Who Is The Popowich Karmali Advisory Group?
Get to know Dave, Faisal and the team and what makes the group unique. Retirement is complex. You need a retirement specialist.
[Images of Faisal Karmali and Dave Popowich]
[Faisal Karmali at his desk]
[Dave Popwich at his desk]
Can I retire? Will I run out of money? How do I pay the least amount of tax? How do I prepare for leaving money behind? Will my lifestyle change? Will my family be okay? Will my spouse be okay? What are the key issues when I have to be worried about when it comes to my health care? Will, I have the assets and the resources to be able to stay in my home and bring in help? I'm Faisal Karmali. I'm Dave Popowich. Let's answer all of your questions.
[Graphic: What is a Retirement Transition Specialist]
While retirement transition specialist is different than a normal wealth advisor because they specialize in one point in a person's life.
[Dave and Faisal at a computer talking]
[Man at a computer]
[Faisal talking to a woman]
A retirement transition specialist is the equivalent of going to a family doctor and a heart specialist. A family doctor is your traditional investment advisor, a heart specialist is a person that you need to go to when you've got some complexity attached to something that is critically important to your lifestyle and to the success of what you envision you're going to be doing. When things are more serious when you want to concentrate on a certain outcome you go to a specialist.
[Graphic: What makes PKAG different]
What makes us different is that retirement is all we do. We don't spend time dealing with all different types of clients in different age categories and different networths. We have One Singular goal; it is to ensure our clients lifestyle never retires.
[Graphic: Your biggest concerns are at the heart of our strategy]
[Rob Gerrie at a white board. Graphic: Four Buckets to achieve your goals: Income]
[Leanna Wachniak standing at a table. Graphic: Four Buckets to achieve your goals: Income, Growth]
[Faisal at a white board. Graphic: Four Buckets to achieve your goals: Income, Growth, Health
[Dave sitting down at a table. Graphic: Four Buckets to achieve your goals: Income, Growth, Health, Legacy]
Number one biggest concern do I have income for the rest of my life. For retirement can be an extended period of time 30-35 years and inflation can erode money over that period of time so you still need growth. As I age I will need some sort of Health Care protection, and when I pass away, I'm going to leave a legacy to the people I love. It's the connection between all of the different buckets tax linking it all back ultimately to the plan and the vision that the family has that makes our practice unique.
[Graphic: Whis is our team?”]
[Video of Dave and Faisal talking. Graphic: Faisal Karmali Portfolio Manager, Senior Wealth Advisor, Senior Investment Advisor. Growth Based Approach]
The Popowich Karmali Advisory Group consists of 18 people. I started this practice with Faisal Karmali. We've been together since 2010. He's younger and more aggressive than I am. What makes me one of the best in the country for this is because of what I've seen my family go through I've seen so many Canadians go through so many problems and I want to make a difference.
[Video of Dave and Faisal talking. Graphic: Dave Popowich Portfolio Manager, Senior Wealth Advisor, Senior Investment Advisor. Conservative Risk Management]
My business partner and co-founder Dave Popowich. What I bring to the team is conservative risk management.
[Video of Leanna talking. Graphic: Leanna Wachniak Wealth Advisor, Investment Advisor. Specific & Unique Approach]
We've got Leanna Wachniak who was a lawyer by training and brings a very specific and unique approach looking at things like Legacy planning in addition to investment management.
[Video of Rob talking. Graphic: Robert Gerrie Wealth Advisor, Investment Advisor. Wealth of Experience & Knowledge]
And we've got Rob Gerrie. One Professional generation behind me. Rob has got a wealth of experience. He's been in the industry for a very long time and incredibly knowledgeable about financial markets.
[Video of Leanna, Dave, Faisal, and Rob going into a room]
[Graphic: Four Different Backgrounds]
Four different backgrounds, four different viewpoints on how we manage portfolios and how we work with our clients.
[Video of a woman at a computer, people talking Graphic: Client Services]
We have a full Administration team to make sure that the service level is as high as we can make it.
[Faisal talking to someone at a computer. Rob talking to someone. Graphic: Financial Planning]
And we have a financial planning team making sure that financial plans are both completed and updated when things change in a client's life.
[Video of the PKAG Team. Graphic: Strong Professional Relationships]
We have a pool of experts that we work closely with. We also work with your tax advisor your legal advisor.
[video of Woman smiling. Graphic: Lifestyle Experts]
[video of images of travelling around the world and seniors in retirement]
We've got also non-financial but lifestyle related team of extended experts that can help with travel planning experiences helping people with aging family members and searching out long-term care facilities. So it's an extensive array of extended professionals that help us in every aspect of retirement life.
[Graphic: Communication, Education, Community]
Communications an important piece of what we do.
[Video of Market Updates, Faisal doing a television interview]
Education, making sure that people are aware of what's changing in this world from taxes to legal issues to financial issues and non-financial issues.
[Video of Dave and Faisal in the More Than Money studio. Graphic: More Than Money]
We do a weekly radio show. We talk about the markets and what's happening.
[Graphic: Monthly E-mail]
[Graphic: Quarterly Conference Call]
[Graphic: One-on-One Meetings]
[Graphic: Retirement is about community]
We send out a monthly email that talks about what we bought what we sold and why. We have quarterly conference calls that talks about what happened in the past quarter and what we see coming up and then we have individual meetings to talk about the specific application of the wealth strategies in the current economic environment to each client specific situation. And this, and ultimately retirement, is about community and so Popowich Karmali Advisory Group it's designed to try to encompass all of those things. Let's bring like-minded people together who are experiencing the same things at the same point in their life.
[Graphic: Monthly Community Session]
Every single month we host a community session which talks about financial and non-financial topics bringing experts having a great time together and learning from each other's experiences. There's wisdom amongst your peers. We want to share that as well.
[Video of Dave and Faisal behind cameras]
Retirement in my opinion is the most complex period of a person's financial life never mind their lifestyle themselves given the transition they're going to go through as they get older and face health issues.
[Graphic: PKAG specializes in retirement.]
PKAG is here to help because we specialize in this area. Please reach out to us. We're here to help we're here to educate you can call to book a meeting or you can attend one of our seminars. Life is complex and retirement is complex. You need the Popowich Karmali Advisory Group.
[Graphic: CIBC CIBC Private Wealth Popowich Karmali Advisory Group]
OUR TEAM
We all have unique goals. Let us help you reach yours. Growing and preserving your wealth demands a team approach. Together with our partners, we offer a range of specialized services to meet your goals.
David M. Popowich, CIM®, CPCA, PFP
Portfolio Manager
Senior Wealth Advisor
Senior Investment Advisor
Dave was exposed to investing at a young age, as his Dad worked in the financial industry. After earning a degree in commerce from the University of Alberta, Dave saw a unique opportunity to make a difference for people in the most financially vulnerable time of their lives: retirement.
Dave co-hosts More Than Money, a weekly radio program that covers a variety of financial and lifestyle topics. He is also a business and market expert for CHQR Calgary and CTV, where he appears regularly to share his insights on retirement as well as financial and economic issues.
When he’s not working or shuttling his two teenage daughters to their activities, Dave loves to golf and travel with his wife Maddy.
Dave is a dedicated supporter of the Calgary Children’s Foundation, an organization that works to give local kids in need opportunities they may not otherwise have access to.
Faisal Karmali, FCSI, CFP®, CIM®
Portfolio Manager
Senior Wealth Advisor
Senior Investment Advisor
Faisal, born and raised in Calgary, gained his first experience in wealth management during an internship as a teenager. After studying economics in Ottawa, he dedicated his career to helping people improve their financial security as they prepare for retirement.
Faisal co-hosts the More Than Money weekly radio show where he discusses everything from financial to lifestyle topics. He also shares his financial expertise as a business and market expert for CHQR Calgary and CTV to further empower Calgarians to make smart retirement choices.
When he’s not in the office, Faisal enjoys playing ball hockey and golf. He is also a supporter of Junior Achievement, dedicating his time and expertise to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy among young people.
Robert Gerrie, B.Comm.
Wealth Advisor
Investment Advisor
Rob has a degree in accounting and more than 10 years of experience in the investment industry. He loves numbers, but he believes an investment strategy is about more than just those numbers. Rob loves looking at the bigger picture of a family’s situation, understanding their goals, and figuring out how to make the retirement lifestyle they’re dreaming of a reality.
Outside of the office, Rob loves wearing his ‘Dad hat’ and spending time outside hiking, skiing, and camping with his wife and two young children.
Leanna C. Wachniak, B.Comm., JD
Wealth Advisor
Investment Advisor
Leanna moved to Calgary from Saskatoon more than 10 years ago to join PKAG, and has been an integral part of the team ever since.
She uses her degrees in both marketing and law to bring a specialized perspective and skill set to the team. Her experience drafting wills, powers of attorney, and personal care directives makes her uniquely qualified to guide clients through an estate planning process.
Leanna loves educating clients about how to implement the right investment strategies to reach their goals, and seeing the positive impact that education has on their lives.
Vincent van der Poel, CFA
Financial Associate
With a background in economics, Vincent is a CFA charterholder and maintains membership with the CFA Institute and Calgary CFA Society. Vincent assists the PKAG advisors with researching and analyzing securities, as well as with trading across portfolios. His knowledge and experience with trading and client service make him uniquely qualified to offer superior service and insight to our clients.
When he’s not in the office, Vincent and his wife can be found on a lake in the summer or skiing in the winter.
Allie O'Neill, CFP®
Financial Associate
With a certificate in Financial Services and over 10 years of experience in the financial industry, Allie is able to schedule meetings, maintain accounts, trade, and process transactions in order to deliver the smoothest possible experience to PKAG clients. She recently completed her Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation, which will be an asset as she works with the team to implement planning strategies to meet our clients' evolving needs.
Allie's most important role is mom to a very active child who keeps her on her toes!
Courtney Stewart
Financial Associate
Courtney heads client service for PKAG and is your first point of contact with the team. With over 20 years of customer service experience, she understands how important it is to maintain consistency and quality in all client interactions. She works closely with the rest of the team to provide superior client support and handles everything from meeting schedules and account maintenance to processing trades, fund transfers, contributions, and withdrawals.
In her spare time, Courtney enjoys spending time with her husband and their dog Tigger.
Brett Neufeld, CIM®
Financial Associate
With a degree in finance and more than 5 years of experience in the financial industry, Brett is well equipped to help clients with whatever they need, including scheduling meetings, servicing accounts, and handling trading requests. He has his CIM® designation and is working on his CFP designation to further support our clients as they work to achieve their financial goals.
When he’s not working, Brett loves traveling with his wife and keeping active by playing basketball, volleyball, and golf.
Marisa Willoughby
Client Associate
As a Client Associate with the Popowich Karmali Advisory Group, Marisa works diligently to handle everything from account openings and updates to trades, transfers, withdrawals, and contributions. With 15 years of experience with CIBC, she has vast knowledge of the industry and an incredible ability to help clients identify and achieve their goals.
Marisa is a big fan of the Calgary Flames. When she's not at work, you can probably find her cheering them on at the Dome.
Wale Abiodun, PFP
Client Associate
Wale (“Wall-eh”) has a degree in finance and 5 years of experience in the financial industry, which has prepared him to support PKAG with all things account administration. He is always ready to help with any inquiries or requests you may have when it comes to documentation or transactions.
Wale is a big sports fan and enjoys watching football, basketball, soccer, and tennis. He is originally from Nigeria, which might explain the absence of any winter sports on that list!
Fatima Khan
Administrative Assistant
Fatima’s primary role with PKAG is client account administration. She works behind the scenes to make updating documents, completing transactions, and receiving tax packages a smooth process for our clients.
Fatima loves living close to the mountains and goes hiking as often as possible.
Jing Liu
Administrative Assistant
Jing joined the Popowich Karmali Group with over 10 years of experience with CIBC. Her primary responsibility is providing administrative support to new clients transitioning to PKAG, which includes opening accounts, facilitating transfers, and handling other daily requests.
Stacy Moore
Administrative Assistant
Stacy keeps PKAG organized. In her more than 12 years of experience in the financial industry, she has learned how important it is to build strong relationships with clients. She believes that by putting effective processes in place behind the scenes, the team will be even better equipped to provide the exceptional service you have come to expect from PKAG.
Stacy loves playing soccer, camping, and cooking - as long as she can do it all with her dog, Nashville.
David M. Popowich, CIM®, CPCA, PFP
Dave was exposed to investing at a young age, as his Dad worked in the financial industry. After earning a degree in commerce from the University of Alberta, Dave saw a unique opportunity to make a difference for people in the most financially vulnerable time of their lives: retirement.
Dave co-hosts More Than Money, a weekly radio program that covers a variety of financial and lifestyle topics. He is also a business and market expert for CHQR Calgary and CTV, where he appears regularly to share his insights on retirement as well as financial and economic issues.
When he’s not working or shuttling his two teenage daughters to their activities, Dave loves to golf and travel with his wife Maddy.
Dave is a dedicated supporter of the Calgary Children’s Foundation, an organization that works to give local kids in need opportunities they may not otherwise have access to.
Faisal Karmali, FCSI, CFP®, CIM®
Faisal, born and raised in Calgary, gained his first experience in wealth management during an internship as a teenager. After studying economics in Ottawa, he dedicated his career to helping people improve their financial security as they prepare for retirement.
Faisal co-hosts the More Than Money weekly radio show where he discusses everything from financial to lifestyle topics. He also shares his financial expertise as a business and market expert for CHQR Calgary and CTV to further empower Calgarians to make smart retirement choices.
When he’s not in the office, Faisal enjoys playing ball hockey and golf. He is also a supporter of Junior Achievement, dedicating his time and expertise to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy among young people.
Robert Gerrie, B.Comm.
Rob has a degree in accounting and more than 10 years of experience in the investment industry. He loves numbers, but he believes an investment strategy is about more than just those numbers. Rob loves looking at the bigger picture of a family’s situation, understanding their goals, and figuring out how to make the retirement lifestyle they’re dreaming of a reality.
Outside of the office, Rob loves wearing his ‘Dad hat’ and spending time outside hiking, skiing, and camping with his wife and two young children.