The Right Fit

Lou and I often say the families we work with are either already wealthy or very clearly on that path. Unlike many of our peers, we have not set a minimum account size to start a relationship with our team. This is not to suggest that we are a good fit for everyone; in fact, we are probably more discerning because of it, not less. Rather, we are interested in your full story. Lou and I want to be sure that we can add value, that we can improve your financial well-being.

We enjoy working with three cohorts. They are:

Young Professionals: These clients are typically under forty years old and are committed to saving at least one hundred thousand dollars per year, often more. For us to truly add value, there should be a clear path to having at least one million dollars of investment assets within a five-to-ten-year period.

Mid-Career Professionals: Generally, these clients already have over one million dollars of investment assets. In addition, they are committed to saving more than one-hundred thousand dollars per year. For these families, there is a clear path to two-million dollars of investment assets within five-to-ten-years.

Retirees: These families typically have over two-million dollars of investment assets.

Having said this, there are other things to consider. One’s state of mind is as revealing as his or her portfolio value. We believe our most successful relationships are with people whose personal values are closely aligned with our own.

Generally, our clients are cautious about their wealth – or at least with the portion we are hired to manage. Warren Buffet says, “Never risk what you have and need for something you don’t have and don’t need”. We believe these words resonate deeply with the clients and families that our team works with. They are already wealthy; they hire us in an effort to keep it that way.

We ensure that our clients understand that it is wealth management on offer, not wealth creation.

Creating wealth is usually a hands-on pursuit, a risky pursuit, and often, a high-stress pursuit. Managing wealth does not have to be.

Our clients create their own wealth – we think they’re good at it! They hire us to manage and protect their wealth – we think we’re good at that!

These families are usually discreet – let’s call them undercover wealthy. In our view, they do not need to make perfect choices to be successful. Rather, we believe these families simply need to compound more good decisions than bad through time for their financial outlook to remain bright. They understand that basic habits often lead to extraordinary outcomes. For example:

• Don’t overspend

• Don’t take too much risk

• Don’t compare yourself to others

• Don’t overcomplicate things

We believe that sound financial decision-making depends on keeping these simple ingredients top of mind. Boring, done-well, is our cocktail of choice.

Lou and I enjoy working with families who do not want to be bogged down in money matters. There are many moving parts: investment management, cash flow management, insurance advice, basic banking and lending needs, tax and estate planning, and family stewardship, to name a few. We regularly engage other TD specialists and coordinate with other professional advisors, as needed, in an effort to deliver an exceptional client experience. Ultimately, we oversee our client's family enterprise. We do the heavy lifting so they can focus on other things: their career, their business, their friends, their family, their next vacation, their tennis serve, their personal well-being, and their happiness.

If you would like to learn more about how we help clients live their best life, please reach out.