Our Team

Alfred Lam joined the Investment Consulting team at CI Global Asset Management (CI GAM) in 2004 and is actively involved in manager selection and oversight, product development, asset allocation and currency management of CI GAM’s managed solutions. He leads a team of investment experts who monitor the portfolio managers and the funds’ portfolios to ensure they are adhering to their mandates and performing within expectations and oversees approximately 32 billion of assets invested in customized managed portfolio solutions* for our clients. Alfred previously held the role of Senior Manager of the Investment Management Team at CIBC Securities. He has an MBA from York University and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. Alfred is a member of the CFA Institute and the Toronto CFA Society.  

* With access to a wealth of tools and resources, Assante advisors and their clients are supported by the expertise of an investment management team and wealth planning group available through our sister company, CI Global Asset Management, and CI Assante Private Client, a division of CI Private Counsel LP. 

As  a  Regional  Wealth  Planner,  Lisa  Friesen  facilitates  the  delivery  of  wealth  planning  reports.  Using  a  needs-based  approach,  Lisa  works  with  our  clients  to  not  only  gather  pertinent   financial   information,   but   more   importantly,   to  identify  issues  and  to  help  our  clients  articulate  and  document  their  goals  in  order  to  build  a  plan  that  meets  their complex needs. Working with the support of the wealth planning team, Lisa delivers a plan that addresses retirement planning, cash flow management, risk management, business planning and estate planning. 

Lisa  became  part  of  Assante  Private  Client  in  1996.  Her  experience  in  wealth  planning  and  financial  services  spans  over  25  years.  Before  joining  us,  she  held  a  position  at  BMO  Nesbitt Burns. 

Lisa  has  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  degree  from  the  University  of  Manitoba. 

As Regional Vice-President, Wealth Planning, Vanito Pobran works closely with our high net worth clients to identify issues and provide complex, tactical wealth planning support that complements their wealth plans. Vanito has a particular focus on tax and estate planning strategies for business owners, professionals and other affluent individuals and families.

Vanito joined CI Assante Private Client in 2015 after holding a tax manager position in the Calgary office of KPMG LLP. At KPMG, he worked in their tax group providing tax compliance and planning solutions to individuals and owner-managed businesses. Prior to this he was a Senior Accountant, Assurance and Business Advisory at Grant Thornton LLP in their Independent Business Group. Vanito has delivered his services across numerous sectors including manufacturing and processing, aviation, engineering, hospitality, real estate and construction. His overall professional experience in wealth planning exceeds 15 years.

Vanito is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Saskatchewan. In addition he holds the Certified Financial Planner® and Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designations. He is a member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta, the Canadian Tax Foundation, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and has completed both the CICA In-depth tax course and the CICA In-depth tax issues for the owner-managed business course.