Trusted Advisory for Wealth, Business and Legal Leaders
We help organizations and professionals navigate growth, transition, and complexity with clarity and confidence
Why SMEx
Strategic Advisory Built on Trust, Not Transactions
Headquartered in Toronto, SMEx Advisory works with the legal community, business owners, and wealth management firms to provide subject matter expertise across strategic growth, business development, change management, and organizational assessment.
Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of sitting on both sides of the table; the buy side and the sell side of the financial and business advisory world. In that time, I’ve worked across multiple roles, from advisor to senior executive and C-suite leader and in every role, my objective was never simply to complete a transaction. It was to build relationships rooted in understanding to listen carefully, identify real needs, and help deliver solutions that made a lasting difference.
When I founded SMEx Advisory, I made a personal commitment to carry that approach into every engagement. Our role is to bring an external perspective, one that helps uncover internal gaps, clarify priorities, and support informed decision-making aligned with your objectives. We approach this work thoughtfully and collaboratively, taking the time to understand how your organization operates and where support is most meaningful.
Today, I’m proud to work alongside business owners as they right-size and strengthen their organizations, with financial firms navigating change and transition, and with legal professionals addressing complex financial industry matters. Drawing on more than 30 years of hands-on business leadership experience, SMEx Advisory is intentionally not transactional. We care deeply about your future, your clients, and the experience you have working with us, because we believe trust is the foundation of every successful outcome.
John
Services We Offer
Wealth Management Advisory
Change has become a permanent condition for Advisory firms and Asset managers. Navigating this reality requires not only strategic vision from leadership but consistent education and alignment at the advisor level.
SMEx Advisory advises firm leadership and asset managers on practice management and organizational change, while also delivering targeted education to advisors. Our work helps advisors adopt best-in-class practice management disciplines, enabling firms to translate strategy into execution and maintain momentum through change.
Business Owner Advisory
As entrepreneurs ourselves, we understand what it takes to build, manage, and grow a business, particularly in an environment that continues to increase in complexity. Business owners face heightened competition, economic uncertainty, leadership challenges, and an ever-growing need for thoughtful succession and growth planning.
SMEx Advisory delivers practical, experience-based guidance to help owners navigate these realities and position their businesses for long-term success.
Expert Support for Counsel
The securities industry is complex, as are the rules that govern it, particularly amid increasing regulatory scrutiny and evolving standards. Firms, clients, and advisors navigating disputes require clarity, technical insight, and informed, objective judgment.
SMEx Advisory delivers practical, experience-based expertise to support both clients and advisors throughout the dispute process. Working closely with legal teams, we help identify, evaluate, and support effective resolutions in litigation and arbitration matters. Our services include the preparation of objective expert opinion reports. When assisting advisors, we provide analysis related to book valuations and practice-related considerations; when assisting clients, we evaluate matters such as suitability and potential damages or losses.