Team Members

Jim was the first advisor in BC to become licenced as a Portfolio Manager, which is among the highest credentials available to investment professionals.  This accreditation means he is qualified to provide discretionary portfolio management, freeing his clients from having to make daily investment decisions and bringing many other benefits. Jim also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a major in finance from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) with a major in marketing from Concordia University in Montréal and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Prior to joining BMO Nesbitt Burns in 1996, Jim spent several years with a major international oil company, where he was responsible for financial planning, business development and investment management. Jim also has the distinction of having formerly been the Financial Agent for the BC Liberal Party.

Jim has been involved with many volunteer activities both at work and in the community and is a regular donor to several charities. Born in Quebec, Jim has lived in France and the U.S. and speaks fluent French. He now resides in Vancouver with his wife Gail, for over 30 years.  She is a retired Crown Prosecutor in the Supreme Court of BC and a published children’s author. Jim and Gail have two grown daughters, Alana and Laura. As a family, they enjoy skiing, hiking and tennis. A former ski instructor at Chamonix and Jasper, Jim still loves skiing and gets his alpine fix in the off season by backpack hiking in the Alberta Rockies.

With almost 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and a passion for the global equity markets, Ricky provides investment advice and portfolio management services to a domestic and international clientele. Ricky joined our team in 2022, bringing our clients additional bench strength and long-term confidence.

As a Portfolio Manager, Ricky is qualified to provide discretionary wealth management, freeing clients from the pressure of making daily investment decisions and bringing many other benefits. He started his financial career in 1994 prior to joining BMO Nesbitt Burns in 2012.

Ricky graduated from McGill University with a Master of Business Administration and also from the University of British Columbia with a Bachelor of Commerce. He is heavily involved with volunteering and charitable giving and has had a profound impact on such worthy charities as BC Children’s Hospital, Cancer Society, Alzheimer’s Society, Lions Gate Hospital, and Richmond Hospital. Tapping into his previous experience in the media industry, he most often appears as MC for fundraising charity galas and on the telephone for telethons.

Ricky is married to our own Wendy Lok and together they have a young son, Adrian. To instill in Adrian the values of giving back, the family runs annually in the Vancouver Mini Sun Run and the RBC Race for the Kids  to raise funds for BC Children’s Hospital. In addition, Ricky runs the BMO Vancouver Marathon 8K run every year. To unwind, he enjoys reading a wide variety of books.

Wendy performs a great deal of our team’s financial planning services. She works closely with our insurance, estate planning and tax specialists to create in-depth wealth plans that ensure our clients’ investment portfolios are appropriate to their specific financial needs, stage in life and risk tolerance. She also provides valuable guidance for people going through important life decisions. In addition, Wendy assists Jim and Ricky in monitoring our clients’ portfolios and executes all of our investment trades.

Having worked in the investment industry for over 20 years, Wendy is passionate about building strong client connections. Diligent, detail-oriented, patient, polite, and committed to providing thoughtful solutions, Wendy believes that every relationship begins with a full understanding of a client’s needs and expectations. She isn’t satisfied until people are absolutely confident and clear about their financial situation.

Graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree in finance from Simon Fraser University, Wendy began her financial career in 2001.  She obtained the Chartered Investment Manager (CIM®) designation with the Canadian Securities Institute in 2023. The CIM® is the industry standard for discretionary investment and portfolio management services, recognizing Wendy’s qualification to evaluate and manage all aspects sophisticated clients’ investment portfolios on a discretionary basis. This frees them from having to make daily investment decisions and brings many other benefits.

Wendy is married to our own Ricky Cheung and together they have a young son, Adrian. The family participates in the BMO Marathon, RBC Race for the Kids, Vancouver Mini Sun Run each year.  Wendy is also a dedicated volunteer for Adrian’s school with various fundraising events throughout the year. In her free time, Wendy enjoys hiking, skiing and biking with her family. On weekends, she loves trying out new recipes, using Ricky as guinea pig, and inviting family and friends over to sample the winning dishes.

Crystal began working with Ricky Cheung in 2006 and joined BMO in 2012 with his team. Today, Crystal is a key associate for both Jim and Ricky. She provides investment models, performs wealth planning services for our clients who value them, fulfills daily administrative needs, and ensures that clients receive timely and helpful information on their accounts.

Our clients attest that Crystal brings a dedicated, positive and friendly attitude to every interaction. Her kindness and enthusiasm never fail to offer a warm welcome to new clients and her communication and relationship skills ensure that all requests are processed promptly and efficiently.

Crystal joined the investment industry in 1997 with many years of experience in administration and client service. She speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin and holds a Bachelor of Arts with a major in economics from Concordia University. Crystal has also completed the Personal Financial Planner (PFP®) program with the Canadian Securities Institute.

Crystal enjoys spending quality time with her husband and daughters and exploring Vancouver’s local food scene.  On weekends, they often walk to the dyke nature reserve to take photographs of wildlife animals.

Sara Diaz Cranage is our administrative lead. She joined our team in 2022 and works closely with Crystal to ensure all client requests are handled in a friendly and professional manner. Sara also handles paperwork, account openings, fund transfers, client queries, and scheduling and works with the BMO Advisor Marketing team to keep our website updated and manage other marketing collateral projects. She plans to get licenced soon so she can also perform trade execution.

Working with precision and speed, Sara is very helpful and has strong interpersonal and communication skills. She is a quick learner who earns many compliments for her work. Sara began working with us after completing her Financial Planning diploma from the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). She enjoys designing and sewing clothing in her free time as well as spending time with her family, reading novels, and watching movies.