Dára Salamah CIM®

Associate Portfolio Manager

Dára’s path to a career in financial services started in a less-than-traditional manner. She was in dental school, completing her third year as an intern, and would often find herself watching the markets and financial news on TVs in the dental office. “I realized that the macroeconomic landscape intrigued me much more than dentistry,” Dára recalls.

Dára decided to take the leap to financial services from the world of dentistry. She pursued a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Toronto, where she was also a teaching assistant for Advanced Finance and Investment programs and an equity analyst for UTM Capital Management, the school’s first student-led endowment fund. It confirmed her decision to make the move and she’s never looked back.

After interning on a performance and analytics desk at a mutual fund manager, Dára started her career as an associate at Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited, where she worked with both institutional and private clients. This unique perspective led Dára to Newport, where she was drawn by the firm’s diversified investment platform and pension fund-styled approach to wealth management. “I understand the concerns and aspirations that clients have for their wealth when I sit with them here at Newport,” she says.

Dára is a Chartered Investment Manager and is pursuing a Level III candidate in the CFA Program. She has taken multiple courses in python (a computer language), computational finance, and advanced financial modeling.

Outside of her day-to-day at Newport, Dára is on the Young Patrons’ Committee at the Royal Ontario Museum, and a frequent panelist at U of T for the Economics Internship Program. Dára stays active through her favourite activities: horseback riding, swimming and squash. A global citizen, Dára speaks fluent Arabic, French, and Spanish, and has a working knowledge of Italian and Hebrew.