Au-delà de la finance!
I have been part of the wonderful team at GFM Groupe Financier since it was created in 1996. At GFM Groupe Financier, we aim to be the leading independent financial services firm in Eastern Canada by focusing on our expertise and know-how, our attentiveness and understanding of our clients’ needs, and quality of life in business.
The firm’s values—integrity, proficiency, collaboration, and family—inform our interactions with clients and colleagues. Our clients are front and centre in our activities, and we implement solutions in line with their financial situation, their needs, and their goals. GFM has a Sustainable Development Policy to wich all each members subcribe.
In this regard, it’s important that our clients be able to invest in companies that uphold values of social responsibility and sustainability. As a Financial Planner (IQPF) and member of the Ordre des Administrateurs Agréés du Québec (Adm.A,), I want my clients to succeed and I believe that responsible investment contributes positively to financial performance as well as enhancing civic engagement.
I do my part by getting involved on a volunteer basis with various community organizations that are close to my heart: Cité de l’Or mining museum, Val-d’Or Hospital foundation, our regional sports and recreation organization, Val-d’Or Chamber of Commerce, the City of Val-d’Or’s 75th anniversary, the Val-d’Or Foreurs hockey team, and, more recently, a wine fair to benefit the local centre for advanced studies. I also contribute to my community’s vitality by providing financial support to youth outreach initiatives and projects to promote physical activity.
Daniel Massé and GFM Groupe Financier: Au-delà de la finance!
I bring my clients peace of mind by taking them through the financial planning process to establish the lifestyle they want to have in retirement. I work with the client to implement a strategy that will allow them to reach their financial goals.
Responsibility. Sustainability. Good governance. These are not just words but the backbone of my practice. With 35 years of experience, I have been building portfolios that have focused on responsible investing practices for most of my career.
Whether you are just starting your career or in full swing of retirement, Kristel feels that it is very important for everyone to have access to financial advice and expertise. With over 15 years of financial industry experience and over five years of Financial Planning experience, she has extensive knowledge of all aspects of a client’s financial well-being. She focuses a great deal of energy on effective financial planning and is also fully licensed to endorse mutual funds and provide need-based Life and Health Insurance solutions. She specializes in socially responsible investment products. She continues to strive to provide all of her clients with every facet of financial planning to help them obtain their individual financial freedom.
My career began over 30 years ago on the bond desk of a major dealer, and over time, I eventually made my way to pension services at another firm. Almost 20 years ago, I joined TD Asset Management and eventually led a team of Investment Specialists. In 2003 and 2004, TD gave me leave to serve with the Canadian Army in Afghanistan (I was a Major in the active Army Reserve, and finished with 42 years of service in Canada and many parts of the world). After service in Afghanistan, I came back to TD and made my way back to the role of Investment Advisor, which I thoroughly enjoy!
In addition to my various financial designations, I hold a degree in Latin American Studies with a concentration in Developmental Economics (B.A.) from University of Toronto, and a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Commercial Law – litigation, which I earned in England. I have also graduated from U of T with programmes in Business, Human Resources Management, and Alternate Dispute Resolution, and from the United Nations OCHA programme conducted in Buenos Aires by the UN. My ongoing involvement in the University of Toronto has included serving on Governing Council, where I was the Vice-Chair of the University Affairs Board, and Chaired the Boundless Campaign for Woodsworth College. I also served for many years in the role of Board Member and Treasurer for Academics Without Borders, St. John Ambulance Council For Ontario and have been involved in the governance of many other organizations.
Spencer is a Portfolio Manager at Odlum Brown Limited. He provides discretionary portfolio management services to affluent individuals, small business owners and professionals. Spencer has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry, and is a strong proponent of Odlum Brown’s value-based and contrarian investment style. He works with clients to build and manage portfolios, taking into account client-specific investment objectives and risk tolerance.
Spencer believes wealth is created by buying and holding securities of high-quality companies for the long term, and by protecting capital in volatile or falling markets. As buying a stock represents an ownership position in a business, he focuses on owning shares of high-quality companies with an emphasis towards strong management and balance sheets. Spencer pays particular attention to valuation, as stocks purchased at attractive prices provide a margin of safety and superior long-term return potential. He would rather own attractively valued businesses that might temporarily become less expensive, than risk overpaying for popular businesses that could permanently destroy capital in the long term.
Spencer is also a proponent of owning individual investment grade bonds and GICs to protect capital in client portfolios. He buys individual securities with laddering maturity dates rather than investing in bond mutual funds to ensure investor principal is returned at maturity.
He graduated from the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria where he studied corporate finance and personal taxation. He obtained the Registered Retirement Consultant designation from the Canadian Institute of Financial Planning in 2012, the Chartered Investment Manager designation from the Canadian Securities Institute in 2013 and the Portfolio Manager designation in 2016. In 2018, he obtained the Responsible Investment Advisor Certification designation, which is focused on the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in the selection and management of investments.
Karim Allibhai, CPA, CA, CFA, MBA
Mr. Allibhai is a Portfolio Manager with the Robertson Investment Group at Odlum Brown Limited, an independent, full-service investment firm. His team offers personalized investment portfolios under a responsible investment mandate. They offer responsible investment portfolio management services to high net worth clients, integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into portfolio construction and into the voting of clients’ proxies. Karim’s role focuses on providing value-added services with a focus on financial and tax planning.
Karim is also a member of CFA Institute’s Practice Analysis Working Group and was elected to the CFA Society Vancouver’s Board of Directors in 2021, joining its Executive Committee in 2022. He believes in giving back to his community and currently volunteers with SFU Beedie School of Business by conducting mock interviews for SFU students.
Feeling shut down when you ask your advisor about the environmental record of companies you invest in? Been told you can’t make money investing responsibly? Uncomfortable about your hard-earned money being used to undermine the things you hold most dear?
We can help.
Responsible investing is not a sideline for Stephen Whipp Financial – it’s the only way we do business. We were early adopters and remain one of the few retail advisor teams in Canada to offer this level of dedicated knowledge and expertise.
We weigh more than short-term financial performance when assessing potential investments. We look for liabilities such as human rights violations, unethical governance or unsustainable environmental practices. These are risks to be factored into investment choices, along with the financials of a company. We look for strengths in the same areas, as we see them as indicators of a company’s long-term viability and sustainability. It’s a disciplined strategy that’s about managing your money without compromising your values.
This is activist investing with a long view. To preserve and protect the things most important to you. Not undermine them. Connecting the dots between what your money is doing and what you value for yourself, your family, the broader community and the planet.