Meet our team

I don’t accept ‘good enough’ and love a challenge – so I partner with clients to provide creative solutions that help them meet their evolving estate planning and insurance needs.

For Chris, trust is everything. He recognizes that trust can only be established once it has been built and requires him to excel personally and professionally. He’s made a career of building strong relationships by ensuring he never takes anything for granted and always delivers on his promises. Chris provides first-class service by consistently bringing product knowledge, informed support, and most importantly, new ideas to address your unique needs.

Having joined the financial industry in 2001, Chris spent many years working for one of Canada’s most prominent life insurance companies. Seeking to improve and maintain his professional knowledge, Chris has earned the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), Certified Health Insurance Specialist (CHS®), and Elder Planning Counselor (EPC®) designations.

Ryan specializes in tax, estate, business succession and family enterprise planning for high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families. Together with your RBC advisor, Ryan provides coordinated guidance to support your relationships with your external professional advisors, with whom he frequently collaborates.

Prior to joining High Net Worth Planning Services, Ryan worked with RBC advisors to provide comprehensive wealth and financial planning services focused on clients’ goals including tax, estate, succession, philanthropy, education and retirement planning. He also worked at one of the big four accounting firms, advising on Canadian tax strategies, corporate reorganization and business transition for small-and medium-sized enterprises.

Ryan is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA), Certified Financial Planner professional, Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU). He has completed the CPA Canada In-Depth Tax Course and holds an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Wilfrid Laurier University with a major in Accounting. He is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation, Family Enterprise Canada and The Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (Canada).

Wealth Planning Consultation

Ryan works closely with your RBC advisor to identify strategies and solutions on structuring your affairs in a manner that addresses your overall wealth planning needs, which you would then discuss and implement with your accountant or lawyer.

Joanne obtained her Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. She earned her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Victoria, Canada. She was called to the Ontario Bar and is a member of good standing with the Law Society of Ontario.

Prior to joining RBC Wealth Management, Joanne has had a rich and varied career working in both large and small firms in private practice as well as working for a number of years as in-house counsel for a large international technology company. In the last few years in private practice, Joanne specialized in the areas of will and estate planning, estate administration, trust planning, and family business succession planning.

As a Wills and Estate Consultant, Joanne provides comprehensive estate planning services to clients.

As a Senior Trust Advisor, Karen Snowdon-Steacy is responsible for managing a complex book of accounts, and services clients throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Karen works with individuals, families and businesses to provide customized estate, trust and incapacity solutions. Whether it is helping someone to settle an estate, establishing a trust to ensure the successful transfer of family assets, or arranging to assist with the administration and responsibilities for a power of attorney, Karen can help. Karen also has specialized and experience in advising on philanthropic and charitable giving strategies for clients who wish to leave a lasting legacy.

A graduate of Victoria University at the University of Toronto specializing in history and political science, Karen has continued to deepen her knowledge and expertise with key industry designations such as Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP). Karen is a full member of STEP.

With 30 years of experience, Karen is well known within the local estate and trust industry and delivers well-balanced advice by staying abreast of product, industry, investment, tax and legislative developments. With a career focused on building client relationships, she is dedicated to providing assistance in the preservation, management and transfer of wealth between generations by providing solutions to implement clients’ estate, trust and philanthropic plans.