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.
Membership Type: Advisor
Kristel High
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.
John Stewart
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.
Agnes Balcerzak BA, CFP, PFP, RIS
“A goal without a plan is just a wish”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
As a Wealth Advisor, my role is to help my clients plan for and protect their financial future, while achieving peace of mind in the present. I help my clients define their goals and then structure a plan that will act as a road map to achieve those goals. I truly believe in building trust and long-lasting relationships with clients. My goal is to help them understand and navigate the financial world.
For me, financial planning is more than just a career; it’s a passion. I am committed to ongoing education in my chosen field to ensure I am always up-to-date on all the complex issues that take place in this exciting and dynamic industry.
I welcome the opportunity to discuss your financial goals and establish a strategy for your investment, tax and retirement planning.
Mutual funds and related financial planning services are offered through Credential Asset Management Inc.
Spencer Pocock
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.
MITCHELL SHIELDS, CFP, CLU
Tim Nash
Tim is a fee-for-service CFP® that specializes in sustainable investments.
He’s not an adviser or money manager, instead he’s an investment coach that teaches clients how to invest their own money using an online broker.
Tim is the recipient of 2020’s RIA Award for Individual Leadership.
Karim Allibhai
Karim is a Portfolio Manager at Odlum Brown Limited. Karim works in a team alongside Vice President, Director, and Portfolio Manager Ian Robertson. 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.
Community service is also important to Karim. He has volunteered at Junior Achievement BC since 2015, educating young people about business.
Stephen Whipp
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.
Larry Dagg
Looking for a financial advisor, then there’s a possibility we could be a fit. Please read the short description of who I typically serve and if you think there’s a possibility we’d be a good fit then feel free to get in touch. I’ve been fortunate to have a great group of clients for many years. While each client is unique there are a few commonalities that might help you determine if you would benefit from my services.
Most clients are either retired or within 15 years of retirement.
Most clients are conservative investors that place value in the safety of their investment plan and less emphasis on taking high risk to generate return.
My clients are patient, long term investors committed to having a plan to work for the rest of their lives – not short term that may or may not work. They are willing to embrace counter intuitive thinking in how they invest their capital and look to price action strategies on when to enter and exit the markets.
If you’d like to have a conversation about working together let’s invest an hour of time getting to know each other better, your financial goals, and help determine if there’s value I can provide in your life.