Investment Management

Your investments.
Managed as part of
your complete plan.

Most Canadians have investments. Few have investments coordinated with their income strategy, tax plan, pension elections, and estate structure. That coordination is the difference between a portfolio and a retirement plan.

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Why coordination matters
$80K+
Avoidable tax from drawing down accounts in the wrong order over a 20-year retirement
0.70–1.00%
Our advisory fee — transparent, all-in, with no hidden charges beyond disclosed fund costs
One plan
Investments, income, tax, pension, insurance, and estate — reviewed as one coordinated strategy
Full planning + investments
Life-First Blueprint™

Investment management coordinated with your full retirement plan — income, tax, pension, insurance, and estate. Every portfolio decision connects back to your life goals.

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Investment management only
Standalone Portfolio Management

You know your plan. You just want a professional to manage the portfolio — disciplined, low-cost, and coordinated with your tax situation. No full planning engagement required.

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Our investment philosophy

Investments in service
of your life plan.

We are not a trading firm. We are not trying to beat the market. We are financial planners who manage investments — and that distinction matters enormously for how we approach your portfolio.

We believe the role of your investments is to fund the life you've planned. That means the portfolio needs to be structured around your retirement income needs, your tax situation, your timeline, and your risk tolerance — not around product availability or fund selection in isolation.

A portfolio built around a plan performs differently than one built around performance projections. The risk you need to take is lower when the rest of the plan is doing its job.

We build and manage portfolios using a combination of low-cost index funds, ETFs, and where appropriate, actively managed solutions. Every allocation decision connects back to your retirement income plan.

01
Plan-driven asset allocation
Your asset mix is determined by your income needs, timeline, and risk capacity — not by market outlook or model portfolio templates.
02
Tax-efficient account structure
Which assets live in which accounts matters as much as what you hold. RRSP, TFSA, RRIF, and non-registered accounts are each used strategically to minimize lifetime tax.
03
Drawdown sequencing built in
Your investment strategy includes a drawdown sequence — which accounts you draw from, in what order, and at what rate — to maximize after-tax income across your retirement.
04
Coordinated with your full plan
Every portfolio decision connects to your pension elections, CPP and OAS timing, estate structure, and insurance coverage. Nothing managed in isolation.
What's included

Investment management as part of the
Life-First Blueprint™.

Available as part of the Life-First Blueprint™ or as a standalone engagement for clients who want professional portfolio management without a full planning process.

Portfolio construction & oversight
We build a portfolio aligned with your retirement income plan — asset allocation, account structure, and investment selection all flowing from your plan, not a model template.
Drawdown strategy & sequencing
We manage not just what you hold, but how and when you draw it down — RRIF minimums, TFSA timing, non-registered sequencing — coordinated to minimize your lifetime tax bill.
Ongoing monitoring & rebalancing
Markets move. Life changes. We monitor your portfolio against your plan targets and rebalance when appropriate — not on a fixed calendar, but when your plan requires it.
Tax-loss harvesting & optimization
We actively look for opportunities to improve after-tax returns through strategic realization of gains and losses, coordinated with your income plan for the year.
Semi-annual investment reviews
Twice a year, we review your portfolio performance, asset allocation, and drawdown progress against your plan — alongside the full Life + Financial Review that covers all areas of your plan.
CIPF protection
Investment accounts held through Designed Wealth Management are CIPF members, providing protection of up to $1 million per account category in the event of insolvency.
Fee transparency

Clear fees.
No surprises.

We believe you should know exactly what you pay and what you get for it. Here's the complete picture.

Life-First Blueprint™ Planning Fee
Year 1 comprehensive planning engagement — five movements, seven sessions, four documents
$9,750
Ongoing Advisory Fee (AUM)
Annual fee for investment management, plan maintenance, and two semi-annual reviews. Rate depends on portfolio size.
0.70%–1.00%
Year 2+ Annual Retainer
Ongoing planning retainer — replaces the Year 1 planning fee
$4,875
Underlying Fund Expenses
The investments we hold carry their own management expense ratios (MERs). We use low-cost funds — typically ETFs and index funds — to keep this cost minimal. These are fully disclosed.
0.10%–0.30%

Example: A $700,000 portfolio at our 1.00% advisory fee, with average fund costs of 0.20%, would have an all-in cost of approximately 1.20% per year — or about $8,400. This is the complete cost. There are no hidden charges, no trailer fees, and no product commissions influencing our recommendations.

The first step

Your investments should work
with your plan — not apart from it.

One free conversation. We'll look at your current portfolio, how it connects to your retirement income plan, and whether there's a better-coordinated approach.

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Free · No commitment · In-person (GTA) or virtual across Canada