Chris Martin CIMĀ®, FEA
Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager, Investment Advisor
Chris Martin

Chris guides and educates his clients to make informed decisions about their wealth management needs. Whether it’s saving money on tax, creating a comfortable retirement, developing a business succession plan or leaving a legacy, Chris and his team always strive to provide options with customized plans to suit each client’s unique needs. For clients who are dual citizens, Chris works with our in-house Tax & Estate Planning professionals to ensure that all of their investments in Canada and the United States are aligned with the cross border tax and estate issues. Recognized by clients for his driven, tenacious and sympathetic nature, Chris works closely with his clients to ensure their interests always come first.

Born and raised in Calgary, Chris enjoys golfing, playing hockey and boating.

David Friesen
Relationship Manager

David is the founder of Friesen Capital Management within Richardson Wealth. Over his 23-year career in the wealth management industry, David has been committed to leading a talented team in assisting business owners and high-net-worth families in the planning and management of their affairs. Friesen Capital Management plays a unique role in our clients’ lives by acting as their “family CFO” to simplify and coordinate the complexities of wealth management. 

Prior to Richardson Wealth, David was a Vice President and Investment Advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy for 11 years. His insight and experience have led him to sit on the Advisory Board for Richardson Wealth and host round table discussions, which brings together senior leaders of corporations to learn from each other’s business experiences.

David lends his time and talents serving the community in various ways. His desire to give back by sharing his knowledge and expertise with young business people led him to co-found The Leadership Form for young entrepreneurs in Calgary. David is also a board member for the local charity HopeShares, which raises funds and awareness for long-term community work in a township near Durban, South Africa, that has been strongly affected by the AIDS epidemic.

When not leading his business team during the week, David thoroughly enjoys life with his wife, Leslie, and “managing” their four kids, Maddie, Nate, Sally, and Ella. David can be found most weekends spending time with his family on their acreage property west of Calgary. When the snow flies, David takes every opportunity to get to a ski hill. Castle Mountain is his favourite spot after a big dump of snow.

Shelby Glenn B.Sc., FMA
Associate Investment Advisor

Shelby joined Friesen Capital Management in 2004 in the role of Associate Investment Advisor. Shelby assists client families with their wealth management needs by helping to identify, guide and coordinate their advanced planning efforts. These planning areas may include wealth enhancement through cash flow or tax strategies, estate and wealth transfer planning, wealth protection through business structures and insurance solutions, and charitable giving. Shelby believes that strong collaboration with a client family’s professional advisors (i.e. tax advisor, legal advisor, financial advisor, etc.) is one of the keys to successful advanced planning. 

With 19 years of experience in the financial industry, Shelby brings an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the many strategies available and can assist client families with a number of complex wealth planning initiatives. After a successful five-year career as an Executive Assistant and Office Manager, Shelby took her career journey into finance and joined CIBC Wood Gundy. Prior to joining Friesen Capital Management at Richardson Wealth, she held such positions as Associate Investment Advisor and Senior Branch Administrator. She holds an Honours B.Sc. from the University of Calgary as well as her Financial Management Advisor (FMA) designation.

When not at work, Shelby can be found at her other job as a mom to her two children. She is active in her local community through volunteering with her children’s school and ringette teams. In any spare time, Shelby loves spending time with family and friends, exploring new cuisines, perusing interior design magazines, and watching design shows.

Melissa Cochrane
Associate

In her capacity as an Associate at Friesen Capital Management, Melissa focuses on providing clients with exceptional and efficient assistance. Prior to joining our team, she worked in client relations in the oil and gas industry before completing her Canadian Securities Course. As an experienced administrator, excellent client service has always been very important to Melissa. With her deep understanding of the financial industry, she has a plenitude of skills critical to her current role, as well as an excellent work ethic that is admired by all team members. Melissa welcomes the opportunity to assist clients in any way possible and is involved in our team’s wealth planning process.

Away from the office, you can often find Melissa on the soccer field wearing her favourite “11” jersey. She is also our resident fashionista and enjoys staying up on the latest fashion trends. Her favourite travel destinations are ones that come with a beach.

Mimie Tham CIMĀ®
Associate

Mimie re-joined Richardson in 2021 as an Associate with FCM, where she began her career with a predecessor firm, Blackmont Capital which was acquired by Macquarie Private Wealth. She has particular interest in investment management, trading, and portfolio construction, and hopes to become the Associate Portfolio Manager for the Team, assisting with portfolio construction and asset allocation. Mimie believes the most rewarding advisor-client relationships stem from open communication, fostering trust and collaboration and proper planning. Mimie has a background in Finance, and obtained her degree at Mount Royal University. She attained the CIM in 2009, and is currently working on her CIWM. With that, she brings over 10 years of experience in the wealth management industry. She plans to pursue her MBA in the near future. Outside of work, Mimie enjoys travelling, playing golf (most of the time), enjoying wine, and volunteers with the Lupus Society of Alberta.

Craig D. Basinger CFA

Chief Market Strategist, Purpose Investments

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Craig Basinger is the Chief Market Strategist at Purpose Investments. With over 25 years of investment experience, Craig combines an educational foundation in economics & psychology with years of experience in both fundamental and quantitative research. A long term student of the markets, Craig’s thoughts and insights can be seen in Market Ethos publications and is a regular contributor on BNN. 

Craig and his team bring a transparent and cost efficient approach to investment management. The team provides asset allocation OCIO services and directly manages over $1 billion in assets. The team manages dividend mandates, quantitative risk reduction strategies and asset allocation services.

Derek Benedet CMT, CFP

Portfolio Manager, Purpose Investments

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As a Portfolio Manager at Purpose Investments Derek plays a major role in the ongoing management and execution of the group’s investment mandates. He has worked for the past seventeen years in the investment industry with experience at Richardson Wealth, CIBC Wood Gundy, TD Wealth Management as well as GMP Securities Inc. He graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University with a Bachelor of Business Administration (Honours) degree with a finance concentration. Derek is a Chartered Market Technician (CMT), a designation obtained through expertise in technical analyses and is granted by the Market Technicians Association. He is also a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) as well as a Chartered Investment Manager (CIM).

Derek brings a specialty in trading, technical analyses and behavioral finance. His unique investment approach combines a blend of technical analysis, quantitative finance and fundamental analysis. Paying careful attention to market technicals, Derek brings a unique aspect to new idea generation and risk management in portfolio management. Derek believes that managing risk and being opportunistic given market conditions are key tenants of our achieving long-term returns.