RISA FAHY, CIM®, CFP®, Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager, The Fahy Group, Scotia Wealth Management, Vancouver B.C.
- NATALIE NOBLE
- Jul 9
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 14
RISA FAHY
“Planning for life’s ups and downs; preparing families for what comes next.”
When Risa Fahy, CIM®, CFP®, Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager with The Fahy Group of Scotia Wealth Management, talks about her work, she tends to focus less on the term “client” and more on the people behind it – the families and life moments she’s honoured to be part of.
“I really enjoy the investment side of my work as a Portfolio Manager, but it’s the planning and being there to help guide people through major life moments that bring it all together,” she says. “These moments can be positive, like retirement or buying a new house. Or, they can be more challenging, such as the loss of a partner or a parent. In every case, it’s about helping people feel prepared for whatever comes next.”
That long-term perspective is shaped, in part, by Risa’s own experience joining the family business as the second generation in 2018, as part of a planned succession. “I joined my dad’s team with the plan already in place that he would retire and I would take over,” she says. “It’s been nice to have that vision and strategy all mapped out well before the transition.”
Before joining the family business, she pursued her own interests and gained her own experience with the goal of becoming a veterinarian. After earning her Bachelor of Sciences in Microbiology with Distinction from the University of Victoria, Risa felt pulled back to the world of finance she was raised in, recognizing parallels between the two fields.
“When it came to the sciences, I was drawn to the challenging nature of the work. I love how everything is noted down so carefully. You live and die by your lab notes and there’s a very specific process within the way things are done,” she says. “The same is true in finance. There’s a real responsibility in helping people plan ahead and be ready for the unexpected. That’s something I carried with me when I moved into wealth management.”
To support the move, Risa worked in marketing while earning her Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) designation. “The CFP provides an in-depth, holistic understanding of the financial lives of clients and their families. That’s the foundation of everything I do,” she says, adding that she also holds her Certified Investment Manager (CIM®) designation to support her discretionary portfolio management.
Rounding out her experience, Risa spent time at another Canadian bank, gaining exposure to specialized areas of clients’ financial needs, including insurance, and developed a strong interest in building long-term relationships with clients. “With life insurance, you talk to someone for a few weeks or months. You get to know them really well because you have to know everything about them in order to complete the application,” says Risa, adding that once the process was complete, she missed helping out until a problem arose. “I wanted to stay connected and work with clients across all aspects of their financial lives.”
Her desire to take on more comprehensive wealth management while guiding clients through life’s ups and downs led Risa to join the Wealth Management Associates Program at Scotia Wealth Management in 2016, doing financial planning for other Advisors in the branch. “Working with them gave me a really solid background,” she says. “It confirmed that what I was really looking for was the opportunity to build those relationships and be more directly involved in how things come together for clients.”
Having built the strong financial services foundation she’d set out to achieve, Risa joined the Fahy Group in 2018 as her father prepared to retire. Here was that opportunity for stronger connections she’d been seeking. “Because this is a family business, the people we work with are more like long-term friends than clients,” she says. “Many have been with us for decades. My dad built those relationships, and now I’m continuing them with the next generation. That’s something I really value.”
Today, Risa works closely with a long-standing team – showcasing the Fahys’ commitment to long-term relationships – in the firm’s downtown Vancouver office. Gloria Lee, Senior Associate, has been with the Group for nearly a decade, while Matt Te, Senior Associate, is approaching his fourth year. “The transition couldn’t have happened without them, I’m very grateful for their partnership.”
Risa says providing the level of personalized service the team is committed to is thanks to Scotia Wealth Management. “Support from management is great, and it’s a pleasure to work alongside other Advisors in the firm,” she says. “There’s a great team of Wealth Partners – insurance, total wealth planning, private banking, estate and trust consultants – that help round out our services and provide a high level of personalized advice.”
While the bulk of clients are B.C.-based, the Fahy Group also works with people in the Yukon, Alberta, and Ontario, as well as overseas. Having navigated her own family business’ transition, Risa brings firsthand insight into the complexities of succession and transition planning. Her own second-generation ascension to run The Fahy Group echoes the continuity she and the team work to achieve for their clients as well. “A lot of our clients are business owners and we spend a lot of time working through the decisions and challenges that come with that,” she says, adding that still, most of their work focuses on individuals and families planning for the next generation. “One of the most important parts of this work involves helping clients have those difficult conversations with the next generation, so everyone knows their role and what to expect.”
Risa naturally gravitates to those more complex and challenging planning scenarios. “What I get excited about is supporting people through major life moments,” she says. “It’s about helping them think things through and feel confident in the path forward.”
Underneath it all is Risa’s desire to shoulder the technical and difficult aspects of financial decision making, give her clients the best information to work with, and provide them peace of mind knowing that everything is taken care of. “When we work through concerns and put a plan in place, we get to see their relief. That’s why we do what we do, and why I love it so much,” she says. “It’s having those conversations with people and saying, ‘We’ve planned for this, we’re in the right place, we’re set up to be proactive and we don’t need to react, and we’re going to be okay.’”
With her love of working in vibrant downtown Vancouver, Risa is also passionate about giving back to the local community. Currently, those passions include working with and supporting School of Rock, a music bursary sponsorship for children, and charitable organizations like Dress for Success and Backpack Buddies. “I’ve been involved with Dress for Success in the past, and I’m happy to continue supporting the organization. They provide professional attire for women entering or re-entering the workforce, but it’s much more than that — they offer mentorship, skills training, and a network of support. It’s such a valuable program,” she says.
Outside of work, Risa recharges at home with her husband and two young daughters. The foursome love to garden and try new restaurants. Her husband, also an entrepreneur, is her anchor. “There’s no way I could do this job without having the kind of support I have at home,” she says. “It gives me the flexibility to stay focused on the work and still make time for the things that matter.”
Natalie Noble’s love of writing stems from her passion for hearing and sharing people’s stories. Over the years, she has written for various business, real estate, and agriculture publications. At the heart of her work is a desire to continuously learn and connect.
Risa Fahy, CIM®, CFP®, Wealth Advisor, Portfolio Manager
Scotia Wealth Management
ScotiaMcLeod®, a division of Scotia Capital Inc. | 1832 Asset Management U.S. Inc.
The Fahy Group
1100 – 650 West Georgia Street,
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 4N9
T 1.604.601.1580