As a member of Venture 17 as well as Senior Vice-President, Portfolio Manager and a Director of Qwest Investment Fund Management Ltd, Don is responsible for leading his Calgary-based portfolio management team in the research, analysis and selection of investment opportunities for private equity limited partnerships, alternative asset management strategies and mutual funds. Don's responsibilities include monitoring existing investments, conducting investment analysis, designing, backtesting and implementing quantitative trading systems and performing strategic and financial due diligence.
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In addition to direct investment management activities Don is actively involved in mentoring professionals in the investment management process, identifying new investment strategies and developing investment products that fill a need in an evolving investment landscape.
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Don began his career at First Energy Capital in 1997 in Institutional Equity Sales. In 2002 he was recruited by Raymond James Ltd. as a Research Analyst where he was lead analyst for the domestic energy royalty trust team, covering more than 20 companies. After much success, Don established Origin Capital Management in 2006 where he was President of the asset management company – focusing on public and private small cap investments in the Canadian oil and gas sector. In 2017 Don formed Westblock Hosting Inc., a company focused on acquiring and providing investment exposure to crypto currency and crypto currency mining operations. In addition to this Don has also acted as Director and is currently Senior Vice President, Portfolio Manager and Director for Qwest investment Fund Management Ltd., providing investment fund management and portfolio management for the Qwest Family of investment products, the AlphaDelta Family of Mutual Funds, and the E&P Management Family of Private Equity Limited Partnerships.
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Don holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Calgary. He has furthered his education with a Bachelor of Science Degree, Mathematics and Computer Science, also from the University of Calgary.