Ask anyone ‘what does money mean to you?’ and you’ll get a variety of answers: freedom, control, peace of mind, better options, a legacy for family, and for some, burden and responsibility. My job, as a wealth manager, is to help you get what you want from the capital you have accumulated and the vision you have for your life. This includes professional management of your investment savings certainly, and quite often a ‘wide angle’ approach including retirement planning, estate and succession planning, income and asset protection strategies, tax planning etc. We will work together, starting with my careful listening to achieve a shared understanding of what you want to achieve, followed by a clear plan for implementation.
My Information
Address
469 King Street West, 4th Floor,
Toronto, Ontario M5V 1K4
Years of Financial Advisory Experience:
18
Provinces Licensed:
AB, BC, MB, ON, QC
Spoken Languages:
English
Education:
University of Guelph
Bachelor of Arts (Management, Economics)
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1986
Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts
Chartered Financial Analyst
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1993
Designations
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Associations ![]()
Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts
Toronto CFA Society
Social Media
Services Offered
Business Investment Solutions
Charitable/Philanthropic Planning
Discretionary Portfolio Management
Estate Planning and Trusts
Financial Planning
Insurance
Retirement Planning
Tax Planning
Products Offered
Annuities
Bonds
Exchange Traded Funds
Insurance
Money Market Instruments
Registered Accounts
Stocks/Shares
Structured and Alternative Investments
Tax Shelters
My Practice
My practice, and that of our firm, is investment counsel. Investment counsellors (also sometimes called ‘money managers’ or ‘asset managers’) are different from investment advisors or ‘brokers’ in that we are given discretion by our clients to manage their assets according to a stated set of investment objectives and risk parameters. Because of the magnitude of the responsibility, only certain professionals and qualifying firms are licensed to perform this role. I am a licensed advisor and my firm is a licensed Portfolio Manager and as such are governed by the Ontario Securities Commission.
This may be a new concept for some. I often tell people professional investment management is like having a business plan for how your assets will be managed and a professional management team to execute the plan and report regularly to you. It combines the expertise and ‘clout’ of institutional investment management with the accessibility and personal service individual investors need.
The second thing that is important is that our approach to investing is conservative. This is not a euphemism for ‘sleepy’ or ‘inactive’. In fact it is extremely pro-active. But our focus is on protecting and enhancing wealth by protecting downside while working to achieve a good rate of return. I think it’s fair to say we are risk managers first and foremost. For this reason, we generally prefer investments that have an income stream (i.e. dividends, interest, distributions, etc.) associated with them, as this provides a cash-based return even when the underlying value of the asset fluctuates. These cash-flowing investments may be public or private equities, bonds, different forms of real estate such as apartment buildings or commercial properties, mortgages or mezzanine debt investments.
Finally, in addition to professional investment management, we can provide interested clients with full wealth management capabilities (see Wealth Management section).
Client Profile
My clients are high net worth investors from across Canada. While they come from all walks of life and professions, levels of wealth and investment knowledge, what is common to all is a mindset: they have wealth they want to maintain, capital they want to invest productively, yet not expose to undue risk and do not want to do this without professional management. They are serious about their capital and what it can do for them; they are not ‘playing the market’ (although some enjoy this and we always ensure there is some ‘play money’ for those who do want to trade themselves). To determine if there may be a fit, I always encourage potential clients to ask themselves a few important questions:
• Do you have capital that is important to you that you want to preserve and enhance?
• Are you an "accredited investor"? i.e. generally defined as having more than one million dollars of liquid investable assets and/or annual income greater than $200,000?
• Do you have a time horizon for the money you want to invest that is more than five years?
• Do you want to engage professional managers to assist you with managing your money (as opposed to making all decisions yourself)?
• While your involvement is not needed day to day, are you willing to provide overall direction about what’s important to you, share personal and financial information and be involved in assessing performance against your objectives?
Investment Philosophy
Most people are surprised to learn that in 100 out of the last 135 years, stock markets have traded in a fairly narrow range, neither ‘bull’ nor ‘bear’ markets. During these periods there may be lots of ups and downs along the way, with little to show for it at the end of the year. The investor’s challenge then is to make money even in relatively flat market periods, without taking on too much risk. How do you achieve this?
1. At Newport Private Wealth, we believe it’s best to own a broad range of asset classes, to complement well-chosen stock and bond holdings. There are many asset classes that can and do provide attractive returns without stock market exposure, such as multi-residential apartment buildings, commercial real estate properties, mortgages, private equities, etc.
The next question then becomes, “how can I access such a vast range of opportunities?”:
2. Our approach is to hire specialists. No one money manager can be an expert in every area of the market. Rather, our team’s expertise is in developing a view of the world, and in identifying the most attractive asset classes for a given market environment. Then we use our network, skill sets and buying power to retain the specialists in those asset classes. In this way, we’re not married to an ‘in-house team’ or dependent on one or two ‘star managers’. We are independent in our manager selections and have the flexibility to make changes. Our only allegiance is to quality.
The benefit for you as a client is a professionally managed portfolio that seeks to generate attractive rates of returns, with less risk than the stock market. We achieve this by diversifying beyond public markets. (For an example please see our white paper on real estate investing, below.) Our objective is that you sleep better at night - comfortable that your money is at work with some of the best asset class specialists in the business.
Wealth Management
Our capabilities are directed at keeping you wealthy and giving you comfort that the capital you have today, and in the future, will allow you to live your life as you wish.
What issues are you wrestling with?
Do I have enough to retire when I want to and maintain my lifestyle?
Is my portfolio properly positioned for what’s ahead?
Can we afford to buy that condo in Florida we’ve been thinking about?
How much does our portfolio need to earn for us to maintain our lifestyle?
Is there a tax effective way to lend money to my children?
What’s the best way to leave the cottage to our children in our estate?
Are there any other tax savings opportunities I should be taking a look at?
I’ve sold my business, the possibilities are endless, what’s next?
Central to our service is understanding your concerns. “What keeps you up at night?” Usually there are ways to address these wealth management concerns. Our responsibility is to help you get and keep your “house in order”.
Past Experience
I started my career at Barclays Bank of Canada in 1986. Building on my business degree, at Barclays I acquired a strong foundation in credit analysis, the capital structure of businesses and what makes a successful real estate investment. After completing a management training program at Barclays I earned my CFA accreditation, which opened doors to my passion for helping people with their investments.
With my CFA under my belt, I was hired as a junior portfolio manager with a national investment counselling firm. This is really where I cut my teeth in the world of money management, learning the importance of risk management, first and foremost, in the construction of portfolios. Having built a solid clientele there, I then transferred my practice to the investment counselling arm of a major Canadian chartered bank. I was attracted to the banks’ highly disciplined approach to stock picking and asset mix and continued to expand my practice selectively.
Some of my most valuable lessons during these years were learned working with clients through difficult markets. I refined my analytical skills and developed a deeper understanding of how investors can and should be served, and where some of the shortcomings in the industry are. For example the investment business is dominated by two ends of the spectrum: large institutional firms and those pushing retail products. Neither is built to serve the needs of high net worth individual investors very well. This led me to Newport Private Wealth in 2003, which since its’ founding in 2001 has been focused on one thing: helping high net worth families protect and enhance their wealth through professional investment management and smart financial planning.
Personal
I am married with two teenaged children. I am very involved with our communities both in the city and at the cottage. Sailboat racing is my passion, but I love to be outdoors. Skiing, boating, hockey and family all figure highly into my leisure time.
I am on the board of the Canadian arm of the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) which is the largest NGO serving the health needs of Africans.
™ Trademark of Newport Partners LP. Newport Private Wealth carries on its business through Newport Private Wealth Inc. and its affiliate, Newport Insu
What is an Accretive Elite™ advisor?
An Accretive Elite™ advisor is a financial advisor who has an established record of providing service excellence. Only the finest, most distinguished financial advisors qualify for Accretive Elite™ status.
When a financial advisor earns the Accretive Elite™ distinction, it means that their clients agree that they provide the highest standard of service. It is recognition that the way they conduct themselves and operate their practice is unparalleled, with client satisfaction ratings that are unsurpassed.
A distinction that must be earned
Each financial advisor must successfully complete a rigorous, independent qualification process that includes:
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A Professional Services Check confirming that they demonstrate high respect for industry standards, and are in good standing with their self-regulatory organization. |
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A Services Offering Review confirming that their service offerings are clearly and consistently delivered to their clients. |
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A Client Feedback Review confirming that they meet or exceed the highest standards for client trust, satisfaction, contact and priorities. |
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A Dealer's Review and Approval confirming that their Accretive Elite™ online profile is accurate and is in accordance with their dealer's compliance regulatory guidelines. |
Why should this matter to investors?
When you choose to work with a financial advisor who has Accretive Elite™ status—the measure of service excellence—you can be confident that they are among the best in the industry; the elite who uphold the highest standard of service. In other words, they serve their clients very, very well.