Our RBC Partners
Karen is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP). She obtained her Bachelor of Mathematics and Master of Accounting degrees from the University of Waterloo and has completed the CPA Canada In-Depth Tax course.
Prior to joining RBC, Karen worked at a leading global accounting firm where she specialized in providing tax advisory services for high-net-worth individuals and private company business owners. She has many years of experience helping clients navigate through personal and corporate tax issues as well as trust and estate planning.
Karen’s role is to work with and support your advisor in preparing and presenting your comprehensive Compass Financial Plan and to identify and assess any related financial planning concerns you may have.
Specialized financial planning
At RBC, we recognize that with greater financial resources, comes greater financial complexity. To help you properly coordinate your financial matters and optimize the unique opportunities available to you, we are pleased to
offer you our highest level of financial planning. Personally prepared by Karen Zhang, a Financial Planning Specialist, your comprehensive Financial Plan will provide recommendations specific to your situation. Your plan will consider strategies to maximize your cash flow, reduce taxes, ensure your retirement lifestyle, protect your financial security, transfer wealth to your next generation tax-efficiently and make the most of your philanthropic legacy. In appreciation of your business, your advisor is pleased to offer this service to you on a complimentary basis.
Andrew loves the insurance business. It’s not the products, it’s the opportunity to learn about you, your family and your life as a whole and how insurance may help you to reach your most cherished goals. That accounts for Andrew’s core purpose: to focus on people and provide the optimal solution for their unique circumstances.
Fundamentally, Andrew is an educator. He says, “If I hadn’t chosen the insurance business I would probably be a teacher. As an Estate Planning Specialist, my role is to educate clients on which situations these products are for, and how you make them work.” It is not about the sale. It’s about helping people discover an insurance solution that works for them, if any. It’s always about people, not product.
Andrew has been an Estate Planning Specialist since 1993. He lives in Toronto with his wife, daughter and their dog. An amateur boxer until 1992, he was the Ontario middleweight champion. Now he’s an avid squash player and fisherman.
Connie obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1994.
Prior to joining RBC in 2012, Connie practised law for 18 years. As a partner in a mid-sized full-service law firm, her practice was varied and covered the areas of corporate/commercial law, real estate, and Wills, trusts and estates law. In that role, Connie advised her owner-manager clients on a broad range of business and personal needs, from purchases and sales of businesses, to shareholder agreements and corporate reorganizations, to Will and estate planning.
For many years Connie taught the Business Law section of the Bar Admissions Course and was involved with preparing the licensing exams for Ontario lawyers. Throughout her career, Connie has been involved in her broader community, serving on many non-profit boards as well as providing pro bono legal services.
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 expertise 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 25 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.