If you’re a Canadian business owner, “money management” usually isn’t one job. It’s a pile of connected jobs: corporate structure, tax planning, retirement income, estate planning, insurance, investments, charitable giving, and (sometimes) an eventual business exit.
Private wealth management is what happens when someone helps you connect those dots—so you’re not making one decision that accidentally creates a problem somewhere else.
You’ll see private wealth management offered through a few different “types” of firms in Canada. That can include large national brands (like IG Private Wealth Management and Edward Jones), bank-owned full-service firms (like RBC Dominion Securities), and independent wealth managers (like Richardson Wealth), plus others in the Canadian market.
The right fit is about how the work gets done.
Here’s a way to compare options to find the best high-net-worth advisors:
1) Fee clarity: “how do you get paid?” should be an easy question
Before you talk portfolios, ask for the fee conversation. A good firm will explain costs in plain language and show you where fees show up (advice fees, investment management fees, trading costs, embedded fund fees, etc.).
What you want: clear numbers and clear value.
Questions to ask:
- “What will I pay, all-in, in dollars and in percentage terms?”
- “What changes as my assets grow?”
- “Are you compensated differently depending on the product or solution?”
2) Planning depth: are you getting a plan—or a product recommendation?
Private wealth management should feel like planning first, investing second. Some firms lead with financial planning, others are more investment-led. Neither is automatically wrong, but you want a depth of planning that matches your complexity.
Questions to ask:
- “What does your planning process look like over the first 90 days?”
- “Do you provide written planning, projections, and scenarios?”
- “How do you incorporate corporate planning, tax strategy, and estate considerations into recommendations?”
3) Specialists: who’s on the bench when your file gets technical?
Business owners run into specialist moments: holding companies, retained earnings, insurance inside a corporation, charitable strategies, estate freezes, succession planning, cross-border issues. Your advisor doesn’t need to be a one-person army—but they do need access to the right expertise and a smooth way to bring it in.
Many larger firms describe their approach as integrating planning, tax, estate, insurance, and charitable giving services—so ask how that works in practice.
Questions to ask:
- “Who supports complex tax and estate planning—internally, or through partners?”
- “Will you coordinate directly with my accountant and lawyer?”
- “When a specialist joins, who ‘owns’ the plan and the follow-through?”
4) Investment approach: what are you actually buying?
Some firms build with primarily mutual funds/ETFs, some use individual securities, and some offer discretionary portfolio management for certain clients (where a portfolio manager makes day-to-day decisions within an agreed mandate).
The “best” approach depends on your needs—tax efficiency, cost sensitivity, liquidity planning, and how hands-on you want to be.
Questions to ask:
- “What do you typically use: ETFs, funds, individual securities, or a mix?”
- “How do you manage taxes in non-registered and corporate accounts?”
- “How do you decide risk—based on my comfort, my cash flow needs, or both?”
- “How do you plan for liquidity (tax bills, major purchases, business opportunities)?”
5) Service model: what happens after the plan is built?
This is where many firms look similar on paper—and feel very different in real life. You’re not just hiring a strategy. You’re hiring a relationship and a cadence.
Questions to ask:
- “How often do we meet, and what triggers a review?”
- “Who do I contact day-to-day—advisor, associate, service team?”
- “What’s your typical response time?”
- “What do you proactively monitor (cash flow, tax items, insurance, estate updates)?”
6) Succession and exit planning: can they help you land the plane?
If you might sell, transition, or bring family into the business, your wealth plan needs to work before, during, and after that moment. Even if you’re years out, you’ll want a firm that understands how business value turns into personal wealth—and how tax, estate, and timing decisions can change outcomes.
Questions to ask:
- “Do you help clients prepare for a business sale or transition?”
- “How do you plan around capital gains, corporate surplus, and life after a liquidity event?”
- “What’s your experience coordinating shareholder agreements, insurance funding, and estate planning?”
A simple way to shortlist firms
As you compare providers—whether it’s a national firm like IG Wealth Management or Edward Jones, a bank-owned dealer like RBC Dominion Securities, or an independent wealth manager like Richardson Wealth or Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management—use the same lens: clarity, depth, bench strength, and follow-through.
Then pick the team that makes complexity feel organized—and makes you feel understood.
