WHAT CLIENTS ARE ASKING ABOUT MOVING TO KINSTED

No. Investia does not charge transfer out fees. However, if for some reason there are fees charged from Investia – or any other institution – while transferring in, all we need is a statement showing such and they will be reimbursed to your account. This is not a ‘right now’ policy, it is forever.

Yes, there is an online portal that is significantly more user friendly than Investia. It, along with the statements, are clean looking and easy to read. Kinsted has gone through great efforts to make their experience as human as possible whilst satisfying the good folks at the Alberta Securities Compliance department.

At this time, there is no app. I think there are three clients currently using the Investia App, so I don’t expect that to be a big problem, BUT – Kinsted has proven to be quite entrepreneurial, so if it makes sense to build I could see it happening.

Yes you can.  It is the same process, just with a different custodian.  Instead of searching for Investia Financial Services, you will search for Credential Securities and use your new account numbers.  I’ll buy you a coffee to pay you back for your time to do this, once it is done – and Investia payees deleted – you won’t have to do it again.

Both or either, most likely me.  A big reason I made this transition is to better serve you.  I want to be freakishly available and make this so, so easy on you.  Come to me first!

To be determined.  The whole purpose of the monthly snapshots was to make up for the poor and confusing reporting of Investia.  The Kinsted statements are considerably less awful, so my plan is to go a few months as a customer myself to see what kind of tweaks we can make to the reporting process.  The goal with the snapshots was to keep you in the loop, so if that is falling behind at all – I will act quickly I promise.

Kinsted publishes the returns of their pools on a weekly basis, perhaps I will create an ‘opt-in’ email list for those clients who want to see the information that frequently.

No! Thankfully.  Every single client making the transition will pay less for their fees.  Because we are cutting out the middle man (the mutual fund companies, some with MASSIVE marketing budgets), Kinsted can charge you less.  

My highest fee with Investia was 1.25% for clients, that drops to 0.85%.  Generally speaking, clients will save about 0.5% to 0.75% annually in fees and there are no ticky-tack admin fees, etc.

Once we have completed our Investor Policy Statement meeting, you will be sent forms to sign electronically the next day.  Once signed, the transfer could take two days to two months.  The first handful of folks that have moved over have come over very, very quickly, but that might slow down in the summer months or as the transfer out load becomes heavier.

A weird nuance of the investment industry, the transfer out process is always done on the relinquishing institutions schedule.  Not shocking to know, most banks don’t prioritize taking care of people leaving their bank.

Great question!  At any given time, we want to look at your investments and ask the question, ‘is this the best use of my money; does it fit my plan? Does it have the BEST potential to make money in a risk appropriate manner?’.  

When we transfer your accounts over, they will come over ‘in-kind’ or ‘as-is’.  The team at Kinsted will work to transition your portfolio in an appropriate manner as the market allows.  If we see a spike up in the summer, it might be quick.  If we see continued uncertainty, it will be over a few months – a little bit at a time.

Kinsted knows this is a long term relationship and that volatility is extremely high right now.  You are in good hands with their team helping make these decisions

Grants will be applied for at the time of opening the accounts and transfer forms being submitted.  I cannot promise that this will be perfect (sending forms to the government rarely is), but I can assure you that if a grant is missed we will go back and get it as soon as possible.

No, we are on it.  Part of the information that you have given us permission to share with Kinsted is the timing, amounts, and accounts of the money coming in – or going out of your accounts.  These transactions will be confirmed during your Investor Policy Statement meeting.

Fast forward twelve months, if you are set on investing the Kinsted Way, your funds will all be in Kinsted pools.  

Having said that, everything will be transferred ‘as-is’, Kinsted has the ability to hold any mutual fund available in Canada as well as private or publicly held stocks.

They are open to clients holding outside positions (think: transferring in my old stock plan that I don’t want to sell yet) and do so for free; they don’t charge a fee on self-directed assets.  But, they are also quick to note that they are not day-traders and the goal will always be to invest clients’ money in what is best for them (which they firmly believe to be their pools).

If we are managing capital gains, we can sell funds in non-registered accounts over a period of years as needed.  Each situation will be unique, but the plan and schedule will be clearly communicated along the way.

The biggest difference between Kinsted and Investia is the discretionary management of your money. What that means is, you will sign an Investment Policy Statement (IPS) at the start of your relationship with Kinsted.

The IPS is the legally binding rule book that Kinsted will play by managing your investments. It is very specific to risk tolerance, objectives, goals and asset class breakdown.

On a daily basis, they will buy and sell within those guidelines to best serve you. 

The alternative at Investia, non-discretionary investing, required me to have you approve any changes – small or big.

You might be thinking, ‘isn’t that a lot of freedom for them to have?’, when in fact the opposite is true. Kinsted has a legal responsibility to do what is in your best interest; they have to play by the rules that you agreed to or they could spend time in jail. Seriously.

Discretionary management allows them to act quicker, not bother you with small transactions (for those of you that have gotten an email about buying $46 of a fund, you get it!), and are required to keep your IPS up to date yearly. It is a rock solid and secure way to manage money.

I was approached by another boutique portfolio manager out of Toronto to partner with. The offering was great, they had answered all of my questions the right way, and I could see the benefits of switching to this model for my clients.

Before that conversation, I did not know this was a ‘thing’. I didn’t know that I could partner with a professional firm instead of outsourcing management of my clients money to mutual funds.

Josh Nakesch, a good friend of mine whom I worked with at Richardson GMP seven years ago, joined Kinsted about five years ago. We were a great team together back in the day, he loved (still loves) the nerdy portfolio stuff and I loved (still love!) the client facing relationship side of the business.  

I sent him a late night text that was something like, ‘Hey – do you guys do this too?’ and the rest is history!

Josh, Adam Osterling (another portfolio manager at Kinsted that you will inevitably meet as well), and I ski together, chirp each other in a group chat and have remained good friends since we all left Richardson GMP. I feel like I’m getting my team back at Kinsted, it is a wonderfully smart group of highly motivated young people to be involved with (I’m 40, everything feels old now).

No, actually the opposite. Kinsted has the ability to hold any mutual fund, any stock (public or private), ETFs, PLUS the institutional funds that their strategy focuses on. Investia only held mutual funds, this opens a much larger universe to choose from.

Yes, very. First off, Kinsted does not hold your money, your money is held in trust at Credential Securities. If Kinsted became insolvent, your money would be unaffected – they never have access to your money, only permission to trade.

If Credential became insolvent, which is highly unlikely as they hold over $860 Billion dollars, have been around for 100 years(ish), and exist in one of the most secure banking systems in the world, your money would still be safe as it is legally held in trust.

On top of that, your money is protected by the Canadian Investors Protection Fund (CIPF), which insures your money against fraud or negligence up to a million dollars per account.

The best answer, getting my time back. The amount of paperwork, handholding and oversight in the Mutual Fund world has increased dramatically over the past three years. Everyone is afraid to get sued, which has led to a handful of poorly thought out policies that add a considerable amount of stress and busywork to the advisors schedules.

I had a choice to make, grow my team by two people or more to keep up, or fundamentally change the way I do business. I chose the latter.

Partnering with Kinsted takes a lot of mundane admin tasks off of my plate so I can focus more on serving you better. That is not just lip service, I mean it.  

Shorter turnaround on financial plans, more frequent visits and calls, proactive education via a newsletter, website or blog; I will find creative, fun, and human ways to make this experience better for you. I promise.

Not to be ignored, my compensation will change as well. You will pay less in fees and I will be leaving behind a significant amount of clients, BUT in the long run I suspect that I will earn similar to what I am now.  

The key differences are Investia charged me about $7,000 a year in ‘desk fees’, plus took 20% of the annual fee that I charged you. I can charge less and earn more.

Pam is staying! Although she threatens me with retirement in the next few years, I plan on making it painfully difficult to leave.  Pam is excited about the move and – more specifically – to be rid of the ‘just crazy’ administrative processes we occasionally stumbled upon.

Correct. We have always used mutual funds to manage your money, those teams are typically in Toronto, New York, London or Singapore.  Kinsted is now that team, they are in downtown Calgary and will visit you at your kitchen table if that's your preference. 

My focus is on your financial plan and good old fashioned client service. You come to me when you need money, we tax plan together, keep up to date on your family, and make sure you continue to have 'enough'.

Lantern Wealth is here to stay, I will continue to operate under the same umbrella (it’s my umbrella and I love the brand!).

My dad! He retired from a 30 year career in real estate about 15 years ago, he was bored - I needed someone I could trust speaking to my clients (he loves to chat if you ever find yourself on the other end of the phone with him!) and it gives us an excuse to talk on a daily basis.

Your RRIF will transfer over exactly as with all other accounts - 'in-kind', or, exactly as is.  We take your mutual funds, cash balances, and GICs from Investia and contribute them to Kinsted.   The exception with RRIFs is in regards to your annual minimum withdrawals.

The relinquishing institution, in this case Investia, is required to withdraw the remaining minimum of your annual RRIF withdrawal.  For example, if your 2022 RRIF minimum is $12,000 and we have withdrawn $1,000 per month for the first six months, Investia will automatically cash out the additional $6,000 to meet your minimum.   This is a requirement in the Canadian investment industry, not a Kinsted or Investia policy.

The $6,000 will be sent to you.  We can either invest it into a non-registered investment account and send you $1,000/month for the rest of the year, OR, you can keep the money and manage your own payments for the rest of the year - regular withdrawals resuming in January.

We went over a lot in our meetings, so don't be too hard on yourself for not remembering. ;)
 
Credential Securities is the custodian to Kinsted.  Just like Industrial Alliance Trust is to Investia, RBC Trust to RBC Bank - no bank in Canada holds your money themselves, and that is a GREAT thing!  A custodian insures that your money can never be accessed by your bank in the case of insolvency, it is silo'd in a separate trust to make sure your money stays as your money, regardless of the success or failure of the bank.
 
Because you are now technically a client of Credential, you will receive a welcome email from them.  I suggest you sign up for the Kinsted portal first, it is easier to use and has the exact same information on it.

www.cppinvestments.com - I recommend checking out 'The Fund' page for details on returns (10.8% average over the last ten years).

 
If you get to the site and wonder if you are in the right place because it does not look like a government website, I assure you it is correct! Since post world financial crisis, they have run the fund like an actual institutional fund instead of a government program, website included.

CPP is one of the many institutions that Kinsted models their portfolios after.

By investing a large portion (50% or more, typically) in private investments, you are not as exposed to the very emotional and irrational behaviour of the public markets.  In a world where a stock can move 10% up by breakfast, down 20% by lunch, and finish the day back even, the stock market is a very volatile place.

 
In Kinsted's case, private investments don't mean small, risky investments - they are large companies that have been around for 20+ years, have hundreds of millions in revenue, and are well known businesses that have chosen to not go public.  

'Going public' means being subjected to investment press' questions, higher level of scrutiny, and the emotional rollercoaster of watching your stock price yo-yo for no apparent reason.  It's a journey that is not for everyone, Kinsted invests in those companies via the institutional funds they buy.

Institutional Funds - not mutual funds.

A mutual fund is typically available to any Canadian investor because the minimum investments are as low as $500.

Institutional funds require a minimum of $10,000,000 or higher, so individuals like you and I do not have access.  Kinsted buys the same funds as CPP, Ontario Teacher's, California State Pension, the Harvard Endowment Fund, etc.  You are aligned directly with these world class organizations.