The team at Wellington-Altus Private Counsel Inc., operating as TriVest Wealth Counsel offers a boutique approach to managing wealth backstopped by the significant resources of over $30 billion independent investment dealer firm and affiliates with offices across Canada, a cross-border advanced financial planning service and a U.S. Registered Investment Advisor.
Wellington-Altus Private Counsel Inc. is a subsidiary of Winnipeg-based Wellington-Altus Financial Inc., the parent company to one of the fastest-growing wealth advisory companies in Canada. With over $30 billion in assets under administration, and offices across the country, Wellington-Altus identifies with larger, independently focused investment advisors and portfolio managers and their private clients.
Our Private Wealth Counsel provides a fully-integrated wealth management service to ultra-high and high-net-worth private clients, endowments, foundations and institutional firms. This includes portfolio design, tactical asset allocation, a fiduciary and outsourced chief investment officer service, advanced tax and estate planning, insurance, philanthropy, and centralized reporting.
As a client we will work with you to instill confidence that your wealth will last for your lifetime and beyond—whether that be here in Canada or abroad.
Many investment advisors and managers focus their efforts on outperforming a particular benchmark. While this works well in a rising market environment, it can be catastrophic to a portfolio during large market corrections such as what transpired during the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 Covid19 economic shutdown.
We differ by utilizing an approach to managing wealth that has been deployed for years by family offices and multi-family offices. It begins with a planning-led process whereby we partner with the client in identifying what their specific goals are for their family’s wealth. It is then followed by the design of a road map on how best to achieve these objectives while taking as little risk as possible.
The end result is that we are able to add a level of predictability and some certainty around the client’s financial future and what they hope to achieve. This can include tax-minimized wealth transfers, cross-border retirement, or as simple as ensuring enough is saved to preserve a certain lifestyle during retirement.
When it comes to our investment portfolios, each one is custom built according to the specific goals and objectives of the client while minimizing the associated risk. This is completed through the use of multiple strategies that can include a combination of our own in-house risk-managed fund, exchange traded funds and exclusive access to world-class external managers at institutional pricing. Portfolio risk is managed through an overlay of diversified tactics such as Dynamic Asset allocation, Risk Parity, Low Volatility, Alternatives, Passive and at times Private Equity that have proven to provide downside protection during volatile times.
While our portfolios primarily consist of institutional pooled funds and ETFs, we have the ability to segregate security holdings in order to minimize the tax impact of transitioning an existing portfolio and/or those looking for a high level of customization. We are also currently servicing clients in the U.S. through our managed RIA program.
We take the security of our clients’ wealth very seriously. This is why their investments are held with a third-party custodian including Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC (Fidelity Clearing) and National Bank Independent Network (NBIN). Fidelity Clearing is a subsidiary of U.S.-based Fidelity Investments, a privately held firm with more than $3.7 trillion in assets under administration. NBIN currently serves over 400 firms with $180 billion in assets under administration. Both are members of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
Wellington-Altus Private Counsel Inc., operating as TriVest Wealth Counsel is registered as a Portfolio Manager and Investment Fund Manager. All of our portfolio managers also hold the industry’s gold-standard CFA designation. Besides our unique investment management services, portfolio managers Martin and Craig are also involved with a number of industry associations as a means of staying current with ongoing financial industry developments.
The following are a select group of organizations that Martin and Craig have actively supported and volunteered their time with whenever needed. This includes providing advice on university finance curriculum, public speaking on subjects such as risk-managed investing and fair investment practices, and undertaking various committee initiatives focused on investor education.
Our team is a huge believer in the power of financial education. Martin Pelletier is regularly featured in the media for his views on the markets, investment strategies, risk-management and general investor education. He has written a weekly Investment Pro column for the Financial Post over the past decade, and is regularly featured within the Globe and Mail, BNN Bloomberg, CTV, CBC, Macleans, Wealth Professional, and Fox Business.
TriVest publishes a Monthly Invest Wisely newsletter which includes a general market commentary along with a summary of how we are strategically responding to such conditions. It also provides general educational information on investing and understanding the markets and the financial industry.