Team Members

Rick Hughes, CPA, CA, CIM

Senior Portfolio Manager

Rick is the fifth of seven children raised on a mixed farm in rural PEI. He moved to Ottawa in 1983 after obtaining his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI). Rick obtained his Chartered Accountant (CA) designation in 1985 and spent 16 years in public accounting prior to his move to Nesbitt Burns. The last nine years as a CA were spent as the founding and managing partner of his own CA firm. Rick obtained his Canadian Investment Management (CIM) designation in 2009. He is a Senior Portfolio Manager. Rick is married to Nancy and has four children…Alex, Kendra, Rachel & Olivia.

James Annis, CFP, CIM, FMA

Portfolio Manager

Born and raised in Ottawa James is fluently bilingual. He graduated from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2002. James joined BMO Nesbitt Burns in 2004 as an Investment Advisor and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® or CFP® professional and obtained the Canadian Investment Manager (CIM) and Financial Management Advisor (FMA) desginations. James is currently studying for his Chartered Financial Analyst’s designation through the CFA Institute. James volunteers with the Lake Pemichangan Property Owners’ Association and is currently in his third year as Chairman of the Board.

Simon Couvrette, CPA, CA, CFP

Senior Investment Associate

Simon has spent the last five years of his career as a Senior Wealth Planning Consultant at BMO advising high net worth families and business owners on sophisticated, innovative wealth planning solutions, as part of an integrated team of Wealth Consultants, and in-house tax and estate specialists. Prior to joining BMO, Simon worked as a manager in Taxation Services for the international accounting firm, Deloitte, where he advised private clients on tax compliance, estate planning, corporate reorganizations and overall tax minimizaition. With this hiring, we bring Simon's significant planning & tax expertise in-house exclusively to Hughes & Annis clientele. 

Sean Nikitin, CIM, CFP

Senior Investment Associate

Sean works closely with our team to implement investment and trading strategies for client portfolios. Sean joined BMO in 2014 before relocating to Ottawa from Sudbury, Ontario to study at the University of Ottawa. He is often able to leverage his prior banking experience acquired before joining Nesbitt Burns in 2017 to provide sound banking solutions and referrals to our clients.

Since joining our team, Sean has obtained his Honours Bachelor of Commerce with a Specialization in Accounting, his Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designation with the Canadian Securities Institute as well as his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP) designation with FP Canada.

You will often find Sean spending his free time at the cottage or traveling abroad to experience new cultures.

Kari Van de Mosselaer

Senior Client Service Associate

Kari is responsible for all the business administrative functions as it relates to clients’ accounts and ensures our client service platform operates efficiently.  She has considerable experience with firm policies, documentation and overall day to day management of administrative issues.  Kari is dedicated to providing our clients with outstanding client service and support. She has been with BMO Nesbitt Burns since 1999, having joined the team in 2015 after relocating to Ottawa from Toronto.  Kari holds a Bachelor of Arts – Political Science and has completed the Canadian Securities course.

Amy Bertrand

Administration Assistant

Amy joined the team in 2021 after receiving her B.A. Honours in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Carleton University and has worked in various roles with our firm since 2020. She works closely with Kari to ensure our client service platform operates efficiently and is responsible for all the business administrative functions as it relates to client accounts. Amy is originally from Montreal and has called Ottawa home since 2018.

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