MoneyShow Toronto, held in the beating heart of the city just minutes west of Bay Street, begins as a subterranean experience. Descending on the enormous chrome escalator at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, I was met with the sight of a long line of attendees still waiting to register and enter the hall. It was a reminder that even in 2025, with all the technology we carry in our pockets, long held traditions like lining up in person, persist.

MoneyShow Toronto is where Canadian traders and investors can gain market intelligence, learn new investment strategies and access resources to help them build more profitable portfolios. By providing diverse educational content, live discussions, and networking opportunities, the show teaches and inspires participants to navigate more complex markets, recognize trends earlier, and make more informed decisions.

The keynote speakers set the tone, and their speeches planted questions which they hoped would sprout and spark conversations later in the day, at their booths in the Exhibit Hall. They discussed artificial intelligence and machine learning, Trump’s tariffs and autocratic tendencies, and the drones being used in the War in Ukraine. One after another the featured experts shared their perspectives on the biggest headline news events of 2025.

Tim Johnson from Blossom showed how finance influencers can move stock prices.

After receiving my lanyard, badge and SWAG bag, I encountered a friend who told me he’d rushed down here to see the first speaker. Tim Johnson – The Rise of the Finfluencer. How Content Creators Are Re-Shaping Investing.

Tim Johnson has the charts and proof to back-up his theory that individuals on popular social networks can move stock prices higher or lower by manipulating digital media. Johnson explained that finfluencers, leveraging platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter, have built large communities where investment ideas and strategies can be rapidly exchanged. The trend bypasses traditional media and advisory channels, and thus democratizes access to market insights creating a dynamic social environment for investors of all experience levels. On a personal note, he became more appealing to me when he told the audience he was a fiction writer who used his publisher’s advance to buy Bitcoin before the pandemic, and a nice new car afterwards.

Blossom is a social network for the investing community. The app lets users share their portfolios, learn from other investors, and discuss new investment opportunities. It has an even split of Canadian and American members, with some Europeans in the mix. Users can connect their brokerage accounts for automatic updates or manually add holdings, and a paid “Blossom Pro” subscription offers advanced portfolio tools and analytics. The platform emphasizes long-term investing, provides educational content, and includes features like daily news briefs and a feed of popular investment topics In the hallways afterwards I met two old men who didn’t think much of Tim’s ideas. They came to the show looking for plausible stock tips and it seemed to me they were motivated solely by the fear of missing out. Being retirees they have little social interaction and came to the MoneyShow seeking to learn about fresh opportunities that should be on their radar, and this is ironically, exactly what Blossom is all about.

Exhibitors worked all morning to get ready for the noon opening of the exhibit hall. Below are the chaps from CEO.ca, a financial website and app that serves as a community for investors, allowing them to connect, share insights, and discover new opportunities. It offers features like free account creation, mobile functionality, and is a platform where people can discuss their portfolios, current events and industry developments. The site also features an Inside the Boardroom video series of interviews with what are mostly mining company executives.

Trade show booth presenters from CEO.ca work to set up their backdrop.

MoneyShow Toronto waited until twelve noon to open the doors to this room.  The delay is scheduled on purpose to better showcase the keynote speakers in the Assembly Hall, and to ensure those high profile talks are well attended, and to give vendors in here enough time to set-up their attractions.

Inside the Exhibit Hall, business leaders from both Canada and the United States were on hand to chat with attendees while casually dispensing branded gifts like pens, mugs, day planners, paper calendars, fridge magnets and confections. Each booth was specially designed to tempt investors with an exotic offer, a new toolset, or a 21st Century investing tactic certain to double their wealth. Booths were staffed by representatives from investment firms, fintech startups, fund managers, and financial service providers, all of whom were more than willing to bring passengers along on their short flight to success.

MoneyShow attendees cannot be generalized for there are all-sized investors in the mix. There were plenty of part time traders, fund managers and seasoned professionals with C-suite jobs. New media personalities hiding in the crowd revealed themselves when they stepped away and raised their phones to record an update for their followers.

Tickblaze Hybrid Trading Platform was the leading sponsor of 2025 MoneyShow Toronto. All attendees were issued lanyards and badges branded with their name and logo.

Tickblaze is a software application designed to integrate both discretionary (manual) and quantitative (algorithmic) trading strategies into a single, versatile environment. It offers institutional-grade features for developing, backtesting, and executing automated trading strategies using C# and Python, along with tools for manual, discretionary trading. The platform also includes integrated market data, advanced charting, order flow analysis, and a collaborative community for peer-to-peer learning and script sharing

Andrew Cairns from HomeEquity Bank (CHIP Reverse Mortgage)

Andrew Cairns reminded MoneyShow attendees that many Canadians over the age of sixty have gifted significant funds to their children or grandchildren with the majority of those gifts being valued at more than $25,000. This wealth transfer trend continues to grow, and financial advisors are well-positioned to guide clients’ loved ones without compromising their retirement security. Andrew is an expert at tax-efficient strategies for transferring wealth. HomeEquity Bank’s custom solutions enable advisors to integrate gifting strategies into client plans while protecting long-term financial goals.

Connor Gallagher of Music Royalties Inc asked MoneyShow attendees to consider buying music rights as a long term investment, reaping the dividends as the songs are played in radios and clubs, and downloaded, sold to consumers on music distribution platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.

Music Royalties Inc (MRI) is a Toronto-based private investment company that acquires passive music royalties from rights holders, including artists, producers, and songwriters. The company holds a diversified portfolio of over thirty revenue-generating music royalties from iconic songs and catalogs featuring top artists such as Avril Lavigne, Backstreet Boys, Rihanna, Drake, Eminem, and more. Since inception, MRI has paid out over twelve million dollars in dividends, with an annual yield of approximately 7.2%, making it akin to a real estate investment with steady cash flow supported by intellectual property which has a surprisingly long lifespan. The payouts continue for the lifetime of the copyright, plus 70 years. The business model is to simply accumulate these royalties to increase share value and distribute growing dividends to investors.

Conner Gallagher made some news at the 2025 MoneyShow Toronto, when he announced that Music Royalties Inc. was buying back 1,050,000 common shares of Music Royalties Inc. for $525,000, contributing to a total $2.525 million investment expected to yield $181,800 in annual dividend income. This acquisition is part of Royalties Inc.’s strategy to capture stable income from music royalties, which are supported by ongoing global streaming growth. It’s an attractive investment opportunity because it offers recurring dividend income, portfolio diversification, and exposure to the expanding digital music market.

Black Swan Dexteritas Offers a Nimble, and Diversified Approach to Investing in AI, Machine Learning and Silicon Chips

Amanda Bolton from Black Swan Dexteritas Inc at the 2025 MoneyShow Toronto

Kim Bolton is the founder of Black Swan Dexteritas and the portfolio manager for their flagship Global Technology Hedge Fund.  Kim’s previous experience includes 35 years of portfolio management and securities trading experience at Toronto Dominion Bank, CIBC Asset Management, and BP p.l.c. (Formerly British Petroleum) and has successfully managed portfolios in excess of $3.5 Billion. Kim has a MBA degree from Schulich School of Business and a Bachelor of Science degree from Trent University.

Kim Bolton, of Black Swan Dexteritas manages their Global Technology Hedge Fund. 

Black Swan Dexteritas (BSD) presents a unique value proposition to investors as their Global Technology Hedge Fund is focused exclusively on technology companies with proprietary innovations that yield sustainable competitive advantages. BSD’s approach combines deep strategic guidance from an Investment Advisory Committee composed of technology experts, a quantitative system to identify promising tech stocks, and detailed company and sector analysis to ensure long-term growth potential with minimized risk. Strategically diversified across ten technology subsectors with 35 to 40 stock positions, BSD also employs derivatives for hedging and alpha generation, aiming to reduce portfolio volatility and downside risk while targeting an annual hurdle rate of 8%. This disciplined combination of innovation-driven stock selection, risk management, and active hedging sets BSD apart as an attractive technology-focused hedge fund for savvy investors.

Fausto Pugliese is the visionary behind Cyber Trading University and pioneer of one of the original day trading schools. He has been teaching his students the power of day trading for thirty years and is a trailblazer in the realm of independent trading and Direct Access Trading technology.

After dedicating significant time to master the intricacies and discipline of day trading, Fausto embarked on the path of entrepreneurship, establishing his own company to teach his methods. With the wisdom gleaned from all of his hands-on experience, Fausto now works with some of the industry’s most accomplished and proficient traders. His knowledge and expertise have made him a star on TV and on renowned financial platforms, including Nasdaq TradeTalks, Fox News, and CNBC.

Keynote speakers at the 2025 MoneyShow Toronto included TV personality Amber Kanwar, Ardi Aaziznia (Ayandeh Investing Group), Larry Berman (ETF Capital Management), Sue O’Reilly, Markus Heitkoetter,  Eric Nuttall (Ninepoint Partners LP), and Benjamin Tal (CIBC Capital Markets).

Additional speakers include Erin Allen, Dalia Barsoum, Christopher Berlet, Kevin Bidner, Kim Bolton, Tom Bruni, James Burron, Andrew Cairns, Rob Carrick, Matt Choi, Dan Cooper, Clifton Corbin, Ryan Coyle, Daniel Cryderman, John De Goey, Brian Dorr, Prerna Matthews, Ryan Modesto, David Morrison, Stephanie Ng, Sue O’Reilly, Simeon Papailias, Brian Pezim, Jackie Porter, Fausto Pugliese, Bipan Rai, Keith Richards, John Stephenson, Chris Thom, Peter Tuchman, Chris Vermeulen, Chris White, Carlos Wolf, and Sandy Yong among others.