Finding the advisory team that is right for you can spark many questions. To help you out we’ve answered some of the most common questions we're asked. If you have a specific question and can't find the answer here, click here to connect with us directly and we'll be happy to answer you.

  • • Established families seeking guidance transferring their wealth tax-efficiently
  • • Affluent individuals seeking personalized service and support growing and protecting their wealth
  • • Corporate executives who don’t have the time to manage their wealth and achieve their personal and career goals
  • • Business owners and professionals who need help managing both personal and business assets
  • • Healthcare professionals, farmers, lawyers and accountants seeking total wealth management
  • • Lawyers and accountants who want a trusted partner to provide professional and ethical service to shared clients
  • • Pre-retirees seeking guidance on optimizing their retirement savings
  • • Retirees who require strategies for maximizing their after-tax retirement income and protecting their financial security
  • • Philanthropists seeking creative ways to enhance their legacy and support causes that matter to them
  • • Not-for-profit organizations that require executor and trustee services, investment management, custody and administration
  • We provide a proven process and high touch service to help clients grow and protect their wealth. Generally, we find that our clients come to us because they lack one or more of the three T’s – time, talent or temperament.
  • • Time – managing the day to day affairs of your wealth takes time and consideration. Not everyone has adequate time to monitor and manage the complexities that may arise.
  • • Talent – in our 30+ years of professional experience, we’ve become experts at what we do. We ensure you are presented with the best options for your circumstances and have extensive support when making decisions.
  • • Temperament – emotions and unconscious biases can impact financial decisions. Two emotions that can derail a comprehensive financial plan is fear and greed. I encourage sound decision making and help manage the pendulum of emotion that tugs at clients to act on their fears or greed.

We serve individuals and families, executives and professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs, pre-retirees and retirees, charitable organizations and estates and trusts with a sizeable household income or have an investment portfolio in excess of $1 million. We welcome the opportunity to act for individuals who, may not yet meet the high-net-worth financial threshold, but are on the path to do so.

We are predominately fee-based, meaning, we derive our income from investment management fees. Fees are calculated as an annual percentage of the assets we manage on your behalf and scheduled quarterly. The fee structure is determined by the size of the portfolio and the solutions that best suit your needs. We believe in full transparency. It is important to us that our clients know and understand how we get paid.

RBC Dominion Securities is Canada’s leading full-service investment and wealth management firm. We’re the largest firm in Canada and have access to financial specialists locally and globally. As a distinct business within RBC, we benefit from our association with Canada’s largest and most trusted financial institution, while still being able to maintain an independent focus. We have the resources to be on the forefront of new strategies and technology in the industry. Think of it like having to go to the hospital. There are undoubtedly great healthcare professionals working at hospitals in Saskatoon and rural Saskatchewan, but the resources at their disposal may limit them. RBC Dominion Securities is the Mayo Clinic of wealth management.

No, there are advantages of having your financial affairs consolidated at RBC, but it is not a requirement. Benefits can include ease of management and discounted banking fees.

Yes, we provide comprehensive financial planning for all our clients. We have a full-time, certified financial planner on our team that will work with you to develop a plan tailored to your goals and objectives. We will revisit the plan throughout our relationship, review how you are tracking towards your goals and evolve the plan as your circumstances change. We also have access to additional specialists that are highly skilled in estates and trusts, succession planning and tax preparation.

Yes, we have a specialized team to meet the unique needs of ultra-high net worth individuals and their families. The team will work closely with your existing professional advisors (accountant, lawyer, etc.) to understand your goals, needs and nuances in your circumstances. Offering this integrated approach helps simplify complexities that may arise when building and protecting your wealth. Our services complement those provided by your existing trusted professionals and focus on optimizing your wealth, minimizing tax exposure and building solid estate and financial plans. At RBC the threshold for this consideration is $20 million+ in investable assets or $50 million+ in net worth.

Yes, we offer qualified clients a complimentary will and estate consultation. Our specialist, who is an experienced lawyer, will meet with you and discuss structuring the succession of your estate in an efficient and tax-effective manner. You will receive a detailed report that outlining the various estate planning strategies and recommendations for you. Additionally, we can enlist our strategic insurance specialist to provide solutions that leverage life and living benefits insurance from Canada’s leading insurance companies. Based on your needs, their expert advice enables you to implement key solutions for creating, preserving and transferring your wealth.

With your guidance, we will determine how to best collaborate with your team of trusted professionals. Our goal is to build a strong relationship with them so we can complement and enhance their work for your benefit. Our job is to work together, provide context and optimize their expertise. As your advisor, we can anticipate issues and opportunities that we can refer to your tax advisor, lawyer or other service providers, for prompt consideration and resolution. In some scenarios, we may serve as your project manager to ensure that your advisors have timely and accurate information.

Yes, with today’s technology and varying forms of communication, we can provide excellent service and advice to clients outside of our local area. In our 30+ years, we’ve had a number of our clients move across Canada and around the world. They value us and want to maintain our relationship. We are also commonly referred to family members and friends of our clients that reside across North America.

  • To ensure transparency, we provide you with timely and consistent reporting and research. You’ll have easy access to:
  • • Monthly account statements if there is trading activity
  • • Annual consolidated tax reporting, including dispositions with book costs
  • • A unified view of all your RBC accounts and the ability to transfer funds between account online
  • • Paperless eDocuments through DS Online to reduce your paperwork and help us help the environment (this includes a seven-year archive)
  • • The 24/7 secure DS Online private client website which gives you exclusive access to investment research, quarterly market outlook, RBC economics publications, Reuters market news, real-time quotes, customized Watchlists and more
  • • The broadest research in Canada for domestic and global markets, including RBC Capital Markets, JP Morgan and independent Veritas that are exclusive to RBC
  • • RBC Wealth Management Services library of publications and articles on a wide range of tax, retirement and estate planning topics
  • • The Global Insight, Morning Market Commentary, Wealth Management Review and more

Goals-based investing is an investment methodology where performance is measured by the success of investments in meeting an individual's personal and lifestyle goals. Conventional investing methodologies measure financial performance as a return against an investment benchmark. The conventional method steers the conversation away from you, your goals and risk preferences. With goals-based investing, the portfolio must be customized to your unique needs and goals. We use this methodology. It is rooted in our philosophy and we ensure that tracking your progress and adjusting the portfolio as necessary is engrained in our process. We focus on the holistic well-being of your family or foundation and have transparent discussions about your ambitions, fears and opportunities.

There are several ways to calculate an investment rate of return. We leverage the Time-Weighted Rate of Return (TWRR) and the Money-Weighted Rate of Return (MWRR) method for performance reporting in our quarterly client reporting. The major distinction between the two is how they treat amounts added to or taken out of the portfolio. TWRR excludes them from the rate of return calculation whereas MWRR includes them. For example: An investor has three separate investment accounts (A, B and C). At the beginning of the year, the investor invests $100,000 into each account and makes the exact same investment in each account. In the first 6 months the underlying investment loses 20% and in the final 6 months of the year the underlying investment rises by 35%. The investor decides to withdraw $30,000 from the first account and deposit $50,000 into the second account immediately after the first 6 months.

The TWRR is the same regardless of the deposits or withdrawals because it measures the underlying investment’s return. The MWRR measures the investor’s performance. and is heavily influenced by the dollar amount and timing of the deposits or withdrawals. Look at Account B. It had a significant deposit right before the investment rebounded, so it had more money benefiting from the rebound. The opposite occurred in Account A. Finally, with no deposits or withdrawals the MWRR for Account C was identical to the TWRR. When using MWRR, it is more difficult to compare the performance of various accounts.

Looking for a second opinion?

Schedule time with us to discuss your circumstances, aspirations and the current plan you have to achieve them. We’ll review your portfolio for and give you our opinion. If we think you are on the right track and your investments continue to be well suited to your long-term goals - we will gladly tell you so. If, on the other hand, we think some of your investments no longer fit with your plan, we’ll explain why and if you like suggest alternatives.

Either way, you’ll walk away with clarity and it is all complimentary, with no obligations.

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