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MFDA 2015 Seniors Summit Speakers

Mark Gordon
Mark Gordon
President and CEO
Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada

Mark joined the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada in November 1998. Prior to being appointed President & CEO, he was the Executive Vice-President and played a key leadership role in developing and building the MFDA into a national SRO with offices in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Mark joined the MFDA from the Ontario Securities Commission where he had been Senior Legal Counsel with the Enforcement Branch. Prior to that he practiced corporate and securities law with a major national law firm. Mark’s extensive experience in securities law and regulatory enforcement includes a secondment in 1993 with the Broker Dealer Enforcement Division of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in New York. Mark obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario and was called to the Ontario Bar in 1986. Mark graduated from the Directors Education Program offered by the Rotman School of Business and the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) in 2012 and holds an ICD.D designation.


Preet Banerjee
Preet Banerjee
Personal Finance Expert | Host of Million Dollar Neighbourhood

When you think of a neuroscientist, an author, a television host, and a racecar driver, you rarely think of it being one person. Preet Banerjee is all those things–and more. Best known as a personal finance expert, host of Million Dollar Neighbourhood on The Oprah Winfrey Network, and financial panelist on CBC’s The National, Banerjee inspires others to become financially empowered. Sharing his world-class expertise and unique ability to take the complexity out of money matters, Banerjee speaks on topics including behavioural finance, neuroeconomics and investor advocacy.

Formerly a stockbroker, financial planner, and life-licensed insurance agent with a Bay Street firm, Banerjee has also worked in institutional investment sales and product development for an index fund manufacturer.

Banerjee boasts a personal finance column for The Globe and Mail and is the author of RRSPs: The Definitive Guide to Registered Retirement Savings Plans, and Charitable Giving Strategies for Canadians. His blog, WhereDoesAllMyMoneyGo.com, was voted Canada’s best investing blog in 2010 by Globe and Mail readers and Advisor.ca named him one of Canada’s Top 10 Financial Visionaries in 2011. Banerjee also hosts a podcast on iTunes, “Mostly Money, Mostly Canadian,” which is one of the highest rated podcasts in Canada for business and investing.

He is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI) and also holds the Derivatives Market Specialist (DMS) and Financial Management Advisor (FMA) designations. He was awarded First Place in the 2012 Portfolio Management Association of Canada’s Excellence in Investment Journalism Awards.


Dr. Carole A. Cohen
Dr. Carole A. Cohen
Geriatric Psychiatrist and Professor, Department of Psychiatry
University of Toronto

Carole Cohen is a geriatric psychiatrist and a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is Clinical Director of the Community Psychiatric Services for the Elderly at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. This inter-professional team provides assessment and management of seniors with mental health and addictions problems (including dementia) in their place of residence. Dr. Cohen is a consultant to the Capacity Assessment Office of the Ministry of the Attorney General of Ontario and a member of the Legal Capacity, Decision-making and Guardianship Advisory Group of the Law Commission of Ontario. Dr. Cohen teaches at the University of Toronto medical school and supervises psychiatry residents in their geriatrics rotation.


Manny DaSilva
Manny DaSilva
President & Chief Compliance Officer
Canfin Magellan Investments Inc.

Manny has over 28 years experience in the financial services industry and the last 18 years has been with Canfin Financial Group. In his 20 plus years Manny has experienced a wide range of roles from being a representative to manager, and then Compliance Officer and Vice President of Marketing and now President & Chief Compliance Officer. This wide range of experience allows Manny the unique opportunity to make decisions with the first hand understanding on how it will impact the representative, management and the corporation as a whole.


Arthur Fish
Arthur Fish
Partner
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP

Arthur Fish is a partner in the Toronto office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP and the Manager of the Toronto Regional Family Wealth Counsel Practice. Arthur was called to the Ontario Bar in 1985. He received his Doctorate from the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto in 1993. He received the B.C.L. from Oxford University, Wadham College in 1986, and his LLB from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1983.

Arthur’s primary areas of practice are advising commercial fiduciaries on issues of mental capacity and estate law; mental capacity and substitute decision making; the creation and operation of commercial trusts; charities and estate planning and administration. Arthur has a rapidly growing mediation practice which is focused on estate, trust and guardianship disputes.

His community involvement includes:

  • Former Member of Ontario’s Consent and Capacity Board.
  • Former Chair of the Ontario Mental Health Foundation, Member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at University of Toronto, Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
  • Legal Fellow, 1990-91 to the Competency Clinic of the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and inhouse counsel for the year 1994-95.
  • Co-author of a book on mental competency assessment, When the Mind Fails, University of Toronto Press, 1994. The book is widely used as a teaching text in hospitals and other health care settings.

Goshka Folda
Goshka Folda President and CEO
Investor Economics

Wealth market research, financial analysis and strategy consulting are Goshka Folda’s main areas of expertise. As President and CEO of Investor Economics, a premier Toronto research and consulting firm specializing in the financial services industry, Ms. Folda overseas internal management and the strategic direction of Investor Economics’ business. Ms. Folda also leads research initiatives for a wide variety of product and distribution topics. More recently, Ms. Folda has expanded Investor Economics’ thought leadership on retirement to encompass the coverage of the fast growing group retirement and savings segment.

Ms. Folda graduated with distinction from the Warsaw School of Economics’ Master’s Program in her native Poland, and holds a Baccalaureate designation from the prestigious Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific in Victoria, British Columbia and a Masters degree in Economics from the Warsaw School of Economics (SGH). She is fluent in four languages, and has particular knowledge of the various languages and cultures of Eastern Europe. In her spare time she is an accomplished Flamenco performer.


Dan Hallett
Dan Hallett, CFA, CFP Vice-President & Principal
HighView Financial Group

Dan Hallett is Vice-President & Principal of Oakville, Ontario-based HighView Financial Group. He is responsible for manager research, portfolio construction and investment program design at HighView. Dan has spent more than 20-years counseling wealthy families and financial advisors on portfolio strategy and design. Dan’s views and opinions are regularly featured in the media and have appeared in several best-selling personal finance and investment books. He is a regular contributor to GlobeInvestor.com, Investment Executive and Highview’s blog – The Wealth Steward.

Dan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. He is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) licensee and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.


Martin Leclair
Martin Leclair, CFA Vice President
Proteus

Martin joined Proteus in January 2012 to lead the development and promotion of Proteus Advisory Services.

Martin previously held leadership roles at major Canadian investment management firms and at a large insurance company. He started his career in 1996, in Montreal, as a Global Capital Market Analyst for a large institutional asset manager. Martin undertook various roles in the fields of investment product engineering, marketing, communication and business development.

In 2007, he moved to Toronto to subsequently head the defined-contribution (DC) and defined-benefit (DB) investment practices of two investment managers.

In addition to his role with Proteus, Martin is Chair for the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute’s (CPBI) Ontario Council.

Martin earned his CFA designation in 2000 and is a member of both the Toronto CFA Society and the Montreal CFA society.


Ron Long
Ronald C. Long Director of Regulatory Affairs and Elder Client Initiatives
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

Ronald C. Long currently is the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Elder Client Initiatives, reporting to the Chief Compliance Officer of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. In this role, he works with key business and support units to help them stay abreast of the changing regulatory environment and issues related to the aging client. He assists the firm by frequently meeting with securities regulators, adult protective services, and others overseeing the brokerage industry and elder clients. Since 2006, Ron has taken a leading role in the securities industry in reviewing how it engages its older clients.

Prior to his current position, Ron worked in the Legal Department managing the team focused on responding to regulatory inquiries. Ron was District Administrator of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Philadelphia District Office and worked as a Counselor to Chairman Arthur Levitt. Ron started his legal career as an associate with the San Jose, California law firm of Hoge, Fenton, Jones and Appel, Inc. He is a graduate of Williams College and received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.


 
Terry Moore Senior Counsel
CIBC

Terry Moore is currently employed as Senior Legal Counsel, advising CIBC’s Wealth Management division, which includes CIBC’s retail brokerage, asset management and trust businesses. He has previously advised CIBC’s Treasury, Investor Relations, Finance and Corporate Secretary’s divisions. Prior to joining CIBC in 2002, Terry spent five years at the Ontario Securities Commission, where he was employed as Legal Counsel, Take-over/Issuer Bids, Mergers and Acquisitions. Terry received his LL.B from the University of Manitoba in 1995 and his LL.M (specializing in securities law) from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2001.


Jim Otar
Jim C. Otar, CFP, BASc, MEng.
RetirementOptimizer.com

Jim is a financial planner, a professional engineer, a chartist, a financial writer, and founder of retirementoptimizer.com. His past articles on retirement planning won the CFP Board Article Awards in 2001 and 2002. Jim’s expertise stems from applying his engineering and technical analysis background to retirement planning. He is the author of “Unveiling the Retirement Myth” and “High Expectations and False Dreams”. He gives seminars and workshops in advanced retirement planning.


 
Tim Pryor Vice-president, Legal
Mackenzie Financial Corporation

Tim Pryor has been Vice-President, Legal at Mackenzie Financial Corporation since October 2005 where he provides legal services to Mackenzie Financial Corporation and certain of its affiliates. He is also responsible for managing the legal affairs for the Investment Planning Counsel group of companies. Among his many accomplishments, he drafted and implemented a Code of Conduct for Investment Planning Counsel companies. From 1998 to 2005 he was General Counsel of Assante Canada. Prior to that he was General Counsel of a technology firm and an electrical mechanical contractor.


Dan Sibears

Dan Sibears
Executive Vice-President, Regulatory Operations/Shared Services
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

Daniel M. Sibears (Dan) is an Executive Vice President and lawyer at FINRA. Dan’s legal and management experience includes private practice, the Michigan Court of Appeals, the SEC, NASD, and FINRA. Since joining NASD, Dan created and led the national enforcement program and the market surveillance legal function, Regulatory Policy and the District Office Oversight Department. Dan was the first Deputy responsible for Member Regulation. With the integration of NASD and NYSE Regulation, Dan formed, and has led for several years, the Shared Services Department within Regulatory Operations. The units within Shared Services include: Business Solutions; Fixed Income Regulation; International; Non-Disciplinary Litigation/Policy; Operational Risk; Oversight Liaison & Counsel: Regulatory Programs; and Regulatory Training. Dan also leads many national initiatives, such as the Report on Cybersecurity Practices, Report on Conflicts of Interest, National Senior Investor Initiative, and Annual Examination Priorities Letter (all of which are available at www.finra.org). Dan was a leader in the creation of the securities industry continuing education program, as well as the FINRA Institute at Wharton. He is also the former Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the National Endowment for Financial Education. Dan received his undergraduate degree from Oakland University and his Juris Doctor Cum Laude from Michigan State University College of Law.


Mark Stott
Mark Stott
Vice President, Prairie Region Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada

Mark joined the MFDA in 2008. He is responsible for MFDA operations in the Prairie Region (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nunavut and North West Territories).

Prior to joining the MFDA, Mark worked with the Alberta Securities Commission for over 9 years, holding various positions in Market Regulation and Enforcement. Mark also has several years of experience with a large accounting firm and has worked in audit, forensic accounting, and consulting. Mark has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and obtained a Diploma in Forensic and Investigative Accounting from the University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management.


Danielle Tétrault
Danielle Tétrault
Assistant Vice-President,
Compliance Investigations

Investors Group

Danielle Tétrault has worked at Investors Group for 16 years. She was appointed to the role of Assistant Vice-President, Compliance Investigations on January 1, 2015. She oversees the team responsible for resolving client complaints and managing related regulatory and internal investigations.

Danielle joined Investors Group Client Services in 1999 and moved to the Compliance department in 2006. She was promoted to Associate Manager, Complaint Investigations in 2008, Manager, Compliance Investigations in 2010 and Director, Compliance Investigations in 2012. Danielle has a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of Manitoba; she has completed the Certificate in Financial Planning program, and has completed other industry courses.