Posts

How To Make an Exempt Market Investment Using RRSP or TFSA Funds

Most Exempt Market issuers allow you to invest using registered funds.  This includes RRSP’s, TFSA’s, RESP’s, RIF’s, LIRA’s and LIF’s.

A common misconception among investors is that they will have to pay taxes on their registered funds if they use them towards an Exempt Market  investment opportunity.  This is not the case as the funds are transferred between accounts and never leave the registered umbrella.

Here is the process:

– We use Olympia Trust Company for all of our clients that want to use registered funds to invest.  Clients can now open a self-directed registered account online at Olympia Trust.

– Once the account is open, you can make a new contribution, transfer existing funds from another institution or a combination of the two.

– Once the required funds are in your account at Olympia Trust, then it is a matter of completing documents to make an Exempt Market investment.

– Olympia Trust charges an annual account fee of $175.00 + GST and then anytime you make a private investment there is a purchase fee of $75.00 + GST.

This brings us to the next question…

Should You Invest In The Exempt Market Using Registered Funds?

In the Exempt Market, everything comes down to suitability, meaning – Are these types of investments suitable for you and your portfolio?  There are many things to consider here including your age, your time horizon, your risk tolerance and your financial goals.

Contact me today and we can talk more about this and decide if the Exempt Market is suitable for a portion of your portfolio.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.

How Can You Access Private Wealth Strategies?

Private Wealth Strategies can be more difficult to access than traditional investment products such as stocks and mutual funds.

To access Private Wealth Strategies like Private Portfolio Management or private investment funds in the Exempt Market – you have to look outside the big banks and find a professional that works in the Private Investment Markets.

For example – an Exempt Market Dealing Representative such as myself!

The Two Main Private Wealth Strategies:

When it comes to Private Portfolio Managers – they are the experts in their field and they have long track records to demonstrate that.

My role is to find the best Private Portfolio Management companies  and set up referral arrangements with them so that I can offer their services to my clients.  These private companies manage the investment portfolios of many of Canada’s wealthiest families and are generally not available to the average investor.  I can offer you that access.

In the Exempt Market – you need to find a licensed Exempt Market Dealing Representative who has the education AND experience to guide you through these types of investments.  It’s a higher risk space and it’s still relatively new to the “average” investor so it’s important to find someone who can explain it well and make sure these types of investments are suitable for you.

I can help you find the best Private Wealth Strategies to suit your financial needs!

 

– When it comes to Private Portfolio Managers, I have referral relationships with some of the largest and best in the business.  These companies can show you their own track records of results and I can help with the process of investing with them.

 

– In the Exempt Market – I am a licensed Exempt Market Dealing Representative and I work with an excellent Exempt Market Dealer called WhiteHaven Securities.  Most importantly though – in my humble opinion – is that I am very experienced in this market.  I have been offering private investments to my clients since 2007 and for most “average” investors, that’s about as long as private investments have been available to them.  It’s still a very new market to most and there have been many ups and downs, so experience is very important.

 

If you’ve read through some of my other posts – I’m very hopeful that you now have a better understanding of the Private Investment markets in Canada.  Here are two final questions that might be on your mind:

Why Consider Private Wealth Strategies?” – Why would you choose these types of investment opportunities over more traditional options? And…

Are Private Wealth Strategies Too Risky & Can You Lose All Of Your Money?” – Usually the biggest fear in almost anyone’s mind so it’s always good to talk about it.

 

I really appreciate you reading my post!  If you would like to talk further, with no obligation, please contact me today.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.

 

An 80/20 Approach To Investing – Using Private Wealth Strategies

Previously, I’ve talked about keeping investing simple and starting with an 80/20 approach – with 80% being the more secure “foundation” of your portfolio and 20% being the potentially higher risk “opportunity” portion of your portfolio.

 

To summarize, the majority of investors stick to mutual funds, bonds, GIC’s and individual stocks to fill these two main pieces of their portfolio and save for retirement.

There is nothing wrong with this strategy but, eventually, many investors start looking for better results.

The questions are though:

Where can you find potentially better results?  Where can you find investment strategies that are not mainstream, that can potentially offer higher, more consistent returns, but that also don’t hold too much risk?

The answer to these questions is to consider Private Wealth Strategies and here’s what that might look like in your portfolio…

An 80/20 Approach Using Private Wealth Strategies

Using the 80/20 rule in the private markets means that the “foundation” of your portfolio would be invested with a Private Portfolio Manager and the “opportunity” portion of your portfolio, if suitable, would be invested in the higher risk Exempt Market.

 

Here is a brief summary of the two components:

 – Private Portfolio Managers utilize alternative investing strategies which have the potential to offer stable, more consistent returns over time.  There are portfolios to suit almost any type of investor – from conservative (lower risk) to growth (higher risk).  Private Portfolio Management is a premium investment strategy that would not generally be accessible to the average investor.  In the private investment markets, this can be an excellent choice for the “foundation” portion of your portfolio.

 

– The Exempt Market can be a very good choice for anyone that is looking to fill the “opportunity” portion of their portfolio.  This allocation would be made up of higher risk investments that would ideally provide much higher than average returns.  Finding these types of investments can be difficult for the average investor .  The Exempt Market is well regulated and comes with industry professionals to guide you through it.  It’s still high risk and not suitable for everyone – BUT – if higher risk investments are suitable for a portion of your portfolio, the Exempt Market has some excellent opportunities available.

TO SUM UP:

Private Portfolio Management offers a variety of risk levels and is suitable for almost any level of investor.  80% of your portfolio is always a starting point here but it could be more depending on your age and risk tolerance.  To learn more about Private Portfolio Management please click here.

The Exempt Market is higher risk and 20% is a starting point here as well.  Depending on your age and risk tolerance, this allocation might be far lower and we might find that the Exempt Market is not suitable for you at all.  To learn more about the Exempt Market, please click here.

 

If this all sounds interesting to you, the next question is…”How Can You Access Private Wealth Strategies?

 

I really appreciate you reading my post!  If you would like to talk further, with no obligation, please contact me today.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.

How “Most” People Invest Their Money

In my last post I talked about a very simple approach to investing – using the “foundation” of your portfolio for stability and the “opportunity” portion of your portfolio for potentially higher risk/higher reward investments.

 

There are so many choices when it comes to investing your money and this is where investors often become overwhelmed and, in many cases, fearful.  They don’t have a lot of time to learn about investing and they don’t want to make any mistakes and potentially lose their money.

 

Because of this, most average investors stick to the Public Investment Markets and fill the “foundation” portion of their portfolio with mutual funds, bonds and GIC’s – and then look at a few individual stocks for the “opportunity” portion. ***

 

The main challenge in this plan is that mainstream investments often equal mainstream results.

And while investors want to keep their money safe, at the same time they want to make a good, consistent return on their investments so that they can fund an excellent retirement!

What is the alternative?

The alternative is to invest in Private Wealth Strategies and I’ll show you what “An 80/20 Approach Using Private Wealth Strategies” might look like.

 

  • ***(There can be many variations here – particularly if you have a little more experience with investing.  You might have things like investment real estate in your “foundation” and you could have any number of higher risk ventures within your “opportunity” allocation.  I’m being very general in this post because I feel a great many investors fall into a fairly basic overall investing plan.  And in my opinion – it is ALL good because people are saving, they are investing and they are learning a lot along the way.  And now you’re expanding your knowledge even further with Private Wealth Strategies!)***

 

I really appreciate you reading my post!  If you would like to talk further, with no obligation, please contact me today.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.

Investing: Keeping It Simple At Any Age – An 80/20 Approach

When it comes to investing, I like to keep things simple.  I understand that the majority of people don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to their finances and so it’s important, in my opinion, to follow some key fundamentals.  These include:

Finding quality investment products that you understand and are comfortable with.

– Finding strong investments that can offer solid rates of return.

– Growing your wealth through regular contributions.

– Preserving your wealth when you start to draw on it through retirement.

– Finding an advisor that you trust and feel comfortable with to help you with your investment goals.

THE 80/20 PORTFOLIO

When I first meet with clients, I always start out with an 80/20 approach to investing.  With 80% being the Foundation of your portfolio and 20% being the Opportunity portion of your portfolio.

 

These percentages can change and fluctuate depending on many factors – like your age, time horizon to retirement, risk tolerance and financial objectives –  but it’s a good starting point.   Let’s look at this a little closer.

The Foundation (80%)

The foundation of a portfolio is generally made up of stable, consistent investments that are lower risk in nature.  The foundation is an anchor that provides a sense of stability and direction for a portfolio.  Investors have a higher comfort level here so they take larger, more significant positions.

When I meet with a new client, the foundation portion of their portfolio may be higher than an 80% allocation if they are older or already in retirement – and it might be less than 80% if they are younger and have more time for growth.

The Opportunity (20%)

The opportunity portion of a portfolio can be more aggressive and can take on higher risk for potentially higher returns.  The allocation to the opportunity portion of your portfolio can also fluctuate depending on some of the factors mentioned above.

Now let’s talk about “How Most People Invest Their Money” using this 80/20 strategy and what the alternatives are.

 

I really appreciate you reading my post!  If you would like to talk further, with no obligation, please contact me today.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.

Public vs. Private Investment Markets – What’s The Difference?

The “average” investor in Canada is largely only familiar with the Public Investment Markets.  I’ll break this down in a little more detail in this post but, in general, for anyone that doesn’t have a whole lot of investing experience – the Public Investment Markets are definitely the most familiar and easy to access.

What most people don’t realize is that there is a whole other world of investing out there –  in the Private Investment Markets.

 

And because it’s not as familiar, most investors tend to shy away from private investing thinking that it is too complicated or too risky to investigate further.

That’s where I come in because I spend most of my time educating people about this topic and helping them discover the private investing world and all it has to offer.

 

So what’s the difference between the two?  Let’s talk about it in a little more detail here…

THE PUBLIC INVESTMENT MARKETS

– These are the most common investment types found in the public markets and you can purchase them through the major banks and other publicly traded financial institutions.

– Almost everyone uses one or more of these investment types as they are the most well known and easy to participate in.

All investment strategies have their pros and cons and these are all good options to get started in investing and grow your portfolio over time.

THE PRIVATE CAPITAL MARKETS

– Private investment strategies are largely found outside of the major banks and financial institutions.

– The Private Capital Markets are regulated by the Provincial Securities Regulators.

– The private capital markets are not as well known and it’s important to work with an experienced professional in the industry.

– There are a wide variety of investment opportunities available in the private capital markets and they primarily fall into 2 categories – The Exempt Market and Private Portfolio Management.

TO SUM UP

The Private Investment Markets can be an excellent space to potentially make higher returns on your investments.  It can also be a great option to add some great diversification to your portfolio.

Let’s take a step back though and I’ll tell you about a very simple investment strategy that anyone can use – “Investing: Keeping it Simple at Any Age“.

 

I really appreciate you reading my post!  If you would like to talk further, with no obligation, please contact me today.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.

PRIVATE WEALTH STRATEGIES – The Great Investing Alternative

At some point in their investing career, many investors will go looking for different options.  They want some alternatives to the “usual fare” of mutual funds and GIC’s and, in particular, they are looking for:

– Higher, more consistent returns

– Investments that don’t necessarily correlate with the public stock markets

Essentially, when you are in mainstream investments you tend to get mainstream results.

When everyone is invested in the same thing, the returns can be quite similar, and there is very little room for industry professionals to step outside of the box in order to achieve a better result.  I am speaking very generally here but I think you will understand the premise.

More importantly, when you are in the public markets, it can be very difficult to maintain any consistency with your investments.

There can be a lot of market volatility, particularly with all of the unrest – both politically and economically – in the world today.  This lack of consistency makes it difficult to grow your portfolio over time and it also makes it very difficult for seniors who are drawing on their investments to maintain their income levels.

One of the most common concerns that I hear from clients is that they wonder if the market will crash and, if it does, how long the downturn will last.

Private Wealth Strategies can be a great alternative for your investment portfolio.

I am very happy that you found my website in your search for new investment options.  I have a lot of information that I can give to you but I definitely don’t want to overwhelm you!

The Private Investment Markets are new to most investors so you can look through my blog for any information you like.  In order to keep things simple through this introduction though, I’ve put links at the bottom of each post if you want to go in order:)

Let’s start with the basics…”Public vs. Private Investment Markets – What’s The Difference?

 

I really appreciate you reading my post!  If you would like to talk further, with no obligation, please contact me today.

 

 

 

 

 

Shannon Pineau
Exempt Market Dealing Representative

E: shannon@whitehaven.ca
C: 403-872-4010

shannonpineau.com

 

This blog post is intended for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. No securities regulatory authority or regulator has assessed the merits of the information herein or reviewed the information contained herein. This blog post is not intended to assist you in making any investment decision regarding the purchase of securities. Rather, the Trust has prepared an offering memorandum for delivery to prospective investors that describes certain terms, conditions and risks of the investment and certain rights that you may have. You should review the offering memorandum with your professional adviser(s) before making any investment decision. This blog post and the accompanying offering memorandum are intended for delivery only to, and participation in the investment is restricted to, investors to whom certain prospectus exemptions apply, as described in the offering memorandum.