What is Wealth Management? 

1. Professional Portfolio Management   

RBC Dominion Securities has made the largest investment of all the Canadian investment dealers in supporting Investment Advisors and their clients in the management of equity and fixed-income portfolios. 

Investment Policy Statements
An Investment Policy Statement is a governing document created after a detailed discussion with you.

It sets out guidelines for your investment portfolio, such as:

  • Asset Allocation Guidelines
  • Income or Liquidity Needs
  • Time Horizon
  • Tax Considerations
  • Reporting and Review standards

These guidelines are used to monitor the portfolio on an ongoing basis, establishing discipline. 

This rigor can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful investing.

Our Portfolio Advisory Group
Our Portfolio Advisory Group provides Investment Advisors with objective and informed advice to help create or rebalance your portfolio.

They are directly accountable to the firm’s Investment Advisors and are independent of RBC Capital Markets.  It is comprised of nine Equity Portfolio Advisors and three Fixed Income Portfolio Advisors with backgrounds in:

  • Corporate and investment banking
  • Credit analysis with major ratings agencies
  • Private industry
  • Institutional equity and bond sales
  • Institutional equity research

Superior Research
Our Investment Advisors and their clients have access to:

  • Top ranked RBC Capital Markets research
  • Recommendations from the RBC Investment Strategy Committee (RISC) chaired by Dan Chornous
  • Veritas Research- Independent Canadian research company
  • RBC Asset Management Research (Lipper Award winning fund family)
  • Portfolio Advisory Group Research
  • JP Morgan and Valueline US Research

Superior Fixed Income Selection and Pricing
RBC DS has the largest bond inventory in Canada .  RBC Dominion Securities is the #1 dealmaker in Canada , including the #1 underwriter of fixed-income securities (Financial Post).  We were also ranked #1 in fixed income by the Globe and Mail.

Being the largest allows us to pass along the best pricing in the industry to our clients, and to provide our clients with the most choice. 

RBC DS also “brokers” GICs from over 20 financial institutions in Canada .  Comparison shopping allows us to achieve consistently high GIC rates for our clients.  These rates are often superior to those on offer at your local bank.

The Guided Portfolio Process
Our Guided Portfolio Process is one of our greatest competitive strengths.  This highly disciplined approach to investing helps remove the guesswork and emotion from investing.

The approach allows you to hold individual equity or fixed-income positions rather than a mutual or pooled fund.  Equity holdings are chosen using our 3-Discipline research process.  Fundamental, Technical, and Quantitative analysis are utilized.

Guided Portfolios provide diversification across all sectors of the economy, including Interest Sensitive, Consumer, Industrial and Resources.  Exposure is balanced according to our current macro-economic outlook.

Performance of our Canadian Focus List, the oldest mandate, has been consistently exceptional since 1985.

Elite Money Management Programs
Our Access Manager Selection Program, our Parameters Portfolios, our Global Portfolio Series, Mutual Funds, and our RBC DS Focus Funds are just a few of the other first-class portfolio management options available to our clients.   

Limitless Investment Selection
As a full-service brokerage, we can purchase or sell nearly any type of financial instrument available in the marketplace for our clients, including:

  • Stocks on all major exchanges
  • Bonds and Debentures
  • GICs
  • T-Bills
  • Mutual Funds
  • Managed Account Products
  • Options and Futures
  • Private Placements
  • IPOs and Secondary Equity and Bond Issues
  • Alternative Investments such as Hedge Funds or Linked Notes
  • Life Insurance
  • Annuities
  • Segregated Funds
  • Living Benefit Insurance

2. Financial Planning 

We offer financial plans designed for your individual needs, whether you’re still working or already retired, whether you’re single or married, or whether your financial situation is less or more complex.

A financial plan can help you:

  • Examine your personal savings strategy prior to retirement.
  • Examine ways to protect your wealth from fluctuations in value during retirement. Plan to maximize your retirement income in a tax-efficient manner.
  • Efficiently draw income from your business.
  • Protect against business risks, such as loss of a key employee.
  • Plan for succession of your business.

You will receive a personalized report containing specific recommendations on the actions you need to take to achieve your financial goals.

Your Advisor has the full support and expertise of our on-staff expert financial planning professionals. 

3. Will and Estate Planning   

Most clients can benefit from an examination of the estate and will planning opportunities available to them, whether or not they have had a will and other estate planning documents prepared already.

Your Investment Advisor, our Will & Estate Consultant, or our Estate Planning Specialist will meet with you to identify any opportunities you have to structure your estate in an efficient and tax-effective manner.

An estate review can:

  • Help you formulate goals for your estate after a detailed discussion of your family and wishes.
  • Ensure that your wills and powers of attorney are consistent with your estate goals.
  • Ensure that your will and powers of attorney are well-drafted and consistent with any recent changes in estate law.
  • Examine options for naming an executor.
  • Examine strategies, such as trusts and tax-exempt insurance, to pass estate assets along in a tax-efficient manner and maximize your estate value.
  • Examine strategies for giving to charity.

The review may identify estate planning issues for you to explore in further detail with your own lawyer or accountant.  

4. Insurance Planning     

When many people think of insurance, they think of life, home and auto insurance.  Insurance to mitigate risk.  But insurance-based strategies can also help enhance your wealth

Insurance products are often exempt from taxation on annual investment gains, and as a result are used by many affluent Canadians as tax-efficient investment vehicles. 

An Investment Advisor or Insurance Specialist can meet with you to discuss strategies to reduce taxation of your estate, boost retirement income, and reduce risk. 

Our local Insurance Specialist can help you

  • Examine ways to use tax-exempt insurance to maximize your estate value.
  • Examine ways to use tax-exempt insurance to maximize your retirement income.
  • Examine ways to use tax-exempt insurance to grow your portfolio.
  • Examine ways to use tax-exempt insurance to protect against various financial risks.

Our Insurance Specialist will prepare detailed projections to help you compare insurance planning scenarios.

5. Regular Reviews and Education   

Your Investment Advisor will work with you to establish a regular review schedule that suits your lifestyle.  

Regular reviews keep you informed of the progress of your investment portfolio, and give you a chance to relate changes in your life or financial situation that may be occurring.  These changes may present new opportunities for efficient tax and estate planning. 

6. Ongoing High Quality Service

Your relationship with an Advisor at RBC Dominion Securities is ongoing.  Throughout your relationship your RBC DS Advisor will:

  • Regularly meet you to review your portfolio and discuss your financial situation.
  • Monitor your investment account and recommend changes when appropriate.
  • Help you take emotion out of your financial decisions. 
  • Perform due diligence on investment products.
  • Introduce and explain tax, retirement, or estate planning strategies or products that may be of benefit to you.
  • Remind you of important deadlines, such as RSP contribution deadlines, RIF payment deadlines, or maturities of fixed-income investments.
  • Transfer funds electronically to or from your bank accounts, or structure a regular income stream to your bank account.
  • Handle corporate reorganizations, exchanges, tenders, and special stock dividends when they arise.
  • Provide you with complimentary RBC DS publications, such as our Family Guide to Wealth Management, or our Business Owners Guide to Wealth Management.
  • Provide you with any of the research reports available from RBC Dominion Securities, RBC Capital Markets, RBC Asset Management, JP Morgan, Veritas, Valueline, or Standard and Poors.
  • Hold your stock and bond positions in bulk segregation, eliminating the risk of loss of paper certificates.
  • Research and record your tax cost basis for the securities held in your account (even those not purchased here), simplifying your accounting.
  • Provide you online access to your account balances, research, statements (if you choose) and other information.
  • Work with your accountant and lawyer to streamline reporting and discuss wealth management strategies.
  • Provide you with a helpful tax package each year.
  • Provide you with referrals to other professionals within RBC or the community when needed or requested.

Please visit our Investment Advisors' individual websites for more information.