Diversification is one of the golden rules of investing to reduce risk and may boost your return potential over time.

Investor surveys indicate that wealthy investors open multiple accounts of the same type with different financial institutions and different advisors, either because it simply happened this way over time or because they believe it to be an effective way to diversify.  But diversification is really about how you invest your money - not where you keep it.  Investing in multiple accounts and multiple advisors instead of consolidating your assets with one trusted advisor may impede proper diversification and potentially expose you to greater risk.

The benefits of consolidating your assets with one advisor may include:

Simplified Administration & Consolidated Reporting

The statements you receive are minimized and tax reporting related to your investment income and dispositions becomes easier to manage.  Your tax preparation fees may also be reduced since your accountant will be spending less time sorting through all the statements and determining the average costs base of identical investments.

Easier Estate Settlement Process

By consolidating assets, you can have peace of mind knowing that, after you pass away, your surviving spouse or other beneficiaries will have one point of contact that you trust who will manage their overall assets to ensure they have adequate income. 

More Efficient Retirement Income Planning

In retirement, you could have many different income sources, such as government pensions, employer pensions, Locked-in Retirement Savings Plans, Registered Retirement Income Funds, non-registered income, and part-time employment income.  If you have one trusted advisor managing your investments, it's easier to determine how and in what order you should be withdrawing from all the different income sources to maximize your after-tax retirement income.

Reduced Costs

By consolidating your investable assets with one trusted advisor, you will typically pay lower fees, assuming the fees are based on a sliding scale as they are with many investment accounts and programs.  By spreading your investments among multiple advisors and multiple financial institutions, you lose these economies of scale.

Access to Comprehensive Wealth Management Services

Consolidation may help you reach a certain level of assets with an advisor so that you may be eligible for certain specialized services, such as comprehensive financial planning and advanced tax and estate planning.

Considering Consolidating?

For convenience alone, consolidation is a strategy worth considering.  If you'd like to speak to us about the benefits of consolidating your assets, we would be happy to set up a time to discuss this further at your convenience.