Philip Mesman

Head of Fixed Income

Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Philip Mesman is a partner and lead Portfolio Manager of our firm’s Income Strategies. Phil’s previous investment experience includes working through the ranks at Scotiabank as a Commercial Lender; Merrill Lynch as a Proprietary Analyst and Trader; Greywolf Capital as a Credit Analyst; and Harris Investments as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager. As a 20+ year veteran in the investment industry and second generation credit specialist, Phil brings extensive experience across all facets of income investing. Phil graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a degree in Economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Liam O’Sullivan

Principal, Co-Head of Client Portfolio Management

RPIA

As Head of Client Portfolio Management, Liam leads the team responsible for developing client relationships and developing new investment solutions. Prior to this role, Liam spent several years managing corporate bond portfolios for the firm, with a focus on the Canadian corporate bond market.

Prior to joining RPIA in 2010, Liam held the position of Chief Risk Officer at Northwest Investment Management in the UK. He started his career in finance working on the Credit Trading desk at CIBC world Markets in London. Liam has a Masters in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from New College, Oxford and a Masters in Economics from the University of British Columbia. Liam is a CFA Charter holder.

Jason Jogia

Chief Investment Officer

Avenue Living Asset Management

Mr. Jogia serves as the Chief Investment Officer of Avenue Living, as well as Chief Executive Officer of our Opportunity Trust. He has over 15 years of experience in real estate capital markets and has originated over $10 billion in real estate loans and $500 million in equity. Prior to Avenue Living, he led the management of a $1.5 billion real estate debt portfolio at a major Canadian bank. He has extensive experience in real estate investment analysis and capital structure on various real estate asset classes.

Mr. Jogia’s insight and expertise in creating structures to attract capital, accessing capital markets, and alternative investments has helped Avenue Living parlay a focus on investing in the everyday to surpass $2.5 billion in assets under management. As CIO, he takes his fiduciary responsibility to the stakeholders earnestly. His focus remains on creating cadences that safeguard our investors, allowing them to comfortably invest in overlooked markets.

Mr. Jogia serves an instructor at the University of Calgary specializing in Real Estate Finance. He also serves as a board member for the Calgary Public Library Foundation. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary, and a Master of Corporate Finance from SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy. In 2020, Mr. Jogia was featured Avenue Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for his achievements in “transforming what real estate investment can look like.” An avid traveler, Mr. Jogia has visited over 38 countries and enjoys exploring different cultures and landscapes.

Scott Starratt

Senior Vice President, Investment Advisor & Portfolio Manager

Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management

Scott Starratt is a Certified Financial Planner and a Chartered Investment Manager.  He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Alberta in 1993 majoring in Finance, Game Theory and Chemistry and draws on more than 29 years of experience in the financial services industry.

Scott’s role is to lead the team and perform astute due diligence, manage portfolios and select top-tier alternative and hedged investments for our clients’ downside protection. Scott gets to know company management teams on an up-close-and-personal basis to be able to assess funds based on more than figures on a balance sheet: he also considers each managers’ ethics, track records and integrity under pressure.

Francis Sabourin

Portfolio Manager & Investment Advisor

Richardson Wealth

Financial Planner and Portfolio Manager, Francis Sabourin, Director, Wealth Management at Richardson Wealth, was awarded the Distinguished Advisor Award (prix Conseiller émérite) for the year 2016 by the publication Finance et Investissement, highlighting the good performance of his portfolios, both equal to or higher than the benchmarks, while minimizing the risks, thereby focusing on good capital protection. The Advisor of the Year Award is designed to recognize an advisor with at least 20 years of experience, who has marked the financial industry with a unique and remarkable practice. Francis celebrated 25 years of practice on October 5, 2017.

Among the most highly prized awards of excellence in the Canadian financial world, the Wealth Professional Awards are designed to recognize leaders in the wealth management industry and honour their contributions and outstanding achievements in Canada’s financial industry.

Against this backdrop, in addition to taking home the top award of Global Advisor of the Year in 2016, 2017 and 2019, Francis took home the award for the Discretionary Portfolio Manager of the Year for 2018. In 2020, Francis won the Silver Award for Advisor of the Year – Alternative Investments

Michael Sager

Vice-President – MULTI-Asset & Currency Management

CIBC Asset Management

Michael Sager is a member of the CIBC Client Portfolio Manager team. Dr Sager partners with all CIBC distribution channels to deliver targeted thought leadership, education, and investment advice and perspective to clients and consultants.

Prior to joining CIBC Asset Management in 2018, Dr. Sager was an Asset Allocation Consultant at Alignvest Investment Management. Previously, he was a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, a Fixed Income Currency Strategist at Wellington Management, Head of Currency Research at JP Morgan Asset Management and Putnam Investments, and an economist at the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

Dr. Sager earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick and a Master of Science degree (with distinction) in Economics from the University of London.

Paul Kwon

Senior Vice President, Private Equity Emerging Manager Team

Unigestion Asset Management

Paul Kwon, Senior Vice President, is a member of the Private Equity Emerging Managers team. He joined Unigestion in September 2017.

He began his career in Private Equity as a Vice President at 747 Capital in New York. In his role, he was responsible for sourcing lower middle-market investment opportunities, performing analytical analysis, and preparing internal portfolio reports. Before joining 747 Capital, Paul was deployed overseas for four years in the United States Marine Corps.

Paul holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Columbia University, USA.

Ryan Marr

Partner & Chief Investment Officer

Waypoint Investment Partners

Ryan is Partner & Chief Investment Officer focusing on the All Weather Strategy at Waypoint Investment Partners. Prior to joining Waypoint, Ryan spent 10 years employed by Gluskin Sheff + Associates – a Canadian wealth manager focused on high net worth clients across Canada. Prior to departing, Ryan held the position of Vice-President & Portfolio manager where he managed and co-managed portfolios investing in North American equities across a variety of strategies including equity long only, equity long / short and non-resource equities.

Ryan sits on the advisory board for a number of technology focused venture funds in Canada. Ryan holds a degree in Economics & Financial Management from Wilfrid Laurier University and has earned the Chartered Investment Manager designation. In addition, Ryan is a licensed derivatives and options trader with experience deploying risk management strategies for institutional investment mandates and segregated client accounts

Jordan Zinberg

President and Chief Executive Officer

Bedford Park Capital Corporation

Jordan Zinberg is the President and CEO of Bedford Park Capital Corporation. Mr. Zinberg has over 15 years of investment industry experience including portfolio management and trading, and has served as a director of both private and public companies. Before founding Bedford Park Capital, Mr. Zinberg was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager at a prominent Toronto-based investment management firm. Prior to that role, Mr. Zinberg spent 7 years at one of Canada’s largest investment dealers. Mr. Zinberg holds an MBA from the Schulich School of Business as well as several industry licenses and certifications. He also holds the Chartered Investment Manager designation and is a fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.

Philip Smith

Portfolio Manager & Chief Compliance Officer

Investment Partners Fund

Philip has been active in global financial markets for almost 30 years. He spent over a decade with J.P.Morgan & Co., structuring and trading risk management products across a variety of asset classes. He subsequently managed macro and commodities strategies as an asset manager and fund-of-funds manager. Philip was also a founding investor in BetaPro Management, which eventually became Horizons Exchange-Traded Funds and grew to over $5 billion in assets under management. He earned a Bachelor of Economics from Mount Allison University in 1989 and a graduate degree from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, in Washington, DC, in 1991.

Jordan Steiner

Portfolio Manager

LionGuard Capital Management Inc

Jordan Steiner joined LionGuard Capital Management as Portfolio Manager. His role spans sourcing of investment ideas, research and analysis, investment monitoring, as well as managing LionGuard’s client assets across select funds and strategies. Excellent at uncovering ideas in out-of-the-way places, Jordan then conducts detailed fundamental research on potential investments which includes going through numerous public filings, speaking with interested parties, and ultimately determining if LionGuard’s stringent requirements both in terms of business quality and margin of safety are met.

Before joining LionGuard, Jordan worked as a Lead Portfolio Manager and Chief Compliance Officer at Lester Asset Management, a Montreal-based investment management firm. He was responsible for overseeing both U.S. & Global Equities as well as Fixed Income portfolios. This diverse background has led to a broader ability to analyze investment opportunities, to evaluate the entire capital structure of a company and to find which elements offer the most attractive risk/reward opportunities.

Jordan has long been passionate about investing, waking up early mornings while in elementary school so he could watch CNBC. He soon discovered that detailed fundamental investing was the true path to long term success in the markets. He strongly believes that a portfolio should be comprised of quality businesses purchased at acceptable prices and held for the long term.

Jordan graduated with Great Distinction from McGill University with a B.Comm. He is a CFA charterholder and has completed the Partners, Directors and Senior Officers Course (PDO) from the Canadian Securities Institute. He is also a mentor in Concordia University’s Van Berkom Investment Management Program. In his free time (a rare occurrence since the birth of his two children) he enjoys cooking, golf, skiing, and trivia.

Michael Sager

Vice-President – MULTI-Asset & Currency Management

CIBC Asset Management

Michael Sager is a member of the CIBC Client Portfolio Manager team. Dr Sager partners with all CIBC distribution channels to deliver targeted thought leadership, education, and investment advice and perspective to clients and consultants.

Prior to joining CIBC Asset Management in 2018, Dr. Sager was an Asset Allocation Consultant at Alignvest Investment Management. Previously, he was a Senior Portfolio Manager at the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board, a Fixed Income Currency Strategist at Wellington Management, Head of Currency Research at JP Morgan Asset Management and Putnam Investments, and an economist at the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.

Dr. Sager earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Warwick and a Master of Science degree (with distinction) in Economics from the University of London.

Travis Dowle

President

Maxam Capital Management

Travis Dowle is the President of Maxam Capital Management Ltd., an alternative investment management firm. Travis began his career in 1996 with MK Wong & Associates, which was later acquired by HSBC Asset Management. Travis left HSBC in 2007 to lead public market investments for a family office and private investment group, before he founded Maxam in 2009. Travis is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Tim Elliot

President

Connor Clark & Lunn Funds Inc.

Tim Elliott is President of Connor, Clark and Lunn Funds Inc., a business he founded within the CC&L Financial Group to deliver unique, institutional quality investments to individual investors through funds, alternative investments and separately managed accounts. The CC&L Financial Group is one of Canada’s largest independently-owned asset managers, responsible for approximately $70 billion in assets, across a broad range of traditional and alternative investments, including public and private market asset classes, for institutional and individual investors. Tim holds a BA in Economics from Dalhousie University and holds the CFA designation

Andrew Torres

Senior Vice-President and Senior Portfolio Manager

CI Global Asset Management

Andrew is a 25-year veteran of global fixed-income markets, having managed multi-billion-dollar bond portfolios in London, New York, and Toronto. Andrew is a former Vice Chair and Global Head of Credit Products at TD Securities, where he held a variety of senior trading roles over a 15-year career. Prior to joining CI Global Asset Management in 2011, Andrew was a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Aladdin Capital Management in London, England. Mr. Torres holds a BMath degree from the University of Waterloo.

Eden Rahim

Portfolio Manager

Next Edge

Eden Rahim is the Portfolio Manager for the Next Edge Biotech and Life Sciences Opportunities Fund. Eden’s broad experience includes over twenty-five years as a Portfolio and Hedge Fund Money Manager, Options Strategist, Derivatives & Biotech Analyst.

Eden possesses a top quartile 5-year 5-Star growth fund Portfolio Manager track record on over $1 billion in assets across 4 mandates at RBC Global Asset Management, in addition, Eden has delivered a +26% compounded annual return across a biotechnology mandate between 1995-2003. His experience also includes overseeing 14 Covered Call ETFs (over $0.7 Billion AUM) in Canada, the US & Australia while at Horizons Exchange Traded Funds.

Eden is a regular guest speaker on the biotech industry on Bloomberg TV, BNN, as well as an author and contributor to many industry sources and major press articles in the US, and Canada. He also contributes as a speaker at numerous healthcare conferences.

Craig Machel

Director, Wealth Management and 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 to include conservative and predictable 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 alternative asset allocations for various media outlets, and a panelist and speaker at industry events.

Julian Klymochko

CEO and Chief Investment Officer

Accelerate

Julian is the CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Accelerate. Prior to founding Accelerate in February 2018, he was the Chief Investment Officer of Ross Smith Asset Management where he managed a number of award-winning alternative investment strategies for nearly a decade. He started his career as an Analyst at BMO Capital Markets. Currently, Julian is the Chairman of Bitcoin Well and a Director of the CFA Society Calgary.

Julian attended the University of Manitoba where he graduated with a Bachelors of Science (Engineering) and a Bachelors of Commerce (Finance), both with distinction. Julian is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.

Julian has been featured in some of the world’s top financial and business media including Bloomberg, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, BNN, Business Insider and The Globe and Mail. He is the author of the book Reminiscences of a Hedge Fund Operator and host of the Absolute Return Podcast.

Justin Jacobsen

Portfolio Manager

PenderFund Capital

Justin’s investment approach is centered around his quick response to market dynamics, taking advantage of opportunities and reacting to increased risk. The key is intelligent security selection across capital structures and markets, supported by active investing, as experienced and applied through multiple market cycles. He has demonstrated the patience and discipline to hold a high quality but out-of-favour security, while constantly re-evaluating his investment thesis in response to new information. Justin is focused on uncovering the best risk-adjusted opportunities in every market cycle and dynamically adjusts portfolio positioning for market environments to protect and grow capital. He utilizes strategies such as distressed credit investing, event-driven trading, capital structure arbitrage, and actively works with management teams to help shape positive outcomes for the securities held.

Justin most recently worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager at one of Canada’s largest pension fund managers. During his four-year tenure, he was responsible for managing a high-yield focused credit strategy, generating returns for the underlying pension funds. Justin has also spent 11 years at a highly regarded Canadian investment firm. He worked in progressive roles as a member of the firm’s fixed income team. His investment research contributed to the Absolute Return and High Yield Bond strategies at the firm.

Justin graduated with a BA in Honours History from Western University and an MBA in Finance from Washington State University. He earned his Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2012.

David Burbach

Partner

YTM Capital Asset Management

David spent the first 17 years of his career as in-house legal counsel. He started at Fidelity Investments and then moved to Mackenzie Investments to lead its legal department. David developed strong risk management skills by successfully executing on a wide range of complex legal, compliance, and investing projects. He has provided counsel on investment management and product creation relating to mutual funds, institutional pools, separate accounts, hedge funds, closed-end funds, derivatives, insurance products, pensions, offshore hedge funds, and listed securities in many regions including Canada, the U.S., Europe, Asia, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. This background served David well when he changed gears and joined YTM Capital in 2013. His focus is providing investors and their advisors strong risk adjusted returns with downside protection and the best of service.

Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst
Chartered Investment Manager
Faculty of Law, University of Toronto, Bachelor of Laws
Ivey School of Business, Western University, Honours Business Administration
Rotterdam School of Business, Erasmus University, MBI Exchange

Kerem Kolcuoglu

Managing Partner

Penrose Partners

Kerem is an MBA and the Managing Partner of Penrose Partners, a blockchain-focused consulting firm advising startups, enterprises, governments and investors on navigating the blockchain and digital assets space.

Kerem is an advisor to the Canadian Technology Accelerators and to the Premier’s Office of FinTech for the Bermuda Government. He is also a Founding Board Member of the Bermuda Innovation & Technology Association (BITA) and a Founding Partner of the i3 Innovation Incubator in Bermuda.

Previously at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at MLG Blockchain, he has consulted multinational enterprises, governments and educational institutions on understanding and adopting blockchain technology. Bridging his experience in multiple industries, he has foreseen change and advised clients on navigating digital transformation in an age of disruption.

Elliot Johnson

Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer

Evolve ETFs

Mr. Johnson is Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Evolve ETFs. Prior to joining Evolve ETFs, Mr. Johnson was Senior Vice President, Retail Markets at Fiera Capital Corporation, a prominent Canadian investment management firm. Elliot has been a featured guest on BNN Bloomberg and featured in top publications such as, Toronto Star, Yahoo Finance, Benzinga, Investment Executive, Wealth Professional and Motley Fool. Mr. Johnson is also a frequent guest on various industry webinars, ETF panels, wealth and cryptocurrency podcasts, including Jessica Moorhouse and BTC Media.

Sue Ennis

VP of Corporate Development and Head of Investor Relations,

Hut 8 Mining

In today’s new financial paradigm, Sue Ennis, Hut 8 Mining’s VP of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, is an investor whisperer.

Since 2016, she has steered underappreciated companies into multi-billion market cap opportunities and told some of Canada’s greatest emerging tech and innovation stories.

Throughout her career as a capital markets advisor, Sue has focused primarily on blockchain, fintech incubation, startups, territory expansion and large enterprise with a focus on sales optimization.

The shape of today’s investor landscape has changed, and with social media as the new decentralized hedge fund, investors need a blockchain maverick and futurist in their corner. Sue understands the need to tap into online communities and analysts to drive awareness in the right places. Her results speak for themselves. In 2021 alone, Sue grew online community engagement for Hut 8 Mining by more than 500 per cent to an industry-leading position.

Working with CEOs to build some of Canada’s greatest young tech companies, Sue is a storyteller who can simplify complex concepts into digestible, actionable and investible ones. As a growing leader in the digital space, she is a sought after industry voice who has championed technological innovation as a media spokesperson and keynote speaker across the globe.

Before joining Hut 8, Sue worked on global retail and institutional business development with some of the largest asset managers in North America, most recently serving as SVP of Shyft Network helping lead the company’s ambitious vision to establish a scalable, blockchain-based data sharing protocol.

True to her risk-taking reputation in the crypto space, Sue is never one to evade a challenge or an opportunity for adventure having run ultra-marathons in Greenland and the Middle East, worked on a shark research boat in South Africa and completed a jungle survival course in the Amazon.

Hashim Mitha

Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder

MeetAmi

Hashim is the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of MeetAmi (“MeetAmi”) Innovations Inc., a Vancouver-based Fintech company that has built AmiPRO™, the first Digital Asset investing platform in Canada. AmiPRO takes wealth management firms from learning to liquidity with the software tools for trade execution and account management, an ecosystem of vendors, and learning to navigate the world of Digital Assets. The soon to launch Digital Asset Shelf™, a curated listing of Digital Asset and tokenized investment opportunities can be accessed through the AmiPRO platform. MeetAmi empowers advisors to confidently invest in Digital Assets while navigating the Digital Asset world.

Hashim is a bold visionary who is leading the expert team at MeetAmi to launch the first-ever Digital Asset investing platform in Canada, for wealth management advisors and firms. His authentic, strong leadership enables him to build a culture within organizations that lays a foundation for success. With AmiPRO, he is creating a platform of education, portfolio design tools, trade execution, and a reporting and compliance workflow engine that empowers advisors to invest in Digital Assets while meeting the regulatory requirements for proficiency, disclosure, suitability, and risk.

Throughout his career, Hashim has always had a passion for driving the adoption of new technologies and building effective teams to commercialize innovations. He knows how to restructure organizations for growth opportunities. In 2017 he led the turn-around of a premier Canadian provider of voice, data and media services which received the TSX Venture Top 50 Award as one of the strongest companies on the TSX Venture Exchange. Prior to that, he consolidated corporate learning organizations and created one of the largest education companies in the United Kingdom.

In 2017, Hashim started his journey into the world of Blockchain and Bitcoin learning about Cryptocurrencies, mining operations, liquidity pools, exchanges, custodial providers, investment challenges as well as understanding the regulatory landscape. In 2019, he established MeetAmi with his co-founder, Sarah Morton, to create a technology platform which gives advisors and firms the necessary education and tools to meet their clients’ growing demand for Digital Assets.

Hashim’s vision for the AmiPRO platform is to enable advisors to transact in Digital Assets on behalf of their clients, with a simple to use interface that provides tools and resources to comfortably navigate the world of Digital Assets. Investor demographics are changing and AmiPRO is poised to help firms meet the changing needs and interests of their clients. The AmiPRO interface, combined with how content is provided, will set new standards in Fintech and Regtech and helps to de-risk the process for investing in Digital Assets.

He holds a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia.

Darren Coleman

Senior Vice President & Portfolio Manager, Private Client Group

Coleman Wealth – Raymond James Ltd.

Darren Coleman started in the industry in 1992 and with Raymond James in 2012, providing comprehensive wealth services for a variety of clients. During this time, he has been managing brokerage offices, spearheading industry trends and leading his team at Coleman Wealth to new territory.

Darren’s many professional accreditations include: Canadian Investment Manager, Financial Management Advisor and Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute, with a Level II Life Insurance License. He was one of the first Canadian professionals to attain the Professional Financial Planner, Certified Financial Planner and Certified Hedge Fund Specialist designations. Due to his success as an advisor in alternative investments, he was the first advisor to sit on committees for the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), and on the Board for the Hedge Fund Association, as a member and an instructor.

An industry veteran before coming to Raymond James, Darren held management and advisor positions at major bank-owned brokerage and financial services firms. He frequently speaks at conferences and educational events and currently sits on the Editorial Board for Advisor’s Edge Report for Canadian investment professionals, and is frequently interviewed for the Globe and Mail, Investment Executive, BNN Bloomberg and other media.

David Lowery

Head of Research Insights

Preqin

Dave Lowery has worked in a variety of roles within the finance industry in a career spanning more than 20 years. Dave gained experience as a multi-asset portfolio manager for UHNW private clients, as well as insurance companies and pension funds. He also worked as an equity analyst on both the buy-side and sell-side, has managed real estate portfolios and has covered geographies around the world, often appearing on CNBC Squawk Box and Bloomberg TV. More recently, Dave has worked for HM Treasury in its Infrastructure UK division, led Asia Pacific and alternative real estate research at AXA IM – Real Assets and set up a Strategy Research function at NTT Global Data Centers, the world’s third largest data centre operator.

Keith Black

Managing Director – Program Director

Financial Data Professional (FDP) Institute

Keith Black has over thirty years of financial market experience, serving approximately half of that time as an academic and half as a trader and consultant to institutional investors. He currently serves as Managing Director, Program Director FDP Charter at the FDP Institute.

During his most recent role as Managing Director, Content Strategy at CAIA was responsible for Curriculum development. Previous to that Keith was a valued team member at Ennis Knupp + Associates, Keith advised foundations, endowments and pension funds on their asset allocation and manager selection strategies in hedge funds, commodities, and managed futures. Other experiences include commodities derivatives trading, stock options research and Cboe floor trading, and building quantitative stock selection models for mutual funds and hedge funds. Dr. Black previously served as an assistant professor and senior lecturer at the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Keith has contributed to the CFA Digest, and has published in The Journal of Wealth Management, The Journal of Trading, The Journal of Investing, and The Journal of Alternative Investments, among others. He is the author of the book “Managing a Hedge Fund,” as well as co-author of the second, third, and fourth editions of the CAIA Level I and Level II curriculum. Dr. Black was named to the Institutional Investor magazine’s list of “Rising Stars of Hedge Funds” in 2010.

Dr. Black earned a BA from Whittier College, an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University, and a PhD from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He has earned the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and was a member of the inaugural class of both CAIA and FDP members.

John Bowman

Executive Vice President

CAIA Association

John serves as Executive Vice President for the CAIA Association, overseeing the industry leading CAIA charter, thought leadership and content development, and CAIA’s Asia Pacific strategy. John has devoted over 20 years to the asset management industry to recover the narrative of the value that the investment profession bring to society. He is a staunch public advocate for market integrity, long-termism, investor outcomes, diversity, human dignity and educational standards, as necessary ingredients to building a sustainable and healthy profession. John previously served as Managing Director for the Americas for CFA Institute, a region comprised of 40+ countries from Canada, the U.S., Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Bowman joined CFA Institute in 2004 after holding several industry positions. He served as a portfolio manager at Mellon Growth Advisors (MGA), where he was responsible for portfolio construction and stock selection for the MGA International Growth and MGA Global Growth strategies. Bowman also served as a portfolio manager for the International Growth Opportunities Strategy at State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) in its Global Fundamental Strategies Group. John is a prolific writer and commentator, frequently appearing in industry and business publications such as the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Pension and Investments, Financial Advisor, The Independent, Wealthmanagement.com and CNBC. Bowman earned a BS in Business Administration from Mary Washington College and is a CFA charterholder.

John Fisher

President & Chief Investment Officer

Bridgeport Asset Management

John is President and Chief Investment Officer of Bridgeport Asset Management, a Toronto based investment management firm that offers alternative asset strategies focused on private credit, private equity and commercial litigation finance. Through Bridgeport’s Balmoral Wood Litigation finance division, John is a co-founder of the Balmoral Wood Commercial Advocate Fund which provides investors with diversified exposure to hundreds of commercial case investments around the globe using a multi-strategy approach. Prior to starting Bridgeport in 2007, John was a Managing Director at Clairvest Group, a Toronto-based private equity firm, and worked in corporate finance, business valuation and audit at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Robb Nelson

Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder & Director

AgriRoots Capital Management

With over 35 years of successful business and entrepreneurial experience, including 25 years in the Private Lending space specializing in agriculture, residential development, and residential homes, Robb is a practicing mortgage professional, co-founder, and co-owner of AgriRoots Capital Management Inc. – the leading alternative lender in Canada’s agricultural sector.  In addition, he is the founding Principal, Broker of Record, and CEO of FamilyLending.ca Inc. – a mortgage brokerage providing residential, commercial, and agricultural mortgages – founded in 2001.

As a leading expert in agricultural lending, finance, investment, and mortgages, Robb offers deep insight and expertise to agricultural borrowers and investors alike, with the objective of keeping farming families on family farms across Canada.

A goal-driven, collaborative, and insightful professional, Robb focuses on identifying opportunities, building financial solutions, and providing high-quality client service.

Tim Gallagher

Chairman & CEO

Music Royalties Inc.

After the successful creation and exit of a gold royalty company, Tim was researching other types of long term “royalty cash flows” and discovered that intellectual property rights or copyrights are protected for the Life of the Author plus 70 years. In March 2018, he founded the company and made the first investment in Music Royalties. He is also the Founder, Chairman & CEO of Green Royalties Inc. and the former Chairman & CEO of Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd 2009-2017. He is a former Founder and Director of several TSX Venture Exchange listed CPCs including Biorem Inc, Soltoro Ltd, Schneider Power Inc. and Xtierra Inc. Tim has invested in, financed, managed and assisted in the growth of numerous companies in the royalty, resource, clean tech and technology sectors primarily by taking them public since 1997.

Peter-Paul Van Hoeken

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

DealSquare

Peter-Paul has over 15 years of experience in finance, investment management and business consultancy. He’s held multiple senior management positions with global banks in the areas of corporate strategy, commercial and investment banking. Upon relocation to Canada in 2010, Peter-Paul worked as a consultant for several early stage and growth companies. In that period he experienced the challenges that young companies face in attracting capital and realized how the venture financing space was essentially not using any of today’s available technology. In 2014 Peter-Paul founded FrontFundr to address this challenge and take on the opportunity to create the New Capital Market. Today FrontFundr is Canada’s leading investment crowdfunding platform. Peter-Paul is also Managing Director of DealSquare, launched in October 2019 in partnership with NEO. DealSquare is Canada’s first centralized dealer platform for private placements. He is a member of the Ontario Securities Commission – Fintech Advisory Committee and also serves on the advisory committees of the Private Capital Markets Association in Canada (PCMA) and National Crowdfunding Association Canada (NCFA). Peter-Paul holds a Master of Science in business economics and finance from Erasmus University Rotterdam, in the Netherlands.

Martha Tredgett

Managing Partner, Private Capital Advisory

Sera Global Advisory

Martha Tredgett is a Managing Partner at Sera Global based in our Toronto office.

She leads Private Capital Advisory coverage within Canada and is responsible for advising general partners, operating companies and managers of real assets on capital formation, fund strategy including capital raising.

Martha has over 25 years of experience in the investment business combining equity capital markets, business development and investment banking. Prior to joining Sera Global, Martha worked with LGT Capital Partners, a provider of alternative investment solutions. Other roles include Managing Director of JP Morgan in Toronto (formerly Bear Stearns & Crane Capital), and earlier in her career as Director & Vice President in Institutional Equities at UBS and Credit Suisse First Boston respectively, in London, Paris & New York.

Martha earned a post-graduate degree in Business (D.B.S.) in 1990 from the London School of Economics and a Bachelor of Commerce in International Business from McGill University in 1989. She speaks English and French.

Martha is currently serving on the Investment Committee of the Royal Ontario Museum and the Investment Committee for the Canada Council for the Arts

Sandy Poklar

Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director

Firm Capital

Sandy Poklar is currently the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director, Capital Markets & Strategic Developments for Firm Capital Corporation, EVP Finance for Firm Capital Mortgage Investment Corporation (FC : TSX), Chief Financial Officer and a Trustee for Firm Capital Property Trust (FCD.UN : TSXV) and President & CEO of Firm Capital Apartment REIT (FCA.U/FCA.UN : TSXV). Sandy is also a Trustee for True North Commercial REIT (TNT.UN . Prior to joining Firm Capital, Sandy was employed at Macquarie Capital and TD Securities where he was a Vice President in their Real Estate Investment Banking Groups. Sandy is a CPA, CA in Canada, a CPA(US) licensed in the State of Illinois and has his ICD.D designation.

Prakash David

Chief Investment Officer

Triovest

Prakash is the Chief Investment Officer of Triovest. In this capacity he heads up the firms’ capital raising, investments, development, and asset management businesses. Prakash has over 20 years of diverse real estate experience, both in Canada and internationally. Prior to joining Triovest in 2017, Prakash worked for Lendlease in Singapore, heading up investment management, development, and leasing of a $3B master-planned office and residential precinct in partnership with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Prior to this, Prakash headed up a retail expansion strategy in the MENA region for Majid Al Futtaim, the retail leader in the Middle East. He also built the investment and development platform for the City of Toronto, led a Walmart-anchored retail expansion strategy throughout Southwestern Ontario with SmartCentres, and practised municipal law in Toronto. He holds an MBA, LLB, and BA (Politics), and sits on the executive of the ICSC as Government Relations Chair.

Dennis Mitchell

Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer

Starlight Capital

Dennis Mitchell joined Starlight Capital in March 2018 as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. Dennis has over 20 years of experience in the investment industry and has held executive positions with Sprott Asset Management, serving as Senior Vice-President and Senior Portfolio Manager, and Sentry Investments, serving as Executive Vice-President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Mitchell received the Brendan Wood International Canadian TopGun Award in 2009, 2010, and 2011 and the Brendan Wood International 2012 Canadian TopGun Team Leader Award. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and earned a Master of Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business at York University in 2002 and an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University in 1998

Naseem Husain

Vice President, ETF Strategist, Ontario

Mackenzie Investments

Naseem Husain is a Vice President, ETF Strategist at Mackenzie Investments. He is responsible for the Multi-Channel ETF Strategy and consults with Institutional, Retail, and Robo-Advisory teams providing ETF expertise and support.
Prior to joining Mackenzie, Naseem has thirteen years of experience at RBC, eleven of which are as a trader and ETF analyst with RBC Capital Markets and as an ETF Specialist at RBC Global Asset Management.
Naseem holds two engineering degrees from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario. He is also a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation and a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute.

Warner Wen

Research Director, Canada

Global X ETFs

Having joined Global X in 2019, Warner is based in Toronto with a mandate to support the firm’s Canadian clients and partners. His primary responsibilities involve communicating information about Global X’s ETFs and research to a wide range of Canadian investors and senior decision makers, including financial advisers, portfolio managers, major financial institution head offices, and institutional investors.

Prior to joining Global X, Warner was Senior ETF Product Manager at Mackenzie Investments. He also worked in MSCI’s Toronto office and Scotiabank earlier in his career.

Warner holds a Master’s of Finance (MF) degree from York University’s Schulich School of Business and an MBA from Rollins College’s Crummer Graduate School of Business in Florida.

Bobby Eng

Senior Vice President, Head of Platform & Institutional ETF Distribution

Franklin Templeton

Bobby is a Senior Vice President at Franklin Templeton Investments and Head of Platform & Institutional ETF Distribution responsible for the overall development of ETF business within the Canadian institutional market.  Prior to this role, Bobby was Vice President and Head of SPDR ETFs Canada responsible for the overall distribution of SPDR ETFs to institutional investors throughout Canada including pension plans, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, investment consultants, asset managers and banks.  Bobby was also Senior Vice President and Head of Sales at First Trust Portfolios Canada responsible of overall ETF distribution and also spent 10 -years at Blackrock Asset Management, most recently as Director & Vice President, Head of National Accounts responsible for asset managers and brokerage senior executive relationships.

Bobby holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance from Concordia University and holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) designation from the Investment Management Consultant Association (IMCA).

Katie Bonar

Vice President, Investment Management and Strategy

Cameron Stephens Mortgage Capital

Katie Bonar is the Vice President, Investment Management and Strategy at Cameron Stephens and joined the company in 2012. Katie raises capital for and manages Cameron Stephens’ two key retail investment vehicles, Cameron Stephens Mortgage Investment Corporation and Cameron Stephens Mortgage Trust, and is directly responsible for the 250+ investors and $100 million+ in assets under management in these two funds. She also leads many strategic initiatives to grow and diversify the business. Katie has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from the Schulich School of Business at York University and has her Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.

Travis Forman

Investment Advisor & SVP

Harbourfront Wealth Management

In 2016, Travis and his team joined Harbourfront Wealth Management leaving behind a 17 year career with a competing firm. As Senior Vice President with Harbourfront he wears two hats. Not only does Travis run successful wealth management practice. He’s also instrumental in architecting and managing the Rockridge Private Debt Pool, Forsyth Private Real Estate Portfolios and Laurier Private Real Estate Pool for Willoughby Asset Management. Canada’s first retail multi provider portfolio solutions focusing on private debt, private real estate & private equity.

Alkarim Jivraj

Chief Executive Officer

Espresso Capital

Alkarim Jivraj has been involved in technology investment banking, venture capital, and venture debt for more than 20 years, during which time he has advised or invested in over 200 companies. Prior to joining Espresso, he was the Founder and Managing Partner of Intrepid Business Acceleration Fund, a venture capital fund, and Managing Director of the advisory firm Intrepid Equity Finance. Alkarim started his finance career at Yorkton Securities, a boutique investment banking firm, eventually leading its information technology investment banking practice and co-managing two investment funds.

Allison M. Taylor

Chief Executive Officer and Portfolio Manager

Invico Capital Corporation

Allison Taylor is the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Invico Capital Corporation. Allison is a registered Portfolio Manager, a graduate of the Haskayne School of Business with a MBA in Finance and a graduate of the University of Western Ontario with an Honors Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science and Statistics. Allison brings over 20 years of experience in corporate finance in both the private equity and financial advisory services within the energy sector. Allison has been actively involved in the assessment of investments, ongoing regulatory compliance and accounting on behalf of the Invico managed investment offerings. Allison started her career at Mercer Management and Towers Perrin in pension consulting doing actuarial valuations for large company pension plans. She then moved into investment banking at RBC Dominion Securities doing mergers and acquisitions. She advanced her career by moving to Ernst & Young Corporate Finance Inc. doing merger and acquisitions and working with unique situations and niche opportunities to help private companies structure capital raising. It was these experiences that highlighted the opportunity to start Invico Capital with co-founder Jason Brooks. Allison is currently a member of the Investment Committee at the University of Calgary. She was also the proud recipient of the WP Female Executive of the Year Award, at the 2019 Women in Wealth Management Awards.

James Kelly

Partner & Head of Business Development

Cortland Credit

James has more than 30 years of experience operating in the fixed income space. Prior to Cortland, he was Senior Vice President, Institutional Sales at AEGON Capital Management. Previously, he was at RBC Capital Markets for 22 years and was Managing Director, Head of Fixed Income Sales.

James is responsible for expanding Cortland’s institutional investor base as well as overseeing the sales and marketing strategy of Cortland’s product range.