Focus on Alternatives – Calgary

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.

Craig D’Cruze

Chief Operating Officer

Inverted Ventures

Craig D’Cruze is a multi-faceted entrepreneur with an outstanding track record analyzing and operating large businesses.

As the Executive Chef of the University of Calgary, Craig oversaw their conferences and multiple restaurant operations. Before the University of Calgary, Craig was the Executive Sous Chef for Marriott Hotels; Craig was flown around North America to lead positive changes in F&B operations in other Marriott properties underperforming in food cost, labour controls, food quality, staff engagement and retention. Craig successfully built, coached, counseled, and maintained teams of over 100 people.

Craig’s exceptional natural skills in mathematics, research, and pattern analysis make him perfect to lead Inverted Group as the Chief Operating Officer. In 2020, Craig joined Inverted Ventures to lead Inverted’s Due Diligence of both public and private market investments.

Craig’s outstanding performance and proven track record of success led to his establishment of Inverted Group’s Venture Capital Business, which he continues to lead with great success to this day.

Brent Smith

Chief Investment Officer

Kinsted Wealth

Mr. Smith boasts a remarkable career spanning over 25 years in the world of investments. The majority of his professional journey unfolded at Franklin Templeton, where he held various roles. In his final decade with the firm, he served as a lead portfolio manager and Chief Investment Officer for the Franklin Templeton Multi-Asset Strategies Group. During this time, he played a pivotal role in establishing and expanding this group’s presence, beginning in 2007 and continuing until his departure in the mid-2010s.

One of Mr. Smith’s most notable accomplishments during his tenure at Franklin Templeton was his role as the architect and lead portfolio manager from 2002 to 2008 for a highly successful series of multi-asset strategies in Canada. Under his guidance, these strategies witnessed a remarkable ascent, with assets under administration surging from $25,000 to approximately $8 billion within just six years.

Building on the success of these Canadian multi-asset strategies, Mr. Smith ventured to the United States to contribute to the buildout of firm’s global multi-asset capabilities. As the Global Chief Investment Officer for the group, he spearheaded the launch and management of strategies in Europe, Asia, and North America. Simultaneously, he oversaw the expansion of the team’s presence, establishing offices in London, Milan, Seoul, Frankfurt, and New York City. Notably, Franklin Templeton, under Mr. Smith’s leadership, was one of only three global managers selected to oversee assets for domestic Chinese investors in 2008.

Mr. Smith’s departure from Franklin Templeton was motivated by a desire to create a more robust investment platform for individual investors in Canada. He firmly believed that traditional portfolio construction methods were outdated. Joining Kinsted in 2019 provided him with the opportunity to fulfill this vision. Leveraging the extensive relationships he had cultivated over decades, he became instrumental in shaping Kinsted into one of Canada’s premier wealth management firms.

Andy Wiebe

Founder

TerraGen Technology Group

Combining over a decade of experience in launching and operating numerous startups in various industries, Andy most recently did a tenure in the ag industry, working directly with farmers to navigate farm planning tasks.  It was out of that role that Andy launched TerraGen, an alternative finance platform that bridges the gap between investor capital and farmer expansion.

Having assembled a management team with over 40,000 acres under management, and decades of experience in everything from high pedigreed seed production to hog operations, row crops and regenerative agriculture, TerraGen is establishing itself as the land investment partner of choice, both for farmers and for investors, across North America and beyond.

Gabriel Millard

Managing Partner – Equity Capital Markets

Avenue Living Asset Management

Mr. Millard has more than 10 years of experience in the private markets. Overseeing the equity capital markets for all Avenue Living investment products, he has successfully led the group in raising more than $1.5 billion in growth capital. He regularly shares his insights and expertise through industry events, podcasts, and notable publications. Mr. Millard holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University.

Sam Roach

Vice President

Franklin Real Asset Advisors

Samuel F. Roach, CFA serves as the Vice President at Franklin Real Asset Advisors. In his role, Sam is responsible for investment strategy, portfolio construction, asset allocation, investment analysis, and risk management. He also conducts underwriting and due diligence for current and prospective investments within the Franklin Global Real Assets strategies.

With more than 15 years of experience in the investment industry, Sam has navigated numerous aspects of investment management. His expertise spans various asset classes, including public equities, fixed income, private credit, private equity, and private real assets such as real estate, mortgages, infrastructure, and renewables.

Before joining Franklin Templeton, Sam served as Portfolio Manager at The City of Calgary, where he oversaw the city’s multi-billion externally managed investment portfolio. Additionally, he actively contributed to the development of an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) policy and framework. Sam also spent almost a decade as a sell-side equity research analyst at Canaccord Genuity and RBC Capital Markets.

Sam holds a Bachelor of Commerce (with Distinction) from the University of Calgary Haskayne School of Business and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder. He is a registered Advising Representative for Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.