Helen Chen 陳卓睿, MA, CIM®

Associate Wealth Advisor

Helen is a wealth advisor in Lam Advisory Group.  Since 2018, she has assisted our high net worth and affluent clients with investment, compliance, and research on fixed income, equities, mutual funds, structured notes, and alternative strategies.    

Helen frequently receives great feedback from our clients and partners on her commitment to a superior client experience.

Helen obtained her Master of Arts Degree in East Asian Studies from the University of Alberta. She also holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation, with unique knowledge in our discretionary strategies managed by our group. Helen is also proficient in Mandarin. 

Helen is always passionate and optimistic about life. She loves cooking, baking, painting, reading, as well as traveling around the world.

Lynda Cho 曹秀维, PFP, RRC

Senior Wealth Advisor

Lynda is a wealth advisor at Lam Advisory Group.  She brings over 25 years of experience in the financial and banking industry.  Lynda holds the Personal Financial Planner (PFP®) Designation.

Lynda adds valuable knowledge and insights.  Throughout her professional career, she advises affluent clients on banking, investing, and financial planning subject matters, previously as a CIBC Imperial Service Financial Advisor and CIBC Financial Planning Consultant.   

Lynda enjoys gardening, traveling, and playing badminton.  

William Ng 吳樹基, CFP®, CIM®

Senior Wealth Advisor

Associate Portfolio Manager

William is an Associate Portfolio Manager and Wealth Advisor at CIBC Wood Gundy.

William began his banking career at CIBC in 2007 and has over 15 years of experience in investment management and financial planning. With his extensive experience in both investment counselling and financial planning, he works with high net-worth individuals and families to develop tailored investment strategies and provide guidance on complex financial matters. With a strong focus on long-term relationships, he helps clients navigate evolving financial needs with clear, well-structured solutions.

Holding the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designations, William combines deep technical expertise with a practical, client-focused approach. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Guelph and is fluent in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, allowing him to serve a diverse clientele with professionalism and understanding. 

Lily Li 李逸

Administrative Assistant

Lily is part of our client servicing and operations team at Lam Advisory Group. 

Lily obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree with Honours from the University of Toronto, she majored in Books and Media Studies and minored in Economics. She also has experience working in a Canadian insurance company.

She can speak fluent Mandarin.

In her leisure time, Lily enjoys badminton, training and running marathons.

Esther Tse, HBA

Client Associate

Esther Tse is currently working as a client associate at Lam Advisory Group, where she manages trade transactions, portfolio rebalances, and compliance.  She has 8 years of industry experience.

Esther holds an Honour Bachelor of Arts in Economics with a Statistics Minor from the University of Toronto, and she has completed several certifications, including the CFA Level I exam.

Aside from her professional commitments, Esther enjoys engaging in various hobbies, including playing the piano and composing her own music.

Appo Ho 何倩明, CIM®

Financial Associate

Appo will likely be the first person you speak to when you contact our office.  With over 10 years of experience at CIBC Wood Gundy, she is passionate in helping our clients to build their wealth, handling every detail with care. 

Appo is also proficient in Cantonese and understands Mandarin.

Appo obtained her Honors Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Economics from the University of Toronto. She also holds the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation, with great knowledge in a wide range of strategies offered by our group.

In her leisure time, Appo enjoys golfing, snowboarding and traveling.

Alison Pang, MTI

Senior Trust and Estate Consultant

As a Senior Trust and Estate Consultant, my goal is to provide you and your family with confidence and peace of mind regarding your estate plan. For complex estate and trust issues, I draw on the expertise of my CIBC partners, recommend external professionals and act as an objective third-party to help develop solutions. Administering an estate, trust or acting as an attorney for property is time consuming and requires a knowledge of many different areas.

My team and I have the expertise to execute, or assist others with the execution of those roles effectively and efficiently, thereby relieving the burden of the administration from those appointed and allowing them to focus on what matters most.

Aram Agopian, TEP, CLU, CHS, EPC, FMA, FCSI

Estate Planning Specialist

With over 20 years of experience in the life insurance industry, Aram works with affluent families, business owners and executives to create tax efficient insurance based strategies that build and safeguard wealth. Insurance planning with both personal or corporate wealth is tailored to each client with the end goal of providing certainty that enhances the lives of clients, their families and businesses.

Aram strongly believes best results are achieved through a holistic team approach. He will work collaboratively with other trusted advisors ensuring wealth is sheltered for both future generations and philanthropic aspirations.

Aram is fully committed to his profession and views continuing education as vital. He has earned several industry designations, including the Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Financial Management Advisor (FMA), Certified Health Insurance Specialist (CHS) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations. It is his knowledge, experience and high ethical standards that allows him to add value and educate each client.

Jim Stevenson

Estate Planning Specialist

Jim has supported wealth advisors and their clients for close to 30 years, helping thousands of high-net-worth families better plan their estates with straightforward advice.

An expert in Canadian life insurance strategies, Jim helps clients develop a robust estate plan, providing guidance on deferring and/or funding tax liabilities and tax-sheltered insurance to provide immediate liquidity, ensuring family assets remain in the family. He helps families navigate complex value and ownership situations including managing the division of non-liquid assets, such as a private business, family farm or cottage.

Jim also ensures that families take into account philanthropic goals and consider all possible insurance strategies to preserve wealth for future generations.

Jamie Golombek, CPA, CA, CFP®, CLU, TEP, FCPA

Managing Director Tax and Estate Planning

As CIBC’s tax expert, Jamie supports CIBC Wood Gundy investment advisors in delivering integrated financial planning and advisory solutions to our high-net-worth clients. Jamie is quoted frequently in the national media and writes a weekly National Post column called Tax Expert.

Lana Robinson

Executive Director, Wealth Strategists

Lana leads a national team of Wealth Advisors specializing in the delivery of comprehensive financial plans for high net worth families and business owners. With over 20 years in the Financial Services industry, Lana leverages her experience to assemble an integrated team of professionals within CIBC to work closely with her clients' professional advisors to provide specialized advice and consultation on a broad range of complex and integrated financial planning strategies. Lana's educational credentials include a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from St Thomas University in 1994 and the Certified Financial Planning (CFP) designation. She received her Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA) in 2011 from the Investment Management Consultant's Association (in affiliation with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business).

Benjamin Tal

Deputy Chief Economist, CIBC

Benjamin Tal is responsible for analyzing economic developments and their implications for North American fixed income, equity, foreign exchange and commodities markets. He also acts in an advisory capacity to bank officers on issues related to wealth management, household/corporate credit and risk. Benjamin is a regular commentator on financial and economic trends in the Canadian and American media.

Avery Shenfeld, PhD

Managing Director & Chief Economist, CIBC Capital Markets

Avery Shenfeld is Managing Director and Chief Economist of CIBC Capital Markets. He has been with CIBC since 1993 and is widely recognized as one of Canada's leading economists for his perceptive analysis and insight on economic developments and their implications for financial markets.

He is a repeat winner of the Dow Jones Market Watch forecasting award and has received awards for forecast accuracy on the U.S. and Canadian economies by Bloomberg Markets. He has also been consistently ranked as one of the top Canadian economists by institutional investors.

His prior background includes experience in management consulting. He was on the economics faculty at the University of Toronto and in the summer program at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has addressed numerous business groups and has been quoted in the media in the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.

Dr. Shenfeld holds a PhD in Economics from Harvard University.

Trevor Gough

Managing Director & Head, CIBC Mid-Market Investment Banking

Trevor has over 20 years of mid-market mergers & acquisition ("M&A") experience. His expertise is in the sale of privately-owned companies. Trevor has worked on behalf of many business owners to find strategic buyers or equity investors and negotiated the sale of all or a portion of the company.

These transactions have covered a wide range of sectors and industries including Manufacturing (equipment, consumer goods, concrete, food processing), Business Services (healthcare, equipment rental, telecom, testing/inspection, certification, transportation and logistics), Distribution (capital equipment, steel and fuel) and Technology (software).

Prior to joining CIBC in 2002, Trevor worked for 12 years with the corporate finance and audit groups of an international accounting and consulting firm in Canada and the U.K. and is a Chartered Accountant.

Kate Ross, BA, JD

Senior Trust and Estate Consultant

As a Senior Trust and Estate Consultant, I believe that a key component of any wealth management plan is estate planning which provides you and your family with confidence and peace of mind by protecting you, your family, your assets, and preserving your legacy. 

For complex estate and trust issues, I can draw on the expertise of my Cl BC partners, recommend external professionals and help develop solutions and coordinate communication. 

Administering an estate or trust or acting as an attorney for property is time consuming and requires knowledge of many different areas. My team and I have the expertise to execute or assist others to execute those roles effectively and efficiently, relieving the burden of administration from loved ones and allowing them to focus on what matters most.