As the year 2015 marked the 10th anniversary of HighView, the past few days have been a time for us to pause and reflect. First, we’re very grateful for our clients, and the opportunity we’ve been provided over the past decade to service their investment needs....
Media Hub
Videos
Ian’s Financial Facelift Series – Episode 2
HighView Financial Facelift – Episode 1
Founding Principles – HighView
Blogs
Reduced Fund Payout Is Good But Beware of Unsavoury Sales Pitch
I recently wrote about how high-payout monthly income funds are being mis-sold to investors and how some fund companies had provided false and misleading information to at least one end investor. I always take notice of fund distribution cuts so a recent announcement...
7 Warning Signs It’s Time to Change Your Investment Advisor
Like any profession, there are competent advisors and not-so-competent advisors in the wealth management industry. Our experience is that there are always warning signs for clients that it’s time to change investment advisors. Here are seven signs to which investors...
High-payout Funds Are a Cash Flow Mirage
In the world of investing, nothing turns my stomach more than when a member of the investment industry misleads investors and then directly benefits from said misinformation. Usually only subtle trickery is at play. And most often I have seen this in the form of...
Do You View Your Invested Assets as a ‘Piggy Bank’ or a ‘Pay Cheque’?
Many successful entrepreneurs who’ve worked hard to build their business from the ground up sell the business for a significant sum – which becomes liquid investment assets held within financial structures like holding companies and family trusts. These affluent...
SPIVA Report Interesting but Misses Key Message for Investors
S&P Dow Jones Indices (SPDJI) publishes two reports annually comparing the performance of actively managed mutual funds against common financial market benchmarks. The recently-published mid-year SPIVA Canada Scorecard doesn’t paint a flattering picture of...
What the Wealth Management Industry Can Learn from Entrepreneurs
As prosperous entrepreneurs know, successful businesses rely on cash flow; revenues must exceed expenses to result in cash profit. In order to generate positive cash flow, businesses need to effectively leverage their current assets and resources. Otherwise, they are...
Using Wealth Wisely: Control the Things You Can Control
As seen in the September 2015 edition of Canadian MoneySaver magazine. Investors can enjoy above-average performance over the long-term by focusing on the things they can control or predict, by being patient, and by keeping things simple. Many investors stress...
Mystery Shoppers Reveal Challenges of Comparing Investment Advisor Fees in Ontario
A recent article in Investment Executive highlights the results of a mystery shopping exercise wherein investment advisors were secretly evaluated by three securities regulators (OSC, IIROC, and MFDA) in 2014. Unfortunately, the results are in line with the...
Management Expense Ratio: True Disclosure from CRM Phase 2
On July 15th, 2016, CRM Phase 2 will come into effect. Investment advisors and firms will be required to disclose annual reports of charges, compensation and performance. This is a positive change for investors, who are too often left in the dark by their investment...
News
Our Founding Principles
When we founded HighView Financial Group in November 2005, we set out to build an investment firm that was truly unique from the large financial institutions that dominate the Canadian wealth management industry. Specifically, we created an advisory firm where placing...
Treading Carefully in Pool Funds
Pool funds, like mutual funds, co-mingle investor funds for purposes of investing. Investors hold units in the pool fund, and ideally the unitholder (investor) achieves lower costs for portfolio diversification and benefits from efficiencies of scale. Pool funds are...
F-Class Funds: Trick or Treat
In Canada, mutual funds are the largest held embedded fee investment product available. They are categorized by a class system, of which most investors are familiar with the A-Class fund predominately used by financial advisors or mutual fund representatives. The...
5 Important Steps for Downsizing Your Family Home
When downsizing their homes, many families are left with more liquid wealth than they are accustomed to. With appropriate financial and emotional planning, downsizing offers financial freedom and flexibility. Through our experience with clients and with the assistance...
Relative vs. Absolute Benchmarking – Debunking the Investment Industry in Canada
It is our goal to debunk myths found within the investment industry. One of the most persistent myths perpetuated by investment managers is that investors’ portfolios’ performance should be measured compared to a relative, market-based benchmark. How your portfolio’s...
What the 2016 Federal Budget Means for High Net Worth Canadians
On Tuesday March 22nd, the Federal government released its much-anticipated 2016 Federal Budget. On the heels of a Justin Trudeau and Liberal government victory, high net worth Canadians have been wondering how this government’s budget and future deficits would affect...
An Introduction to Debunking Myths of the Investment Industry in Canada
As independent stewards of wealth for affluent Canadian families and foundations, it is our passion to inform and educate investors. In this video, we introduce our video series: “Debunking Myths of the Investment Industry in Canada”. Within this series we have...
“Legitimate Yield… Or a Mirage of Cash Flow?”
Yield is a popular concept for investors, but it can be an uphill climb finding high levels of legitimate, safe, and secure yield in a low-interest environment. As the boomer generation nears or enters retirement, questions surrounding “yields” and/or “cash flows”...
The “Fee” Is Not Always the “Fee”
Fees are a sensitive subject in wealth management. The often lost concept in wealth management is fair, true, and plain disclosure of fees. However, in 2016, Canadian regulators are enforcing the final stages of the Client Relationship Model Phase 2 or CRM2 for short....
Impact of CRM Phase 2
The Client Relationship Model (Phase 2), “CRM2”, will drive radical changes to the Canadian financial advisory industry. On July 15th, 2016, investment advisors and firms will be required to disclose an annual report of charges, compensation, and performance reports....