Financial Planning Specialists
Marlena is a Bachelor of Commerce (Finance) graduate from Concordia University, and a Certified Financial Planner® professional. She also holds a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) in Canada and is fluently trilingual (English, French and Polish).
Marlena has over 20 years of extensive wealth management experience ranging from being a key note conference speaker, to also being a national TV, print and radio media spokesperson, and managing an RBC branch. She also spent many years in financial advisory roles where she provided technical research, support and wrote articles on complex tax, trusts, estates and retirement matters. Most recently, Marlena has been providing holistic comprehensive wealth planning services to high net and ultra-high net worth business owners, professionals, physicians, and retirees.
Marlena’s role is to work with and support your advisor in preparing and presenting your Compass Financial Plan and to identify and assess any related financial planning concerns you may have.
Jung-Hee obtained her Honours Bachelor degree in Economics from the University of Toronto, followed by her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Schulich School of Business, York University. After working
in the industry for over 10 years, Jung-Hee returned to school full time for further education and completed her Master of Taxation (MTax) degree at the University of Waterloo.
Prior to joining RBC, Jung-Hee worked at a leading international public accounting firm in Toronto as a tax manager in the High Net Worth Tax Services group. She is a registered Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) with the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) Canada and holds a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation from the Financial Planning Standards Council (FPSC).
Jung-Hee believes that planning is critical to helping people meet their financial objectives. Her role is to work with and support your advisor in preparing and presenting comprehensive Compass Financial Plans.
Estate Planning Specialists
As a trusted partner of your advisor's team, Peter champions the integration of insurance solutions as an essential part of holistic wealth management planning.
Peter joined RBC in 2017. He has spent over 25 years in the financial services industry primarily focused on helping clients fulfill their financial dreams. Believing that it is never too early to plan, Peter is there to help discuss and provide solutions to protect yourself, your loved ones and your business in the event of the unexpected.
Peter received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree from the University of Toronto and holds the Personal Financial Planner (PFP) designation. He is passionate about spending time with his two younger daughters and faithfully cheering on his hometown team, the Toronto Raptors.
Andrew loves the insurance business. It’s not the products, it’s the opportunity to learn about you, your family and your life as a whole and how insurance may help you to reach your most cherished goals. That accounts for Andrew’s core purpose: to focus on people and provide the optimal solution for their unique circumstances.
Fundamentally, Andrew is an educator. He says, “If I hadn’t chosen the insurance business I would probably be a teacher. As an Estate Planning Specialist, my role is to educate clients on which situations these products are for, and how you make them work.” It is not about the sale. It’s about helping people discover an insurance solution that works for them, if any. It’s always about people, not product.
Andrew has been an Estate Planning Specialist since 1993. He lives in Toronto with his wife, daughter and their dog. An amateur boxer until 1992, he was the Ontario middleweight champion. Now he’s an avid squash player and fisherman.
Suzanne Schultz, CPA, CA, CFP, CLU
Vice-President & Estate Planning Specialist, RBC Wealth Management Financial Services Inc.
Suzanne's focus is to protect and enhance family and business wealth. She is a trusted professional known for expert wealth management advice utilizing advanced, insurance-based tax and estate planning solutions.
Prior to RBC, Suzanne built her career at a major accounting firm and a boutique tax and estate planning firm. Along with professional designations, she has completed the CICA's In-Depth Tax Course. She was featured as an expert on BNN and HGTV's House Poor and has contributed to the Globe and Mail, National Post and co-authored 78 Tax Tips for Canadians for Dummies.
Suzanne uses her in-depth technical knowledge to carefully understand what can complicate your unique financial situation and collaborates with your other professionals to uncover where you might be exposed to excessive taxes and risk. This planning is essential for business owners, professionals, executives and those with charitable goals.
Will & Estate Consultants
Connie obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1994.
Prior to joining RBC in 2012, Connie practised law for 18 years. As a partner in a mid-sized full-service law firm, her practice was varied and covered the areas of corporate/commercial law, real estate, and Wills, trusts and estates law. In that role, Connie advised her owner-manager clients on a broad range of business and personal needs, from purchases and sales of businesses, to shareholder agreements and corporate reorganizations, to Will and estate planning.
For many years Connie taught the Business Law section of the Bar Admissions Course and was involved with preparing the licensing exams for Ontario lawyers. Throughout her career, Connie has been involved in her broader community, serving on many non-profit boards as well as providing pro bono legal services.
As a Will & Estate Consultant, Carol Dalgado provides comprehensive estate planning services to clients.
Carol graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She obtained her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Western Ontario and went on to obtain her Master of Laws (Trusts) degree from Osgoode Hall Law School. She holds the designation of TEP (Trust and Estate Practitioner) from the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). She is a member of the Law Society of Ontario, the Estate Planning Council (Toronto), the Estate Practitioners’ Group and STEP.
Carol has held various roles within the estate and trust industry in which she has provided guidance on estate, trust and incapacity planning, administration and litigation issues. Carol worked in private practice for over ten years before joining RBC Wealth Management in 2015.
RBC Royal Trust
As a Senior Trust Advisor, Manish Gosrani is responsible for managing a complex book of accounts. He works with individuals, families and businesses throughout Toronto and the GTA to provide customized estate, trust and incapacity solutions.
Whether it is helping someone to settle an estate, establishing a trust to ensure the successful transfer of family assets, or arranging to assist with the administration and responsibilities for a Power of Attorney, Manish can help.
Manish has more than 25 years of wealth management experience in Canada and the UK. He holds a Bachelor of Law degree (LL.B), is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and is working towards his Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation to further strengthen his industry knowledge and expertise.
Manish has a deep understanding of priorities and needs of wealth advisors and delivers well balanced advice by staying abreast of product, industry, investment, tax and legislative developments. With a career focused on building client relationships, he brings to each client the necessary skill set to provide both the technical expertise as well as the genuine understanding of the emotional complexities that underlie these issues. He is dedicated to providing assistance in the preservation, management and transfer of wealth between generations by providing solutions to implement clients’ estate, trust and philanthropic plans
Premier Banking Advisors
As a Premier Banking Advisor, Jorge Avalos Romo provides banking and credit solutions to select high net worth individuals and their families. Acting as a single point of contact, he partners with Investment Advisors and Counsellors across the Etobicoke, Mississauga and Brampton regions, and provides personalized service and tailored advice to efficiently and effectively manage their day-to-day banking needs.
With 10 years of experience in financial services with RBC, Jorge is respected by his clients and industry peers, and has received numerous awards and recognition.
Jorge is committed to giving back to his community and has volunteered for various organizations such as: Toronto Youth Development, PARC Edmond Place and Ernestine's Women's Shelter.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, he moved to Canada in 2008. Jorge holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Michoacan San Nicolas de Hildalgo.
He currently resides in the Toronto with his wife and four children and when he isn't hard at work for his clients, you'll find him spending time with his family and enjoying his pastime sport of swimming.
As a Premier Advisor with RBC Wealth Management, Michelle Pelaia works as a single point of contact, providing banking and credit solutions for select high net worth individuals and their families. Acting as a single point of contact, she partners with Investment Advisors and Counsellors across the region and provides personalized service, and tailored advice to efficiently manage their day-to-day banking needs.
Michelle offers an extensive background in client relationship to her role as a Premier Banker. She draws on 20 years of experience within RBC, consisting of her wide range of Retail Banking experience. A graduate of University of Toronto specializing in/with a Bachelor of Arts, Michelle Pelaia has continued to deepen her knowledge and expertise with key industry designations. She has been recognized as a RBC Cruise Winner and has been a Top Performer with RBC for the past 20 years.
Clients appreciate Michelle's extensive experience as a banking and advisory professional, and her commitment to efficiently meeting their needs and simplifying their financial affairs. As needed, she can also work with your Investment Advisor and Counsellor to integrate your banking and credit solutions with your investment and wealth management solutions.
Away from the office, Michelle is quite busy at home with her two boys. In her spare time she spends her time at the hockey arena, soccer and baseball fields.
As a Premier Banking Adviser with RBC Wealth Management, Alka provides comprehensive wealth management and financing strategies to high-net worth business owners, executives, professionals and their families.
Based in Mississauga/Etobicoke Alka works with a select number of clients to address their banking, credit and wealth management needs by providing tailored seamless solutions. When necessary, she can access specialists from across RBC to collaboratively provide a complete range of complementary services such as; investment management, estate/legacy planning, trust services and credit and leverage strategies.
With over 30 years of experience at RBC, Alka is greatly respected by her clients and appreciated by her peers as a great mentor. For the last 12 years, she has been a Financial Advisor in Retail Banking. She holds a Personal Financial Planner (PFP) certification and has also worked at as Branch Compliance Officer (BCO) to uphold the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Standards in retail banking.
Alka grew up in Calgary, Alberta but has been settled with her husband and two children in GTA for the past 36 years. In her leisure time, she enjoys exploring nature trails with her family and dog, practicing yoga and gardening.
Private Banker
Sandy brings over 30 years of experience to her role as Vice President, Private Banking.
She leads a team of highly talented Private Bankers in Toronto, who provide multifaceted wealth solutions including sophisticated banking, credit and leverage packages to high net worth households and their holding companies. She also works closely with enterprise experts for other Wealth Management needs.
Sandy has served in a variety of roles within RBC including Retail Banking, Commercial Banking and RBC Wealth Management.
Group Benefits Specialist
George recently joined the HNW team at RBC Insurance as a Senior Group Benefits Specialist, and brings more than 30 years of experience working in the Employee Benefits industry.
George has gained a thorough understanding of what it takes to build and enhance client relationships having worked as an Account Executive for three insurance carriers as well as Canada’s largest Pharmacy Benefit Manager. George is well versed in all aspects of Employee Benefits, having worked as an Employee Benefits Consultant himself for 6 years.
George is one of the first graduates of the Certified Employee Benefits programme (CEBS) which is administered and governed by the international Society of Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS). Currently, George sits on the Board of Directors of the Southwestern Ontario Chapter of the ISCEBS in the role of Treasurer.
George is the co-founder of the Benefits Breakfast Club (Southern Ontario Chapter) and currently sits on the Advisory Board. An avid golfer & marathon runner, George has completed 15 marathons including the Rome, Athens & New York City marathons. George and his wife Mari live in Burlington, ON with their two cats, Kona and Miles.