Our Partners

Matko Pevec, CFp^®, CLU

Financial Planner, Raymond James Ltd.

Matko joined Raymond James Ltd. in September 2021 to support our wealth management teams and their clients with the development and presentation of holistic financial plans.

After graduating from George Brown College’s Financial Management program in 2011, Matko began working in the financial industry as an associate financial advisor at an independent wealth management firm. During his tenure there, he helped service hundreds of clients with holistic financial planning, portfolio management and insurance planning. He obtained his Certified Financial Planner^TM (CFP®) designation in 2016 and his Chartered Life Underwriter ® (CLU®) certification in 2017. In 2017, he joined a bank-owned brokerage firm in the role of financial planning analyst and was responsible for creating and presenting comprehensive financial plans for high-net-worth clients across Canada.

Matko is detail oriented and believes that having a proper financial plan can help clients reduce uncertainties, understand their true situation and assess whether their goals can be achieved.

Paula Lester

Senior Trust Advisor, Raymond James Trust (Canada)

Paula is a Senior Trust Advisor with Raymond James Trust (Canada). She is responsible for providing comprehensive estate, incapacity, and trust planning services to Ontario-based clients of Raymond James Ltd. Paula has worked in the trust industry since 2017, prior to which she practiced as a family and estate litigator. Paula is passionate about using trust and estate services to protect clients and their families, and to avoid the unfortunate situations she witnessed as an estate litigator.

Paula is a graduate of the Juris Doctor Program at Queen’s University, having graduated on the Dean’s Honour’s list. She also has a Bachelor of Arts, Honours, degree with a major in Psychology and a minor in English and Law, earning the university medal for highest academic standing upon graduation from Carleton University. Paula also has her Trust and Estate Planning (TEP) designation.

Outside of the office, Paula likes staying active and is an avid runner and ultimate frisbee player. She also enjoys giving back to her community through coaching and involvement in charitable work.

Riaan Botha

Senior Trust Advisor, Raymond James Trust

Riaan Botha is a Senior Trust Advisor with Raymond James Trust (Canada). He is responsible for providing estate, incapacity, and trust planning services for Ontario based clients. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the Legal, Fiduciary (Trust and Estates), Insurance, Investment and Banking environment with a focus on tax, estate planning and local & offshore fiduciary advice and structuring.

Prior to joining Raymond James, Riaan was a Senior Trust Manager at a prominent Private Bank in the Caribbean where he gained valuable experience in the offshore private banking environment. Riaan managed a team of Senior Trust Officers responsible for the administration of a complex global book of trust and corporate clients.

Prior to moving to the Caribbean, Riaan spent 15 years at a prominent global Bank based out of South Africa as the Head of Fiduciary Advice and Fulfilment. Riaan was responsible for the full spectrum of the trust and estate advisory strategy from the initial design of the offering, the channel engagement, the marketing plan and the implementation of the strategy within the Bank and through selected partnerships. Riaan managed a team of Senior Trust and Estate Planning Advisors that provided market-leading trust, tax and estate planning advice to clients and supported the Financial Advisors as part of the bank’s Non-Banking Financial Services offering throughout 13 jurisdictions.

Riaan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Pretoria in South Africa, a Post Graduate Diploma in Tax from Thomas Jefferson Law School in San Diego, USA and a Business Administration degree from the Gordon Institute of Business Science in South Africa. Riaan is a full member of STEP (The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners).

Greg Jizmejian, CFP^®, CLU, CH.F.C., TEP, EPC

Estate Planning Advisor, Raymond James Financial Planning Ltd.

Greg is a Certified Financial Planner^TM professional, a Chartered Life Underwriter® and a Chartered Financial Consultant®. In 2017, he completed the Elder Planning Counselor program and achieved the Trust & Estate Practitioner designation.

Since 1985, Greg has been helping families protect the people and values they cherish most. In 2019, after 17 successful years as vice president and estate and insurance advisor at a bank owned investment firm, he joined Raymond James as their estate planning advisor for the GTA.

For more than 15 years, Greg has been an ardent supporter of JDRF. The fundraising team he founded, No More Pricks, has raised $100,000 and counting. In 2007, Greg began an annual fundraising bike ride from Toronto to Niagara, and he currently serves on the Toronto JDRF ride cabinet. A graduate in fine arts from the University of Toronto, Greg is a regular contributor to stage designs for performances in his church, and has a modest collection of paintings from his travels to Bali, Russia, Italy, Cuba, Armenia and India.