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Our dedication, expertise, and refined processes make us exceptional at building and protecting wealth. More importantly, however, it’s our openness, accessibility, and sincerity that shows our clients they can trust how we, alongside our partners, put our capabilities to work.
Portfolio Manager
As our founder and lead portfolio manager, Jim has been in the investment business since 1984. The industry has evolved in that time, but one thing has remained consistent – “the best investment advice comes not only from knowledge and experience, but from a deep level of trust established with the families you serve.”
Passionate about markets and people, Jim always knew he wanted to be an Investment Advisor. He moved from his hometown of Kamloops to study commerce at The University of British Columbia, and founded Criterion Capital Group upon graduating. He has spent his career listening to clients share their stories, dreams, and fears, and acting as the professional guide who steers them to the future they’ve envisioned. His favourite part of the role is, and will always be, the people.
As a Portfolio Manager, Jim has accrued the expertise, designations, and experience required to manage day-to-day investing on your behalf, and with your unique needs at heart. This allows him and our team to provide the highest level of service and a customized portfolio, while you focus your time on the people and passions in your life. Jim also works closely with leading wealth specialists in RBC and beyond, to incorporate your financial, investment, retirement, business, insurance, and intergenerational wealth planning needs into one total financial road map.
After spending a few years in Vancouver, Jim eventually found his way back home to Kamloops and all the beauty it has to offer. He enjoys spending time with his wife and four daughters at their cabin in the remote outdoors, hunting, fishing, boating, and exploring. Jim is a big believer in giving back to one's community. He supports several local charities and has served on many boards, including a seven-year term on the Royal Inland Hospital Board and his current position on the Conconi Family Foundation board.
Associate Wealth & Investment Advisor
One of Rob’s grandfathers was a bank manager, and the other was an accountant. So, from an early age, he understood the importance of professional money management and the many ways expert planning and guidance could change the course of a client’s life. Rob set off for school with exactly that in mind, leaving Kamloops to complete a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of British Columbia.
Rob didn’t join our team until nearly 20 years later, but he met us long before that, as our client. It was years ago, when Rob was a young professional working out of Vancouver, that his father passed and his mother hired the Criterion Capital Group to help navigate the important financial decisions that followed. “I’ve never forgotten the power of a financial advisor to bring relief when people need it most,” Rob will recall. He became an Investment Advisor a year later, eager to act as the honest, accessible, and experienced financial guide Jim had been for his family.
Rob and Jim kept in touch as Rob built his career in Vancouver – content to stay put for over a decade, but eventually, unexpectedly, feeling the pull of Kamloops. In 2006, when Jim suggested Rob move home and join our team, Rob accepted.
In his 25+ year career, Rob has accrued expertise in a broad range of investment products and strategies. He now acts as a key member of our team’s Investment Committee, designing your personalized investment portfolio according to your unique goals and concerns, and monitoring your financial progress as the markets evolve. Rob’s role also involves coordinating with our wealth management specialists, and your own trusted advisors, to ensure your estate, retirement, philanthropy or business succession is thoroughly planned for and protected. “That’s probably the best part of the job,” says Rob. “Walking a client through the entire wealth management process – estate solutions, business succession strategies, whatever they need – and seeing how their concerns melt away with the right planning.”
Rob is an avid supporter of local arts programs, in particular the Kamloops Art Gallery, as well as the Western Canada Theatre Company and the Kamloops Symphony Orchestra. He and his wife, Rachel, as well as their three teenage boys, also volunteer with the Mount Paul Community Food Centre and PIT Stop, two local organizations that provide healthy meals to the less fortunate in the community. Rob also sits on the Board of the School District 73 Business Company, and has sat on other boards at a local and provincial level. He is a supporter of the RIH Foundation and United Way, among other charities.
Sarah first joined RBC as a bank teller, working part time while she completed a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (major in finance) at Thompson Rivers University. Up until then, her multiple interests led her to ponder all sorts of careers – in medicine, accounting, linguistics, and more. But her experience at the bank, and the people she met there, revealed a new and exciting world of helping others gain confidence and capability through money management. Here, Sarah decided she could build a rewarding and impactful career.
Sarah worked her way up to Personal Banker, then Commercial Banker, and then came to specialize in small business banking. She became acquainted with Criterion Capital Group as partners, quickly acting as our go-to banking specialist to support whatever complex needs our clients brought to us. “Even if it wasn’t in her wheelhouse,” Rob likes to recall, “we’d take it to Sarah. She’s the kind of person who you can trust to dig deep and find the best solution.”
Sarah joined our team after 15 years at the bank, excited to be a part of a more long-term approach to wealth management. “With investment and wealth management, we’re not just helping you make the most of your money today,” she explains. “We’re taking a big-picture approach – uncovering all the opportunities, and solving for all the complex, one-of-a-kind financial challenges, to help grow wealth over a lifetime.” On a day-to-day basis, Sarah accomplishes this by directing the management of your investment portfolios, conducting annual progress review meetings, and quarterbacking the wide range of wealth planning that comes with our service. And as our in-house Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA), she specializes in understanding the unique obstacles and opportunities our “family office” clients face.
Sarah was born in Saskatchewan but raised here in Kamloops from the age of nine. She considers herself both proud and fortunate to know it as her one true home. She and her husband, Anthony, are raising their two children here, and much of their time outside of work is spent from bleacher to bench as they cheer on their children at various sporting events. They also have an active yellow Labrador Retriever, Cruz, that keeps them busy on the beautiful local trails around their neighbourhood.
Associate Advisor
Sarah discovered her love of economics somewhat accidentally, when she took her first university course on the subject. She entered school as a science major, and ended up following her new interest to obtain a Diploma in Financial Planning from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
During school, Sarah was eager to gain all the experience she could. She became an active member of her student union’s finance committee and took up a volunteer position with Junior Achievement of British Columbia to teach school-age children about money management. She still volunteers with them to this day. “Managing finances and planning for the future can feel daunting for so many people, and I really enjoy helping them make sense of it all.”
Sarah joined our team in 2019, already with three years of experience as an Investment Associate for another leading financial institution. She has also already obtained the industry-coveted Certified Financial Planner designation, demonstrating in-depth knowledge, experience and ethical standards which she applies to road mapping your financial future. Sarah also plays a key role in monitoring your portfolio to ensure it is in-line with your goals and risk tolerance.
Raised on a small farm in Kamloops, Sarah loves to spend time outdoors hiking Peterson Creek, riding horses, or spending time with friends and family. She considers it important to give back to the community, and is a supporter of Muscular Dystrophy Canada and Junior Achievement of British Columbia.
Executive Assistant
Detail-oriented and dedicated in nature, Dorothy plays an integral role in ensuring our team operates smoothly, every day. She began her career in the investment industry in 1979, subsequently rising to the position of branch administrator with a national investment firm, before joining RBC Dominion Securities in 1996.
Dorothy is responsible for the countless administrative tasks required to efficiently manage your wealth, from preparing review documentation, to executing the investment strategy designed by our Investment Committee, to assisting you with any day-to-day inquiries you may have. No two wealth plans are the same, and they usually entail many moving parts. For Dorothy, this is what makes her role so rewarding – managing complicated projects and implementing multi-faceted solutions to help achieve meaningful financial results.
Senior Associate
Irene’s first exposure to financial services was through a summer job in 1980. Unbeknownst to her at the time, this role would spark a passion for helping others organize their financial lives and lead to the close relationships she has built with clients over the years.
Before joining RBC Dominion Securities as a licensed Associate, Irene worked her way up to Branch Administrator at another major international investment firm and has always been dedicated to providing clients with exceptional service. Bringing extensive investment industry experience to our team, she is responsible for managing your administrative needs, supporting your day-to-day inquiries, as well as handling compliance and operations functions of our group.
Outside of the office, Irene enjoys spending time with family, reading and going on nature walks.
As our client, a single phone number connects you to an experienced member of our team who is familiar with your world, and as eager as they are empowered to help. We cover your day-to-day needs with systematic precision, and ensure that any time you have a question or concern, you also have immediate access to expert advice.
We bring the best minds together to proactively, efficiently, and thoroughly protect your hard-earned savings, always seeking to implement truly personalized strategies unique to you and your family’s needs. Whatever your situation calls for, our team and RBC partners work shoulder to shoulder to design the right solutions.
For every piece of advice we offer, and every investment decision we make, we remain personally and professionally committed to your family’s well-being. We hear the emotion and drive behind every financial goal you have, and aim to be a dependable, illuminating ally in what can feel like a complex path to financial success.
