The Full Access Option
This option is ideal for those who have built up a solid amount of investable assets and want their financial planning and portfolio management handled properly. It is ideal for those who do not want to do this on their own, but rather, want to have a long-term relationship with an advisory team they trust and enjoy working with.
Most of the clients who we help in this capacity come to us from financial institutions where they were over-charged, under-serviced and left in the dark as to what their financial future looks like.
We take great care to be the opposite of that.
As a fully independent financial advisory firm we work directly for our clients, not an institution. We don’t “sell” anything. We advise. And we help our clients understand their best options and let them choose what they feel is best.
In addition to all our regular meetings and the ongoing work we do on our clients' behalf (including all the detailed planning listed in the Fee-for-Service Option), we have an open-door policy. Our clients contact us whenever they need/want something and we facilitate it for them or bring in specialists whenever needed.
Our primary function is to be our clients' overall advisor. We specialize in the financial planning and advice aspects and we partner with select, private wealth, fiduciary Investment Counsellors who specialize in the portfolio management aspect. By regulation, they are required to have the highest levels of education and experience in the investment industry. Together, we guide, implement and maintain the strategies our clients choose to act on.
Essentially, our clients receive two dedicated fields of expertise for the price of one.
Excellent service is a given for us. But on top of that, we pay special attention to helping our clients:
clearly see what their future looks like (using best-in-class technology)
make solid investment decisions
reduce taxation
execute sound retirement income strategies
clearly understand the things that matter and the things that don't
prepare for inevitable financial storms
Price
From 1.5% to less than 1% per year. This number decreases based on the amount of assets under management. Basically, the bigger the investment portfolio, the lower the fee.
With this option you do not pay out-of-pocket. Rather, the price is included in the management expenses paid within your investment portfolio. Our planning and advisory fee ranges from 0.9% to 0.4% and the portfolio management fee ranges from 0.75% to 0.4%.
While we do have access to options that cost more (and in some cases are still a good idea), our bias is towards lower fees.
Safekeeping of Assets
It is important to note that all our clients' assets are held in trust with a custodian such as Aviso/Credential, National Bank, CI Investment Services and others when working with an investment counsellor.
Neither we, nor the investment counsellors we work with have direct access to client assets. The investment counsellors have discretionary trading authority to make trades in client accounts, but the assets are always held with the custodian of choice on behalf of clients.
This ensures the highest levels of protection and, in addition, each custodian is regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and are members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) which covers the customers of its members (our clients). The coverage is $1 million for each segment of accounts. Click here for full details on who and what is covered.
How the Process Works
Once you book an intro call, we will go over things in a bit more detail to see if we think it's a good idea to set up a meeting (either online or in-person).
In this meeting, we will review our planning process and the different investment counsellors we partner with to gain a sense of which one(s) would make a good fit. We choose these counsellors carefully based on their historical performance, their style of managing money and their fees. We don't fool around in this area as our reputation is tied to those we work with.
After this meeting we should all have a pretty solid sense of whether or not this is something we want to pursue. If we both agree that it is, then we will begin the process of transferring your various investment accounts to the appropriate custodian.
Once transfers are complete, we will begin working on the initial draft of your retirement projection which we will continually tweak and refine as your situation evolves.
From then on, our team will be on retainer for you.