Toronto-based Wealthsimple Inc. is expanding its Wealthsimple for Advisors platform with the addition of Shaunessy Investment Counsel Inc. (SIC) as a sub-advisor.
Financial advisors who use the robo-advisor’s B2B platform can now choose to have client assets invested in SIC’s Multi-Asset Institutional Composite. The portfolio, which consists of ETFs, follows a globally balanced investment strategy of stocks, bonds and alternative investments more typically applied to institutional accounts.
“These are portfolios that are designed for generations in the same way that a foundation or a pension plan is designed,” says Terry Shaunessy, president and portfolio manager of SIC.
Calgary-based SIC is a boutique firm managing $300 million in assets for four First Nation trusts and 23 families. Typically, clients would need to have at least $5 million to access SIC’s managers, but the partnership with Wealthsimple allows the company to reach a broader clientele.
“Having Wealthsimple as the distribution system and as the broker allows anyone to take advantage of the way we run money, which is really a very institutional way of structuring a portfolio,” Shaunessey says.
The Wealthsimple for Advisors platform, which launched in May 2016, has partnerships with about 350 advisors. These advisors can monitor client accounts whose assets are invested in an ETF portfolio built by Wealthsimple or one of its sub-advisors. Advisors may also choose to invest clients’ assets in their own model portfolios through the Wealthsimple platform.
Fees for the platform range from 0.35% to 1.5%.
In addition to SIC, Wealthsimple for Advisors investors can access two other sub-advisors: Kelowna, B.C.-based Forstrong Global Asset Management Inc. and Winnipeg-based BCV Asset Management Inc.
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