Aaron Salz, CFA

Aaron Salz is a prominent Canadian investor, corporate finance advisor, and cannabis industry pioneer based in Toronto. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and earned his Honors Business Administration (HBA) degree from the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, graduating with distinction.

Aaron began his career at Dundee Capital Markets (now Eight Capital), where he spent over four years progressing from Research Associate to Analyst covering the emerging medical and recreational cannabis sector. He made history as the first analyst in Canada to provide comprehensive research coverage of all public Licensed Producers as well as US-based cannabis operators, pioneering institutional analysis of what was then a nascent industry. His groundbreaking research and industry insights led to frequent media appearances and quotes in major publications including the Financial Post, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Financial Times.

Following his time at Dundee, Aaron joined Interward Asset Management, a specialist investment firm based in Toronto, where he served as an Investment Analyst and played an active role in capital allocation decisions, including early investments in the cannabis sector.

In 2016, Aaron founded Stoic Advisory Inc., a boutique corporate finance advisory firm specializing in the global cannabis industry. Under his leadership, Stoic became the leading non-bank cannabis M&A advisor, providing financial advisory services on more than $2.3 billion of transactions. The firm offers services including mergers and acquisitions financial advisory, special committee and board assignments, and capital markets strategy. In summer 2023, Stoic Advisory rebranded to SSC Advisors, though the firm's mandate and services remained unchanged. Beyond advisory work, Aaron describes Stoic/SSC as "an active advisor, investor, and participant in the global cannabis industry," functioning as both advisor and principal investor across cannabis and adjacent growth industries.

Aaron has held numerous executive and operational roles throughout his career. He served as Acting CFO of Tokyo Smoke from early 2016 through 2018, stewarding the company through its growth phase before its ultimate acquisition by Canopy Growth, one of Canada's largest cannabis companies. He is also the co-founder of Trichome Financial, launched in early 2018 alongside Marc Lustig of Origin House. Trichome Financial was a first-of-its-kind cannabis specialty lender that provided debt financing to cannabis operators at a time when traditional banks were unwilling to serve the industry. Trichome Financial was successfully sold to IM Cannabis in March 2021.

More recently, Aaron has expanded beyond cannabis. He is Co-Founder and Director at Pack Labs, a company specializing in beverage manufacturing, product strategy, and hemp-derived cannabinoid products. He currently serves as CEO, CFO, Secretary & Director at AIM5 Ventures, Inc. (established in 2024) and as Chief Financial Officer & Director at AIM6 Ventures, Inc. (since 2021). Both AIM5 and AIM6 are capital pool companies focused on identifying and evaluating assets or businesses to complete qualifying transactions, and he also holds a directorship at Boozer, Inc.

Aaron Salz's investment approach is characterized by early-stage, thesis-driven bets on emerging industries and regulatory shifts. His track record demonstrates a willingness to enter markets ahead of institutional capital and mainstream acceptance.

Core Investment Philosophy:

Sector Preferences:

Investment Approach:

• Emerging industries: Focus on sectors undergoing regulatory transformation or technological disruption
• Founder-operator partnerships: Backing entrepreneurs building category-defining companies
• Merchant banking approach: Combining advisory, capital, and operational support
• Long-term value creation: Patient capital approach with hands-on involvement
• Cannabis & Hemp: Core focus on cultivation, retail, financial services, beverages, and ancillary technology
• Consumer Packaged Goods: Cannabis-infused beverages, hemp-derived products, wellness brands
• Gaming & Esports: Digital entertainment, betting platforms, and gaming infrastructure
• Special Situations: Capital pool companies, roll-ups, and consolidation opportunities
• Seed and early-stage rounds with flexible check sizes
• Active participation as advisor, board member, or interim executive
• Value-add through M&A advisory, capital markets strategy, and network introductions
• Willingness to take operational roles when needed (CFO, strategic advisor)