Regional Wealth Planning Team

As an Investment Counsellor, Zubair provides portfolio management services and brings over 25 years of diverse experience to our high-net-worth clients in the CI Assante Private Client program. In consultation with our team, he determines an appropriate asset allocation to best meet the objectives of each client. He also provides ongoing reviews of client portfolios and works closely with our Wealth Planning team to ensure that clients’ investment plans continue to meet their needs.
Prior to joining our team, Zubair was a Senior Consultant for a wealth management firm focused on high-net-worth clients and specializing in alternative investments. Prior to that role, he was a Senior Portfolio Construction Analyst for one of the largest private wealth management firms in Canada. Zubair has also been an Associate Portfolio Manager, a Financial Markets Economist, and Foreign Exchange & Fixed Income Research Strategist for some of Canada’s largest banks.
Zubair received his Master of Arts in Economics from the University of British Columbia and holds a Chartered Financial Analyst® (CFA) designation.

As Regional Vice-President, Wealth Planning, Sara works closely with our high net worth clients to identify issues and provide complex, tactical wealth planning support that complements their wealth plans. Sara has a particular focus on tax and financial planning strategies for business owners, professionals and other affluent individuals and families.
Sara joined CI Assante Private Client in 2019 after working as a Senior Tax Manager at Kraft Berger LLP. As part of Kraft Berger’s tax team, Sara provided tax planning and compliance services to owner-managed companies and cross-border businesses. Sara also previously served as Senior Tax Manager at KPMG LLP in their real estate tax group. There she worked with some of Canada’s largest asset management companies and real estate developers as well as their high net worth families. Sara has experience advising clients on estate and succession planning, corporate structuring and excise tax. Sara brings more than a decade of professional wealth planning experience to CI Assante Private Client.
Sara is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA) and a U.S. Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who has completed the CICA’s In-Depth Tax Courses. In addition, she holds the Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation.

As a Regional Wealth Planner, Debbie Simkins facilitates the delivery of wealth planning reports. Using a needs-based approach, Debbie 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, Debbie delivers a strategy that addresses retirement planning, cash flow management, risk management, business planning and estate planning.

Debbie became part of CI Assante Private Client in 2008. Her experience in wealth planning and financial services spans over 20 years. Before joining us, she was a director in the capital markets group of HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc. Debbie has a Business Administration diploma from Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology and holds her Certified Financial Planner® (CFP®) designation

As Regional Vice-President, Wealth Planning, Dilmini works closely with our high-net-worth clients to identify issues and provide complex, tactical wealth planning support that complements their wealth plans.

Dilmini has a particular focus on estate planning and wealth transfer strategies for business owners, professionals, and other affluent individuals and families. Dilmini joined CI Assante Private Client in 2019 after working as an estate lawyer in private practice. During her time in private practice, Dilmini assisted clients with establishing and implementing individualized estate plans and represented clients in estate litigation matters. As a litigator, she appeared before all levels of court in Ontario while representing beneficiaries, estate trustees, and guardians of property and personal care.

Dilmini is a lawyer and member of the Law Society of Ontario. She holds a Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B), Master of Laws degree in Taxation Law (LL.M), and has designations as a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) and Master Financial Advisor in Philanthropy (MFA-P™).