About Us
Leadership

Mari Jensen, CFA

Mari is Head of Treasury at MUFG Bank Canada, where she oversees asset-liability management and foreign exchange sales for Canadian clients and serves on MUFG’s Executive Committee of Canada. Mari has over 25 years of progressive experience in capital markets, wealth management and banking. Previous to joining MUFG Bank Canada in 2019, Mari was Director, Institutional FX Sales at Scotiabank Global Banking & Markets, where she provided FX coverage to investment managers in North America. Mari has served on the Board of CFA Society Toronto since 2019. Mari served on the Board of Directors of Women in Capital Markets from 2011 to 2019, including a term as Chair. Her leadership and dedication were recognized as the 2013 recipient of the WCM Rising Star Award. Mari completed her MBA from Simon Fraser University in 2004 and holds a BBA in Finance, also from SFU. She holds the Chartered Market Technician and Chartered Financial Analyst designations.

Brian Madden, CFA

Brian is the Chief Investment Officer at First Avenue Investment Counsel. Brian began his investment career in 1997 with one of Canada’s foremost independent research firms. In 2003, Brian co-founded one of the predecessor firms to First Avenue Investment Counsel, where for eight years he served affluent and high net worth private clients as Vice President & Portfolio Manager in managing equity investments. Subsequently, he spent five years managing a suite of balanced funds at one of Canada’s oldest and largest mutual fund companies. Immediately prior to joining First Avenue, he spent five years as Senior Vice President & Portfolio Manager with a Toronto-based investment counsel firm, serving high net worth private clients in Canada and the United States. Brian has been a CFA charterholder since 2000, and also holds a CFP and CIM designations and graduated from the University of Toronto in 1997. Away from the office, Brian embraces an ethos of volunteerism, community and mentorship and is the proud father of a teenage son who enjoys spending time with family and enthusiastically exploring far flung corners of the planet.  

Brenda King, CPA, CA, CFA

Brenda was the Treasurer at the Hospital for Sick Children for over fifteen years and was responsible for the treasury management, investments, banking relations, pension plan administration and financial reporting. Previous experience includes two years at a Real Estate Investment Management firm, seven years at McGill University, Department of Pension Management and five years at Deloitte as Audit Manager. Brenda holds a Graduate Degree in Public Accountancy from McGill University and Bachelor of Commerce from Concordia University. Brenda is Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder and member of CFA Society Toronto and a Chartered Professional Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario. Brenda is also very active in the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC) and currently is the Chair of the Board and member of the Member Services Committee. 

Bobby Thompson, CFA

Bobby Thompson is a Partner at KPMG to in the Audit Practice focusing on financial institutions in the insurance sector. Previous to his role at KPMG, Bobby was a Senior Manager at EY providing audit and accounting advisory services to insurance and financial services clients across Canada. In addition to holding the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst, he holds the designation of Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant. He has served on the CFA Society Toronto Finance Committee since 2015. He has lectured senior finance and accounting courses at Wilfrid Laurier University and Conestoga College. A community member of Waterloo Region, he enjoys spending free time with his partner Jenna and three children, Brooklyn, Mason and Juliet.

 

Karl Cheong, CFA

Karl is an ETF pioneer who has been at the forefront of the industry's recent change. Karl is responsible for setting the strategic direction for the region and leading a team of First Trust investment professionals delivering ETF solutions to investment advisors and portfolio managers which has organically raised over $1.3 billion in AUM since inception. Previous to First Trust, Karl was the Head of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and Structured Product Development for Claymore Investments, one of the fastest growing asset management firms in Canada's history. Karl provides insightful market commentary on a variety of topics including current events and industry trends as a guest on BNN Bloomberg and has also been featured in a variety of publications such as The Financial Post, Globe & Mail, Reuters, Morningstar, Investment Executive, CTV and was featured as an "Industry Icon" by Wealth Professional.

Aaron Vale, CFA

Aaron has been focusing on private market, real asset investing since 2006. He has extensive experience evaluating infrastructure and energy investment opportunities. Since 2014, Aaron has been with CBRE Caledon Capital Management. As Co-head of Indirect Infrastructure at CBRE Investment Management, Aaron focuses on infrastructure investment strategy, execution, and portfolio construction for its institutional clients. Previously he was engaged to help structure and raise a Mexican infrastructure and energy fund. Aaron also worked at Macquarie Bank in a variety of roles including managing their North American toll road investments, such as Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road, and working out of their Mexico City and Calgary offices in various functions. Aaron received a Master of Finance with Distinction from INSEAD and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University. Aaron has also earned his CFA and CAIA designations. 

Kar-Wei Lam, CFA

Kar-Wei Lam is a Wealth Advisor & Portfolio Manager at Aligned Capital Partners Inc., collaborating with families, professionals, and corporations in creating customized wealth solutions. In addition to managing clients’ investment portfolios, she advises on financial planning, insurance solutions and estate planning. As part of her commitment to the community, Kar-Wei was a volunteer member of the CFA Society Toronto’s Mentorship Committee for nearly a decade. She is also an avid connector and ran a long-standing Bay Street executive networking group that met twice a month to share ideas, collaborate and make new contacts. She is currently completing her Certified Financial Planner designation.

 

Sadiq Alladina, CFA

Sadiq has specialized in commercial real estate since 2006 with experience evaluating investment and development opportunities across all major sectors. He is the Founder and Principal of Arrowton Realty Advisors, a firm that serves institutional investors, family offices, and high net worth individuals. Previously, Sadiq carried out core, value-add and opportunistic mandates in development management. He began his career at LaSalle Investment Management where he invested in real estate across Canada on behalf of a series of commingled funds and separate accounts. Sadiq also volunteers at the CFA Society Toronto as the past Chair and current Senior Advisor to the Industrial Relations and Corporate Governance committee. His writing has appeared in Canadian Investment Review, FDI Magazine, and Benefits Canada.

 

Sarim Farooqi, CFA

Sarim Farooqi has been at Laurentian Bank since February 2018 as Senior Vice President and Treasurer. He is responsible for Balance Sheet Management and Funding Execution. This includes Cash and Liquidity Management, Funding Planning, the Management of Structural Interest Rate and Foreign Exchange Risk, and the Execution of Secured and Unsecured Funding programs. Sarim is also responsible for the Management of Banker, Dealer, Rating Agency and Debt Investor Relationships and Corporate Development. Prior to Laurentian, Sarim had over 20 years of experience, working in Canadian and Global Banks in roles of increasing seniority covering Treasury, Fixed Income, Money Markets and Equities.

 

 

Fred Pinto, CFA

Fred Pinto is CEO of CFA Society Toronto, the largest Society of charterholders globally. Fred is responsible for CFA Society Toronto's overall strategic direction and management. Core to this mandate is continuing to deliver outstanding member value, promoting high ethical standards in the investment industry and increasing the visibility of the charter with multiple key stakeholders. He sits on the Board of Directors of CFA Society Toronto.

Prior to assuming this role, Fred was Head of Asset Management for Aviso Wealth and its wholly owned asset management subsidiary NEI Investments, a leading Canadian firm in establishing an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) program and fully integrating it within its investment process.

Fred was also the Head of Wealth and Asset Management for Qtrade Financial Group, a predecessor company of Aviso's and a leading wealth management services firm providing business-to-business services to the Canadian credit union marketplace and to a number of Canada's leading financial services organizations.

Before joining Qtrade Financial Group in 2011, he held a series of progressively more senior sales and management roles at Russell Investments Canada Limited across the firm's retail and institutional business lines.

Fred is a CFA Charterholder and is a Past Chair of the Board of CFA Society Toronto. He also sits on the Board of Directors for the Oakville Community Foundation and is a Vice Chair of its Investment Committee. He is also part of the Investment Committee for the Appleby College Foundation. In addition, he is a member of the Research Advisory Council for the Institute of Sustainable Finance.

Fred holds a BA (Honours) from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University and recently completed the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program and received his ICD.D designation.

Heather Cooke, CFA

Heather Cooke is the Chief Investment Officer of The Audra Group - a single family office and affiliate of The Woodbridge Company Limited where she is responsible for the management and oversight of the investment program.  Prior to joining The Audra Group, Heather worked at Fiera Capital Corporation where she was the Deputy Chief Investment Officer and SVP of Private Alternatives.  She was also the Chair of the Global ESG Committee and expanded the Multi-Asset Class Solutions platform as SVP of Investment Solutions. Over her 30-year investment management career, she has held senior investment management and Canadian leadership roles at global asset management and consulting firms such as Unigestion Asset Management, Mercer Global Investments, Rogerscasey and Northern Trust Global Investments. Her positions predominantly focused on Outsourced CIO services and leading investment manager research and portfolio management teams.

Heather earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree from the Smith School of Business at Queen's University and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. She also volunteers at the CFA Society Toronto as a Board Member at Large and is a member of The Ticker Club of Toronto.