Most Canadians – including many financial advisors – are unaware of what a Portfolio Management (PM) firm is. This corner of the industry is populated by fiercely independent boutique companies that are generally small and owner-operated, registered and regulated directly by the Canadian Securities Administrators as opposed to IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) or MFDA (Mutual Fund Dealer’s Association) who collectively regulate the “retail” broker/dealer space. While there are some IIROC advisors registered as Portfolio Managers, PM firms accept comparatively fewer clients, and may offer access to categories of investment, and/or more sophisticated investment strategies than brokerage firms permit. PMs typically have larger investment minimums (1 or even 3 million dollar minimums are not uncommon), and often cater to institutional investors such as small pension and endowment funds, charities, family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.
Because of the boutique nature of PM firms, very few of them are large in terms of scale and size. In fact, the leading custodian in Canada reports that only 10 out of the 310+ PM firms it supports manage in excess of 3 billion dollars of client assets. As one of the few large PM firms in Canada, Q Wealth Partners’ innovative business model has built bridges for both IIROC and MFDA advisors to work with us, and become Partners in the firm. This offers our Partners and their clients materially all the benefits of starting a boutique PM firm, without the risk, complexity, cost, and distraction of a start-up, combined with the strength, stability and scale of a PM firm with 18 years of history, over 200 head office and partner staff coast to coast, and managing assets in excess of 3.9 billion dollars.
The terms financial advisor and financial planner have been largely unregulated in Canada. Despite recent proposals to impose standards, it is still challenging for consumers to understand the qualifications of the person sitting across from them. In contrast, registration as a Portfolio Manager (known as an Advising Representative) requires the highest level of professional education and experience in the industry. Portfolio Managers are the only type of advisor in Canada to uphold a fiduciary standard. A fiduciary must act in the best interest of their clients at all times, presenting the best solutions to meet their client’s needs, at the best possible cost, in a transparent manner – either avoiding or fully disclosing any conflicts of interest.
There are many different types of firms that hold themselves out to provide wealth advice. In order to provide investment advice in Canada, a firm must actually be registered in some capacity, as do individual advisors. Some firms focus in on investments only, others offer investments or insurance and casually provide other services. Some focus mostly on financial planning, but have unsophisticated investment offerings, or make referrals to Portfolio Managers, but inflate the costs to clients in so doing. Q Wealth Partners’ mission is to provide a truly comprehensive set of services, delivered with a high level of expertise, at a truly competitive cost. All guided by the shared platforms, technologies, and collective experience of the Q Wealth Partnership and its members.