About Us

Welcome to Creating Opportunities - a blog that celebrates and promotes the responsible stewardship of wealth, shares independent thinking about investing, celebrates entrepreneurial success, and provides thought provoking ideas for business.

We have created this blog to share information with our clients and other people who have accumulated wealth, and entrepreneurs who drive innovation and wealth creation in our economy, and the professional advisors who support them.

On this blog you'll find thoughts, analysis, commentary and occasional musings from several of our professionals at Newport Private Wealth -- while all of us provide content and thinking behind the posts. At times, we will also invite our clients, independent money managers and other thought leaders from our network to share their intellectual capital with our readers.

You will notice from the bios we have varied experience and professional credentials and we bring this multi-disciplinarian perspective to the postings of our blog - and to the work we do for clients.

We invite your comments and feedback. Let us know what you like or how we may be able to improve. Through this forum we hope to inspire others to achieve their personal best - while at the same time becoming the very best we can be.

About The Authors

Kelly Willis is responsible for corporate marketing and client development at Newport Private Wealth. She has more than 15 years marketing and communications experience in both corporate and agency roles for a broad range of financial services companies.

Prior to joining Newport Private Wealth in 2002, Kelly was the manager of the affluent market segment for a major global bank and directed the Canadian launch of that bank’s first worldwide banking service. In previous roles, Kelly had been vice president, marketing for a boutique investment brokerage and vice president with a mid-sized advertising and marketing agency whose clients were some of the country's largest mutual fund, banking and investment companies.

Kelly brings the added perspective of a family business background – a 100 year old company that is now in its fourth generation of family management.

Kelly can be reached by email at kwillis@newportprivatewealth.ca.

As a managing director of Newport Private Wealth, Mike Vanderburgh focuses on providing individuals and families with investment and wealth management services. He has more than 20 years experience dealing with successful entrepreneurs, business people and 11 of the top 100 wealthiest families in Canada.

Prior to joining Newport Private Wealth, Mike was vice president and portfolio manager of BMO Harris Investment Management and its predecessor, Jones Heward, managing the investment needs of clients. His responsibilities included acting as a member of the investment policy committee, overseeing the management of the firm’s pooled funds and sitting on the steering committee responsible for setting the firm’s growth and strategic goals. Previously, Mike was director, Investment Services for Wittington Financial, the Weston Family’s private holding company responsible for managing in-house portfolios and overseeing external portfolio advisors. He was also an investment executive with Burns Fry (now Nesbitt Burns) and an analyst with Manulife Financial.

Mike holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and an MBA from the University of Toronto. Mike is also a Chartered Financial Analyst and a Certified Financial Planner.

Mike can be reached by email at mvanderburgh@newportprivatewealth.ca.

As a managing director of Newport Private Wealth, Peter Churchill-Smith provides individuals and families with investment and wealth management services. He has spent his entire 35 year career working with and advising successful entrepreneurs: 10 years of lending and providing capital and 25 years managing the private wealth of entrepreneurs and their families.

Peter is passionate about the experience of entrepreneurs who have sold a business - an area of specialization for Newport Private Wealth. He has written several articles on the subject and most recently helped launch Newport Private Wealth's nation wide survey of business sellers that further strengthens the firm’s capability in advising the next generation of business-sellers.

Prior to joining Newport Private Wealth in 2001, Peter was a vice president with Connor Clark Private Trust (now RBC Private Counsel) and vice president of Mutual Securities Inc. and Mutual Trust Company. He also spent 10 years in the commercial lending business at both Morguard Bank of Canada and Mercantile Bank of Canada. Peter holds an MBA (1976) from the Ivey School of Business (University of Western Ontario) and a B.Comm (1974) from Carleton University.

Peter is also a chartered financial analyst, a member of the Toronto Society of Financial Analysts, as well as The Association of Investment Management and Research in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Peter can be reached by email at pchurchillsmith@newportprivatewealth.ca.

As a vice president of Newport Private Wealth, John Garrow focuses on the corporate finance needs of the firm’s entrepreneurial clients. These activities typically include capital raising, business sales and acquisitions and advisory work. His client base includes organizations across a diverse spectrum of growth stages and industries and includes both private and public companies.

Prior to joining Newport Private Wealth, John spent 11 years with RBC Capital Markets. His responsibilities included acting as co-head of the financial institutions group, several years in the firm’s Calgary office and positions in the debt capital markets and financial products groups.

John worked at Price Waterhouse and, over his six years with that firm, audited several of Canada’s largest private and public companies in a variety of industries with his final year in the consulting practice. He received a B.Sc., from the University of Toronto and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.

John can be reached by email at jgarrow@newportprivatewealth.ca.

David Lloyd is a founding partner and chief wealth management officer of Newport Private Wealth. He focuses on providing individuals and families with investment and wealth management services. David has built a thriving wealth management practice over more than 30 years serving Canadian families. He serves on Newport Private Wealth’s Investment Committee developing strategy and overseeing external money managers.

Prior to starting Newport Private Wealth in 2001, David co-founded Merchant Private Trust growing it from a vision of Canada’s first exclusive private banking firm through to its successful sale to a major Canadian bank.

As a chartered accountant, David has helped individuals and families identify issues and opportunities and then implementing strategies to achieve specific goals.

David is a member of the Canadian Tax Foundation and has appeared on numerous radio and television business programs discussing insights into managing wealth and financial issues.

David can be reached by email at dlloyd@newportprivatewealth.ca.