Todd Blaseckie caught the investment bug early. When he was just a teenager growing up in Campbell River, he and his friends started investing in penny stocks with the help of his friend’s father.
“We’d buy a stock worth a penny a share, and see if we could turn it into five dollars a share. I wasn’t thinking about investing for retirement or to own a home, but I definitely caught the investing bug,” says Blaseckie, who is now a Portfolio Manager with Alitis Investment Counsel.
Once Todd realized he wanted to pursue a career in finance, he focused on gaining education, accreditation and experience to give himself the best chance of success. He earned his BBA in Finance from Simon Fraser University while working summers on fishing boats and at the pulp and paper mill in Campbell River. Then he earned his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification, and his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) certification a few years later.
“I learned a lot of neat stuff at the beginning of my career working at a variety of national firms, before helping to launch the brokerage firm Qtrade in the year 2000. That gave me a wide range of skills, not just in market analysis or client education and service, but also things like how to build a website and manage employees.”
I already knew the value, but I didn’t know it was possible
Todd has a clear memory of sitting down with the CEO of Alitis Investment Counsel, when his family was thinking of moving back to Campbell River.
“He showed me a single page with all of the asset classes Alitis offers. It included assets I already had access to like gold, stocks and bonds, and a whole bunch of assets I’d never seen offered to clients at this level. In my role as a portfolio manager for a mutual fund I already knew the value of asset classes like mortgages and real estate, but I didn’t know if was possible to offer them to clients,” he says. “Not only could I offer my experience, but I could offer these great products to clients. That was eye-opening.”
Since joining Alitis, Todd has also taken on a leadership role in the Campbell River office, sharing his expertise with the other portfolio managers while still serving his own clients. Whatever the role, he sees himself as an advocate, putting the needs of Alitis’ employees and clients first.
“People that don’t know me or Alitis assume that we’re motivated by our personal or corporate success, but it’s not about that at all. When you see clients grow in their knowledge and become more stable and secure, that is what is really satisfying,” he says. “That dream they had about retirement is becoming a reality.”
To book an appointment, call 250-287-4933 or email info@alitis.ca. Connect with Alitis Investment Counsel at alitis.ca.