCD and Autism. On weekends, his family can be found on a mountain either freestyle/big mountain skiing or downhill mountain biking.

Rafa Silveira

Portfolio Manager

LGT Capital Partners

Rafa Silveira (American/Brazilian) is a Principal at LGT Capital Partners in New York, where he serves as a portfolio manager for the LGT Multi-Alternative Fund and is a member of the U.S. leadership team. Before joining LGT in 2019, he was a portfolio manager at AQR Capital Management. He has also held roles as a solutions strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management and a senior quantitative analyst at Bank of America. Mr. Silveira earned a Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Brasília.

Ash Lawrence

Head of AGF Capital Partners

AGF Capital Partners

Ash Lawrence is Head of AGF Capital Partners, AGF Management Limited’s diversified alternatives business with extensive capabilities across both private assets and alternative strategies. Ash is also a member of AGF’s Executive Management Team where he assists in the development and execution of AGF’s overall business strategy providing insight and vision that promotes AGF’s long-term growth.

Ash is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience and a wide breadth of expertise in alternative investments and portfolio management across sectors. As Head of AGF Capital Partners, Ash and his team identify tenured managers with demonstrated investment expertise in their fields, structuring partnerships to offer long-term strategic support, resources and capital to sustain and enhance the partners’ growth. Ash and his team are continually looking to diversify and expand the business’ capabilities and alternatives offerings to meet clients’ evolving needs.

Prior to joining AGF Investments, Ash spent 16 years with Brookfield Asset Management working in real estate investments and portfolio management in North America and Brazil, ultimately leading the Canadian real estate business. Ash also has experience in financing municipal infrastructure projects and developing infrastructure and transportation solutions for private and public sector clients.

Ash earned an MBA from the Rotman School of Management and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Waterloo.

Ash sits on numerous Boards and is a member of the America’s Executive Committee and a Global Governing Trustee for the Urban Land Institute.

Brianne Gardner

Senior Wealth Manager

Velocity Investment Partners – Raymond James

As an Investment Advisor and co-founder of Velocity Investment Partners, Brianne uses her expertise to provide solutions to high-net-worth families who have complex financial needs, anddeliver first-class service to clients who expect the best. Her dedication to understanding and managing the unique financial challenges many families face gives our clients the peace of mind they need.

With the tools provided by the leading independent firm in Canada, Raymond James Ltd., she is continually raising the bar for customized and strategic investment solutions with a focus on risk management. Brianne works closely with successful individuals, medical professionals, corporate executives, business owners and wealthy families across Canada, who have built significant wealth through years of hard work. She takes pride in the opportunity to help them grow, protect, and diversify their wealth, and when the time comes, transfer it to future generations in the most efficient manner.

Brianne and her partner John manage money for families, developing customized wealth management plans and solutions to meet their personal circumstances and goals. Brianne oversees a highly qualified team who help ensure all the clients receive ‘Amazon-like’ efficiency and ‘Four Seasons-like’ service. A disciplined and active risk management strategy allows clients to sleep soundly knowing their money is under prudent stewardship.

Her unwavering passion for being a trusted financial partner and family advisor providing valuable guidance in overseeing their financial affairs is why she has built strong, long-term relationships. Brianne has authored many industry articles over the years and is an expert contributor for Neighbours of Edgemont magazine where she educates clients and investors on financial planning and investments to help them make informed decisions and understand how their money is working for them.

Brianne acts as a mentor to young women in business and has always been an active member of her community. She is a philanthropist through her membership in professional associations and charitable organizations such as Women in Capital Markets, Young Women in Business, SFU Beedie School of Business Mentorship program and ReThink Breast Cancer.

In her free time, Brianne leads an active lifestyle, and you’ll often find her playing golf, tennis, volleyball, skiing or hiking. She and her husband enjoy travelling and they love to spend time with family.

Ted Karon

Portfolio Manager

RBC Dominion Securities

Ted draws on his expert knowledge and more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry to provide access to a comprehensive range of services. For the past two decades, Ted has been working with high net worth individuals and families to help them meet their complex financial goals.

 His depth of experience includes investment banking, commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions, equity research and portfolio management. Over the years, Ted has also developed extensive expertise in the alternative investment sector.  Ted brings a holistic perspective on investing to his work, ensuring sound advice, expert execution and peace of mind for clients who need solutions for broad and multi-dimensional wealth management needs.

 A graduate of Queen’s University, he earned a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in finance. A firm believer in ongoing education, he has acquired the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and licenses for insurance, derivatives fundamentals and options.

Aled ab Iorwerth

Deputy Chief Economist

CMHC – SCHL

Groundbreaking research by CMHC has revealed that inadequate supply is a key driver behind escalating house prices in cities like Vancouver and Toronto. The lead researcher for that project – Deputy Chief Economist Aled ab Iorwerth – now coordinates a diverse national team of researchers and analysts who are investigating impediments to housing supply and potential solutions.

“Housing markets are local. Broader challenges such as supply are often common, but the drivers and magnitude of these challenges may differ significantly across the country. My goal is to help understand and inform on market dynamics, how they support or hinder housing affordability goals and to provide thought leadership on housing economics across housing industry participants.”

Aled joined CMHC in 2016, bringing his strong analytical and research capabilities to bear on complex housing issues. He previously had a 15-year career at Finance Canada, in various research and analysis roles that included secondments to Environment Canada and the Council of Canadian Academies.

Aled holds a PhD in Economics from Western University and master’s degrees in European and International Relations (University of Amsterdam) and Economics (Carleton University). He speaks three languages: English, French and Welsh.

Colleen Redmond

Vice President, Investment Product Research

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada Inc.

As part of the product team at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada (MSWC), Colleen is responsible for conducting initial and ongoing due diligence on various investment products including mutual funds, ETFs, SMAs and alternatives. She works closely with internal and external partners to build out the MSWC product shelf. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2022, Colleen spent over seven years at CI Global Asset Management including four years as the product manager for CI’s suite of liquid alternative products. She also held roles in operations, client services and sales. Colleen holds a BBA from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Colleen is an avid runner. In her spare time, she enjoys training for her next marathon.

Robert Wilson

Senior Vice President, Head of Portfolio Construction Consultation Service

Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Robert Wilson, Senior Vice President, is the Head of Picton Mahoney’s Portfolio Construction Consultation Service (PCCS). He is responsible for leading a multi-disciplinary team of experts in asset allocation, risk management, quantitative research and portfolio management. Robert and his team partner with investment advisors and institutional investors to help them construct more resilient and efficient investment portfolios. Robert is often invited to share his insights on alternative investments, asset allocation and portfolio construction with industry groups and media outlets.

Prior to joining Picton Mahoney in 2019, Robert spent 10 years working in financial services in progressively senior roles. Most recently, Robert was vice president at BlackRock Asset Management Canada Limited where he distributed iShares ETFs to Canadian investment advisors. Prior to that, Robert was an associate at PIMCO where he distributed PIMCO funds to Canadian investment advisors.

Robert holds an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. He is a CFA charterholder, and he holds the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation. He is also a member of the Responsible Investment Association of Canada and holds the Responsible Investment Professional Certification designation.

Josh Benchetrit

Principal and Portfolio Manager

Westcourt Capital

As Principal, Asset Management & Client Services, Josh’s responsibilities include the construction and management of diversified investment portfolios and reviewing investment products for Westcourt’s clients. Josh is registered as a Portfolio Manager (Advising Representative) and a Dealing Representative.

Prior to joining Westcourt, Josh was an executive at two of the country’s largest single-family offices, and a member of the Investment Committee. In this role, he was responsible for building the investment framework covering all major asset classes and geographies.

Paul Patterson

National Sales

Spartan Fund Management

Paul has been with Spartan Fund Management since 2015.  From 2008 to 2014, Paul was Vice-President, Private Investment at Integrated Asset Management (“IAM”), a $3B Toronto-based multi-strategy alternative asset manager.  Prior to that, he was Associate Vice-President, Institutional and Offshore at BluMont Capital, a hedge fund and structured products firm. Before joining BluMont, Paul practiced corporate and securities law with Lang Michener (now McMillan LLP) and served as legal and policy counsel with the Toronto Stock Exchange.  Paul has a B.A. from Carleton University, a J.D. from the University of Toronto and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s J. L. Kellogg School of Management. He is also CAIA charterholder and is the former Deputy Chair of the Canadian chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association.

James Burron

Founding Partner

CAASA

James co-founded CAASA in response to industry support for a Canadian alternatives association to serve all aspects including: hedge / alternative strategies; liquid alternatives; private lending; private real estate; private equity; plus emerging areas where Canada is a leader such as digital assets / blockchain and robo-advisors.

Prior to CAASA, James was the Chief Operating Officer of AIMA Canada where his team of three worked with 12 committees to produce 50-60 events per annum across Canada, organized 100+ committee meetings, and increase member numbers over his 7-year tenue from 66 to 164 corporate entities.

James currently sits on the Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (CIFSC), which categorizes mutual funds and alternative mutual funds (aka liquid alternatives) for the retail space in Canada. He is also called upon by membership and industry groups to speak to risk ratings and portfolio placement of all types of alternative investments.

James also has experience in research and writing for the CAIA Association (holding the designation since 2006) as well as serving on CAIA’s exam council and as a well as other duties. He had roles in institutional sales and FoHF structuring in Seoul, South Korea, as a Product Manager at ICICI Wealth Management, and as an Investment Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities. James graduated from Simon Fraser University with a BBA (Finance).

Fardan Ali

Vice President, Wealth Strategy & Advisor Enablement

Designed Wealth Management

Fardan is Vice President, Wealth Strategy & Advisor Enablement, where he works closely with advisors and leadership to develop platform strategy, investment solutions, and practice management initiatives that help advisory teams grow and serve clients more effectively. In his role, Fardan focuses on helping bridge the gap between investment managers, dealers, and advisory teams. His work includes evaluating investment solutions, supporting advisor education, and building initiatives that improve the advisor and client experience across the firm. Throughout his career, Fardan has conducted more than 200 branch audits, interviewed over 80 asset managers, and played a key role in hiring and developing talent. He is known for his practical approach to navigating regulation, product innovation, and advisor growth.

Joseph Bakish

Senior Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager

Manulife Wealth Inc.

Joseph Bakish is a Senior Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager at Manulife Wealth Inc. with over 20 years of experience in the field. Named Canada’s Top Under 40 Investment Advisors in 2020 by the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC), Joseph Bakish has built his career by putting the best interests of his clients at the forefront of his objectives.  

Joseph recently joined Manulife Wealth to help expand their universe of alternative assets available for sale and to encourage the use and access of their capital markets team for retail investors. His experience at his previous firm, marked by an early adoption of alternative investments in portfolio construction,enables him to provide insight to the MW investment committee.

Bakish Wealth primarily deals with researchers and physicians as highlighted by the recent partnershipwith Heritage MD, a specialized advisory firm co-created with physician leadership to help physicians with their financial planning and asset allocation.

Ida Khajadourian

Senior Portfolio Manager, Senior Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

For over 20 years, Ida has worked closely with Institutions, Family Offices, wealthy entrepreneurs, and high net worth families building trusted relationships and delivering a high level of holistic Wealth Management services.

Ida’s beliefs include the importance of estate planning, tax minimization, capital preservation and evolutionary portfolio construction using alternative strategies to achieve consistent absolute returns with a risk reward-oriented approach.

Ida obtained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Toronto with specialization in Finance and major in Economics. Ida is a multi award winning Portfolio Manager and obtained her Chartered Alternative Investment Advisor (CAIA®) designation in 2005.

Rodrigo Gordillo

President

ReSolve Asset Management

Rodrigo is President of ReSolve Global* as well as Co-Founder and portfolio manager of the Return Stacked® ETF suite. Rodrigo brings nearly two decades of investment industry experience, specializing in developing innovative and diversified systematic investment strategies to a global clientele.

His expertise has been focused on the advancement of Return Stacking, All-Terrain portfolio construction, Managed Futures, and Systematic Global Macro strategies. Rodrigo has made significant contributions to the investment community through a series of insightful whitepapers, the book Adaptive Asset Allocation, the ReSolve Riffs Investment Podcast and The Get Stacked Investment Podcast.

Rodrigo’s investment philosophy and approach are shaped by a journey that underscores the importance of resilience, adaptability, and a global perspective in mastering the complexities of dynamic markets.

Tom Johnston

Managing Director, Business Head Canada

iCapital Network

Tom joined iCapital in 2020 as Managing Director and Business Head for Canada, based in Toronto. In this role, he is responsible for iCapital’s expansion into the Canadian market, partnering with leading General Partners, alternative asset managers, and Canadian wealth channels, in addition to overall management of the Firm’s business in Canada.

Prior to joining iCapital, Tom was previously the President of CI Institutional and CEO of UBS Global Asset Management (Canada) and has had prior roles in the past with Invesco and RBC. He has extensive experience business strategy, sales and servicing (both wealth and institutional) and new product development including a wide range of asset classes including alternatives. In addition to these roles Tom has also been a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and General Counsel.

Tom is a trusted industry leader and has was the Vice Chair and board member of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada (PMAC) and previously (3 years) was also Chair of its Industry Regulations and Tax Working Committee. Tom earned a BA in History and Political Science from the University of Western Ontario and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Windsor. He remains a member of the Ontario Bar in good standing.

Jesse Kaufman

The Founder and CEO of Honest Advice Inc., Jesse Kaufman started his company with the goal of providing the truthful, professional, unconflicted advice investors have always wanted but were unable to get. He helps people sort through the noise that masquerades as advice, and shares exactly what they need to know and do to be successful in reaching their goals.

Jesse has over two decades of experience in wealth management as an investment advisor and portfolio manager for 13 years, an independent auditor of investment advisors’ work, the Chief Investment Analyst at an independent wealth management firm, and a consultant at a major Canadian bank where he taught investment advisors how to do better work for their clients.

Holding a B.A. from York University, Jesse is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst, Chartered Investment Manager, Accredited Investment Fiduciary, and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. Known for his expertise in portfolio construction and alternative investments, he was named Best Advisor in the Country for Alternative Investment Expertise at the Canadian Wealth Professional Awards in 2016 and again in 2017.

A long-time advocate for investor rights, protection, and education, Jesse’s life’s work and purpose is empowering people with everything they need to make sound investment decisions and live more meaningful, purposeful lives for the benefit of their families and communities.

Guillaume Lavoie

Partner

Torys

Guillaume regularly represents fund managers and institutional investors on private fund formation matters, especially in connection with structuring open-ended and closed-ended private equity, infrastructure, debt, royalty and venture capital funds. His expertise on funds covers both institutional and retail products. He is notably one of leading experts in the country on access funds and other retail funds investing in alternative illiquid asset classes and with respect to rated-note feeder structures. He further has developed significant experience with the structuring of impact funds and other types of funds with an ESG focus or investment strategy. He also has significant experience representing nationally and internationally recognized private equity and institutional firms in private M&A transactions and equity deals across many sectors.

Craig Machel

Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

Craig encourages his clients to think differently about investing in order to ensure a positive impact in his clients’ financial circumstances.  He works beyond traditional portfolio management in the equity and bond markets alone and which includes alternative assets, offering more effective diversification and a benchmark that offers protection and peace of mind regardless of market conditions.  Craig is a frequent commentator on wealth management practices for various media outlets, and a panelist and speaker at industry events.

Allan Seychuk

Vice President & Senior Investment Director, Alternatives

Mackenzie Investments

Allan Seychuk is Vice President and Senior Investment Director and leads Mackenzie’s AlternativesTeam. In this role, Allan is responsible for product strategy and investment communications for Mackenzie’s suite of Alternative Products. Prior to the launch Mackenzie’s Alts business in 2019, Allan was the Senior Investment Director responsible for Mackenzie’s Multi-Asset Solutions.

Allan joined Mackenzie in June 2015 from Mercer Global Investments, Mercer’s multi-asset, multi-manager outsourced investments business, where Allan was the Head of Client Service for Mercer’s Institutional clients across Canada.

Prior to Mercer, Allan spent seven years with Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management, where he was an Institutional Client Portfolio Manager and was responsible for macroeconomic research, asset allocation and investment strategy. Allan began his investment career as an Economist with RBC, where he conducted research and gave presentations on global macro and financial market developments.

Allan has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics from Queen’s University and the University of Toronto respectively, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Mark Shore

Director and Economist

CME Group

Dr. Mark Shore, Director, and Economist at the CME Group. He is responsible for generating economic analysis on global financial markets by identifying emerging trends, evaluating economic factors, and forecasting their potential impact on CME Group’s various asset classes. He is a well-known alternative investment expert with over 30 years of experience in capital markets. He is also an adjunct professor at DePaul University.

Previous positions include full-time finance faculty and executive director of the Arditti Center for Risk Management at DePaul University, director of Coquest Institute at Coquest Advisors, head of risk at Octane Research, and chief operating officer of VK Capital, a wholly owned Morgan Stanley commodity trading advisor (CTA) business unit.

He conducts educational workshops, webinars, and is frequently invited to speak at industry and academic conferences. Mark has contributed research to several global organizations on volatility, macroeconomics, commodities, asset allocation, due diligence, and alternative investments.

Mark received his Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from DePaul University with his dissertation topic related to alternative investments. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago

Benjamin Sinclair

Investment Advisor and Associate Portfolio Manager

Designed Wealth Management

Benjamin Sinclair, CFA, CAIA is an Investment Advisor and Associate Portfolio Manager at Designed Securities. Previously he was a research analyst, having spent nine years covering equities in the financial services sector for a mid-sized wealth manager. Ben also runs a newsletter and podcast at www.BeyondTheExchange.ca, both focused on helping investors deepen their understanding of alternative investments.

Ash Tahbazian

Head of Business Development, North America

3iQ Corp.

Scott Starratt

Senior Portfolio Manager

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management

Scott Starratt is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP®), Chartered Investment Manager (CIM), and Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA). He earned his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta in 1993, majoring in Finance, Game Theory, and Chemistry, and brings more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry.

As Senior Portfolio Manager, Scott leads the investment team with a total-portfolio perspective, overseeing portfolio construction, manager selection, and rigorous due diligence across both traditional and alternative investment strategies. He is deeply involved in evaluating private, hedged, and non-correlated investments, with a focus on downside risk management, capital preservation, and improving portfolio resilience across market cycles.

Scott takes a hands-on approach to manager research, regularly engaging directly with investment teams to assess not only performance and process, but also risk controls, alignment of interests, and decision-making under pressure.

In addition, Scott is frequently featured in Wealth Professional and is a regular speaker and panel moderator at industry events, where he shares practical, experience-driven perspectives on alternative portfolio construction, risk management, and long-term investing.

Mark A. Tower

Executive Director, Head of Business Development & Investor Relations

Asset Management One USA Inc.

Mr. Tower is a senior institutional sales and marketing professional with over 25 years of experience in the alternative investment industry. Mr. Tower joined Asset Management One USA Inc. “AMO USA” in September of 2023 to lead the business development and investor relations functions. Prior to joining AMO USA, Mr. Tower was Director of North American Business Development at Lyxor Asset Management Inc. where he was focused on developing and maintaining client relationships across all verticals in the United States and Canada from December 2015 until September 2023. Since 2004 Mr. Tower has also built and grown institutional sales for UBP Asset Management, Rock Maple Funds, and Muirfield Capital Management. Mr. Tower began his career at Orbitex Group of Funds and REFCO Alternative Investments in sales and marketing roles.

Mr. Tower has a Bachelor of Arts from Boston College.

Brian Wong

Executive Director, Investment Product Research

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada Inc.

As part of the product team at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management Canada (MSWC), Brian is responsible for conducting initial and ongoing due diligence on various investment products including mutual funds, ETFs, SMAs and alternatives. He works closely with internal and external partners to build out the MSWC Alternative Investment product shelf and the Managed Account Program at MSWC. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2022, Brian spent over seven years at BMO Nesbitt Burns as a Supervising Portfolio Manager, working closely with discretionary Portfolio Managers. Brian started his career in Singapore as a Futures/FX broker and spent over eight years managing Fund of Hedge Funds portfolios for multi-family office and HNW clients at various firms. Brian holds a Bachelor of Business degree from the Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.