SRI Wealth Management Group
Managing Director - Financial Advisor, Senior Consulting Group
Thomas has been a leader in the field of socially-responsible investing for more than 35 years. In 1992, he founded As You Sow1, a shareholder advocacy organization, which engages corporations on environmental, human/labor rights and corporate social responsibility initiatives. In 2014, Thomas was a featured guest on Bill Moyers and Company and discussed the Divest/Invest movement which he helped initiate with his clients. In 2019, he was named for the second time as one of the Financial Times’ Top 400 Financial Advisors. He was also a featured speaker at the TedX Wall Street conference in 2012 and provided his expertise on SRI investing, which incorporates environmental, social and governance factors in institutional/individual client portfolio management to help lower risks and potentially improve returns. Thomas graduated from Duke University in 1980 with a B.A. in Political Science. He is a member of the advisory board at Center for Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua Business School. He is a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) and has pssed the Series 7 and Series 66 exams. Thomas was recognized as a 2019 Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisor, a 2022 and 2023 Barron's Top 1200 Advisor, and as a 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisor.
Catherine has corporate finance and institutional advisory experience and has been in the investment field since 1993. Before joining RBC, she was part of the SRI Wealth Management Group at Piper Jaffray for five years where she advised foundations, non-profit organizations and high net worth individuals on ESG investments. Prior to Piper Jaffray, Catherine worked with J.P. Morgan for almost seven years as an investment banker covering the healthcare, natural resources and technology sectors. During her tenure at J.P. Morgan, Catherine advised clients on over $5 billion of M&A, project finance and equity and fixed income underwriting transactions. She was based in the New York, San Francisco, and Hong Kong offices, and has expertise in advising multi-national companies. Prior to that, she was an analyst in the International Banking Department of Chinatrust Commercial Bank in Taiwan, part of one of the largest conglomerates in Taiwan. She performed investment analysis for a variety of project finance transactions and assisted in establishing its Hong Kong office.
Catherine is a Board Member of the East Bay Community Foundation, former Advisory Board member of the Women's Funding Network, and former Board member of the Children's Council of San Francisco. She is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and has a BA in both Economics and History where she is a Cal Alumni Scholar. She is also a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), a designation she earned from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and is a member of IMCA (Investment Management Consultants Association). She has passed the Series 7 and Series 66 exams, and holds a California insurance license. Catherine was recognized as a 2019 Financial Times Top 400 Financial Advisor and as a 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 Forbes Best in State Wealth Advisor. She also won the Forbes Working Mothers Award in 2019 and 2020. She also won the Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisor in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Catherine is a member of the Social Investment Forum. She has sat on the firm’s Investment Advisory Group Council, is a member of the firm’s Senior Consulting Group, and is part of the Chairman’s Council in the firm (which is a distinction bestowed on high producing advisors in the firm). She is also a proud parent to two kids with her husband.
First Vice President - Financial Advisor, Consulting Group
Michelle joined RBC Wealth Management with 13 years of experience in the investment banking industry, underwriting debt and equity capital raises for corporate clients, and advising clients on merger and acquisition activities. Prior to joining RBC, she was an Executive Director at UBS in their New York and San Francisco offices. Prior to UBS, she spent seven years at RBS Securities in London and New York. She has a B.S. in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University and has passed the Series 7, 63 and 65 exams.
Michelle is passionate about empowering women and about using the capital markets as a force for positive social and environmental impact. In 2018, she consulted for a renewable energy platform, a social justice organization, and spent a month in Siem Reap, Cambodia, consulting for Samatoa Lotus Textiles, a social enterprise which empowers local women with consistent work, full benefits, and above average pay as they produce sustainably made textiles. She is also a former junior board member of The Opportunity Network, a New York-based non-profit which works with students from systematically underrepresented communities to achieve their college and career goals. In her free time, Michelle loves hiking, cooking, and reading. She resides in San Francisco with her husband and their daughter
Financial Advisor
Farralon joined the SRI Wealth Management Group with over 11 years of finance experience in trading, operations and project management in the hedge fund and financial software spaces. She focuses on ESG analysis, client service and manager research within the firm. Until RBC Wealth Management, Farralon’s entire career was spent at Asia-focused firms. Farralon worked for Tora Trading Services as an Equity Finance Manager in Client Services where she supported institutional clients and managed a cross-functional team to develop an equity finance module for Tora’s investment software. Prior to that, she worked as an Operations Manager and Trader at Evolution Capital Management, an alternative asset manager, where she developed the China Fund’s reporting, risk metrics, and operations.
Farralon is a CFA charterholder and a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a B.A. in International Relations. She has passed the Series 7, 63 and 65 license exams from FINRA, and has earned the CFA UK Level 4 Certificate in ESG Investing. Farralon is passionate about inciting sound personal finance practices in her community and has authored and taught several personal finance courses. She serves as the Chair of the Board of the Delta San Francisco Peninsula Foundation and was also Treasurer of the Board for 4 years, where she was responsible for leading the Foundation’s investment committee decisions.
Senior Financial Associate
Hector joined the SRI Wealth Management Group in 2017 after a long, successful tenure with a high net worth international team at Smith Barney (and into the Morgan Stanley joint venture). He holds multiple FINRA registrations, including Series 7 & Series 3 (futures/commodities), and is currently preparing for the Certified Financial Planning CFP® designation. Hector is a graduate from the San Francisco State University, holds a California Real Estate License, and has a background in tax accounting. Hector contributes his vast experience in wealth management to the SRI team. On the weekends, Hector enjoys resistance training, cycling, DIY home improvements, reading, and playing fetch with his three doggies.
Associate Advisor Wealth Management
Gwenne Bacani recently joined RBC Wealth Management as an Investment Associate with over 20 years of experience in the banking, investment banking, securities brokerage, lending, real estate, and financial services industry. He supports all investment related functions of the firm. Previously, Gwenne worked for DeVoe & Company, LLC as a Senior Associate in Investment Banking where he managed the analytical, research, and technical aspects of the firm. Prior to being an investment banker he was with Charles Schwab Advisor Services in San Francisco, where he served as a Strategic Sales Regional and Business Development Support Specialist for the Strategic Business Development group. During this 14-year period with Schwab, he provided strategic sales and service expertise to strategic acquiring firms, independent broker/dealers, turnkey asset management providers, and large national multi-office RIA firms with combined AUM of over $250B. Gwenne holds an undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in American Studies from San Jose State University and an MBA in Finance & Management from San Francisco State University. He holds the following licenses and certification: FINRA Series 7 & 63; Residential Care Facility for the Elderly Administrator Certification.
