Our TeamOur team of investment professionals exhibits a tremendous wealth of experience and a great depth of knowledge. Because we are a small group, we truly bring to bear our combined expertise on every investment decision we make. The team consists of:
John P. Carswell, CFA, MBA, BA (Commerce), President
Robert Swan, MA, BA, Vice President
Gail Mudie, MBA, BSc (Hon), Vice President
Heather Mason-Wood, CFA, MBA, BSc (Mathematics), Vice President
Vivek Verma, CFA, MBA, MA, BA (Economics), Vice President
Elizabeth Sit, CSC, Assistant Vice President
David Song, MA, BA, Research Analyst
John P. Carswell
John Carswell graduated from the Royal Military College with a Bachelor of Arts (Commerce) and served as an Air Force navigator. He earned an MBA degree from Queen’s University.John completed the Chartered Financial Analyst program and was awarded the CFA Charter in 1988. He began his investment career at Mutual Life of Canada in 1985 where he was an Investment Analyst in the Private Placement and Corporate Debt area. He moved to TAL Investment Counsel Ltd. in 1988 where he was Vice-President, Fixed Income, responsible for credit analysis and specialty fixed income products. In 1992, John then moved to Foyston, Gordon & Payne, where he was the Partner responsible for fixed income and preferred shares.
John founded Canso Investment Counsel Ltd. in 1997. He frequently writes and speaks on fixed income and investment issues.
Robert A. Swan
Following graduation from the University of Western Ontario in 1967 with an MA in Econometrics, Bob joined Sun Life Assurance as an equity research analyst. The most enduring legacy of Bob’s five years at Sun Life is his appreciation for technical analysis as an important contributor to investment success.After two years of managing equities with Gerbro Corp., Bob joined the then fledgling TAL Investment Counsel. During his eighteen TAL years, his primary focus was global asset mix and debt markets. He was a major contributor to TAL, one of Canada’s largest and most successful money managers.
In 1991, Bob was one of two entrepreneurs who created the Clean Environment Funds. In 1996, he joined CT Investment Management Group as Chief Investment Officer and then assumed management of the Asian portfolio.
Bob completed his second MA in the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology at University of Toronto. Bob joined Canso in 2000 and his prime focus is the management of international portfolios.
Gail Mudie
Gail attended the University of Toronto, graduating with honours in Microbiology in 1979 and achieving her MBA, Dean’s List in 1981. She then worked for Proctor and Gamble Inc., where she held many positions including Financial Analyst, Treasury Supervisor and Financial Manager.In 1985 Gail joined the Bank of Montreal in corporate banking where after several years she became Director, Investment Analysis, Loan Portfolio Management.
Gail joined Canso in 1998 and is responsible for credit analysis and portfolio management.
Heather Mason-Wood
Heather attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1983. She graduated from the McMaster MBA program with a specialization in Finance in 1985. She then worked as a representative for Investors Group for two years before joining The Bank of Nova Scotia in 1988. She held many positions including Manager Corporate Credit, Manager Corporate Banking, Director of Risk Management, and Senior Relationship Manager Commercial Banking in her 15 year career with the bank.Heather joined Canso in 2003 and in 2005 she was awarded her CFA charter. Heather is responsible for credit analysis and portfolio management as well as marketing and client servicing.
Vivek Verma
Vivek attended the University of New Delhi, graduating with a Masters in Economics in 1994. He then completed the MBA program at University of Manchester in 1997. Vivek then worked as a Senior Analyst, Credit Rating at ICRA, Moody’s Indian affiliate for three years. He then moved to HCL Technologies as Manager of Investor Relations for two years.Vivek joined Canso in 2002 as a Research Analyst. Vivek was awarded his CFA charter in 2004 and is now a portfolio manager with Canso.
Elizabeth Sit
Liz worked in the banking and securities industry for many years, specializing in system analysis and operations. She then joined FRI, a financial systems company, as a client support specialist. Subsequently, she joined Foyston, Gordon & Payne, an investment counseling firm, as a systems analyst and portfolio administrator.She then moved to JR Senecal, another investment counselor, in investment administration. Later, Liz worked for Goodman and Company, where she was a performance measurement specialist, and assisted in the trading operation.
Liz joined Canso in 2000, as an investment analyst. She is responsible for trading, and contributes to the investment research process. She also is responsible for portfolio structure and analytics.
David Song
David attended Jilin University in China graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Major Accounting in 1992 and a Masters of Major Enterprise Management in 1995. Following graduation he worked as a Junior Analyst for Zhongnan Securities in Shenzhen.In 1998 he moved to Yellow River Securities as a Senior Analyst where he worked for three years. From 2001-2004 David worked at Zhongjingkai Securities in Beijing before moving to Canada.
David has completed level 2 of the CFA program and is enrolled to write the level 3 exam in June 2008. He joined Canso in the fall of 2006 as a Research Analyst.