Robert bell has learned a thing or two about the investment industry over the past 35 years. After spending two decades honing his skills in retail and institutional sales at a string of investment dealers, he noticed something: wealthy investors didn’t have the same access to personalized money management that institutional investors have come to expect.

“It became apparent to me that if you were a pension fund in Canada, you could get all the support and help that you wanted. But if you were a high net-worth individual with an estate, there was nobody around who could offer you that same level of service,” he says.

Looking to fill the void in an underserved market, Bell founded R.S. Bell & Associates Ltd. in 1991, a Toronto-based firm that acts as a middleman between wealthy investors and professional money managers. Think of it as a match-making service of sorts: clients with around $10 million or more in investible assets come to Bell looking for an introduction to a suitable money manager with whom they can form a long-term financial relationship.

With Bell’s vast industry experience — he founded mutual fund research firm BellCharts Inc., which was acquired by Morningstar Inc. in 1999 — he knows who is good and who isn’t.

After reviewing the client’s goals and objectives and putting together an investment policy statement, he and the client determine which manager fits the bill. Clients sign a three-year contract, during which time Bell’s firm monitors the portfolio’s progress and makes the necessary adjustments should the client/manager relationship turn sour. Typically, poor performance alone isn’t a reason to dump a manager; rather, Bell is looking for other red flags, such as a shift in corporate structure or a major change in investment style.

Over the past 15 years, Bell has built up a client base of approximately 50 clients across the country, including individuals, trusts and small pension funds. He is joined by Joyce Seeboo, who came aboard in 2005 as manager of operations, and daughter Susan Bell, who is vice president.

In February, former Nasdaq Canada president Helen Kearns became the newest member of the firm, as a principal and shareholder.

“One of our objectives is to provide an institutional, professional level of service to the individual market, and that’s what Helen brings to the table,” Bell says.

Kearns, a member of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, says Bell’s solid reputation on the Street was a major factor in her decision to come aboard. That, and her confidence in the firm’s ability to offer advice untethered by conflicting roles. Bell & Associates doesn’t manage money or cross-sell, a fact that’s “hugely valuable” to clients, Kearns says.

While larger institutions chase high net-worth investors with wrap programs and managed accounts, Bell & Associates has something else to offer, Kearns says: independence. The firm has no financial affiliations with any of the investment-counselling firms with which it does business, freeing clients to form partnerships with practically any money manager in Canada or internationally.

“We think of ourselves as an independent resource for investors,” says Kearns. “So, when we say to clients, ‘We think this money manager will fulfil your needs because…’ that ‘because’ is filled with 25 years of knowledge,” she says. “Our clients are very savvy, smart people, and they understand the value of independent advice.”

Another characteristic that sets the firm apart is personalization. “A stockbroker who uses a wrap products is going to be at least one step away from the money manager. The brokerage firm will select the manager, not the client,” Bell says. “We don’t recommend money managers unless we’ve met them, seen their portfolios and have a very in-depth knowledge of their style. It’s much more direct.”

Kearns and Bell go through a lengthy interview process with each money manager before every referral, a process they encourage their clients to undertake as well. Managers are screened for corporate structure (Does it have a proper back office in place? Is the firm stable?), process (Is it disciplined in the way it manages money?) and performance. Bell & Associates presently works with about 25 managers, but monitors more than 150.

A handful of advisors have referred their clients to the firm (Bell doesn’t pay a finder’s fee), but the majority of clients come on recommendations from lawyers and accountants, or by word of mouth. “There’s no point in doing broad-based marketing because there are so few people for whom our services are appropriate,” Bell says.

@page_break@He figures the estimated 5,000 Canadians with $10 million or more to invest are enough to keep him in business for years to come.

“Clients are sold investments, but what they need is an established plan and then the products that fit that plan,” he says. Over-diversification is a problem, too. With all the hype about not holding all your eggs in one basket, investors are actually buying too many products, he says. He recalls a client who came to him with 23 mutual funds, four of which had almost identical mandates.

“Salesmen tell good stories, and when you hear a story and it sounds like you’re going to make a lot of money, you jump into it,” Bell says. “But most of the time, the products are all moving along in the same direction.”

The firm is also mindful of fees. Clients pay 0.75%-1.5% of their invested assets, which covers Bell & Associates’ fees, management and custodial fees. “This may sound odd, but we’re not in this to get personally wealthy,” Bell says.

His clients seem to feel the same way. “I’ve had a handful of clients who actually asked me to raise my fees because they didn’t think I charge enough,” Bell says, then pauses. “I always do what my clients tell me to do,” he laughs. IE