Built for You, Managed by Us
Our Discretionary Portfolio Management Program
Every journey has a destination. At Switzer Financial Services, we take the driver's seat to help get you there. We manage your portfolio with clear direction, thoughtful planning and guidance through every twist and turn. Your role is to enjoy the ride, focusing on what matters most knowing that your investments are in experienced hands.
The Need to Know
1 / What is Discretionary Management?
This means that we can make investment decisions on your behalf without the need for explicit approval for each transaction. This way we can ensure your portfolio stays on track without the daily stress of managing it yourself. We handle the details while keep you informed and connected to your long-term goals.
2 / How do your fees work?
Unlike commission-based advisors who earn from product sales, our fee is a clear percentage of the assets we manage for you. We use a tiered structure, meaning the more we manage the lower your fee. Fees are billed directly to your investment accounts for convenience on the 15th of each month. Fees are fully tax-deductible in non-registered accounts.
3 / Is there a minimum investment size?
Our service is best suited for those with sizeable portfolios who understand that managing their investments is not a part-time endeavor and value expert, personalized advice. Our team works with a wide range of clients, but we require a minimum of $150,000 of liquid investible assets to ensure that we can build a well-diversified portfolio that aligns with our investment approach.
What the Road Looks Like
Your financial journey with us beings with a structured yet personalized process.
Onboarding
Starting the Engine
Our process begins with a brief phone conversation to introduce ourselves and better understand your financial goals. This helps ensure our services align with your needs. If we are a good fit, we will gather some key documents and details so we can make the most of first in-person meeting. During this meeting, we will gain a deep understanding of your circumstances, goals, risk level, time horizons, cash flow needs, tax situation and other considerations. This allows us to build a complete picture of you to guide our portfolio structure to be tailored to you specifically.
Transition
Shifting Gears
Using the information gathered during our onboarding process, we will prepare the documentation required to open your accounts. This will include things like: transfer forms, fee agreements, your Investment Policy Statement (IPS) and other necessary agreements. We will explain the full process and keep you informed as things begin to transfer over. When we take over management of an existing portfolio, we will ensure a thoughtful transition into our model which considers tax implications, market conditions, liquidity constraints and any other key items.
Portfolio Construction
Merging on the Highway
Our strategy is a 100% equity-based portfolio with the goal of beating the indexes. We have a carefully curated model that is a collection of individual securities we have hand picked. We will build you into our model by looking at both your overall portfolio as well as each individual each account to ensure you are properly diversified for both security and growth at each level. Once your portfolio is initially constructed, we will send you an initial portfolio which can always be referred back to to see where you started. Some of the things we take into consideration during this stage are:
Risk Management
We take a holistic approach in building a plan designed to be resilient against volatility in the market and your personal world.
Market risk: Our process goes far beyond a "buy and hold" strategy; it is a continuous cycle of assessment and adjustment. We constantly monitor each position for shifts in fundamentals, industry dynamics, and broader market conditions. We also employ proper diversification to cushion the impact of any single underperforming holding or sector.
Personal risk: We mitigate life's planned and unexpected events by maintaining open and ongoing communication. Knowing about potential life events-whether imminent or years away-allows us to proactively adjust your investments, ensuring they remain aligned with your evolving life circumstances.
By managing these in tandem, we help you stay confidently invested through changing conditions. The result is a plan built not just for growth and stability, that weathers uncertainty while keeping you on course toward your financial goals.
Cash Flow Management
Cash flow management is the bridge between your daily life and long-term wealth. It ensures that your money isn’t just invested wisely — it’s working efficiently for you at every stage. We start by evaluating how money moves in and out of your life, helping identify opportunities to optimize income and expenses. This may include automated savings strategies or implementing debt repayment plans.
We also recognize that life is full of cash needs — from home upgrades, travel, or unexpected expenses — so we design portfolios that keep accessibility in mind. The investments we use are liquid, meaning funds can be accessed when required without major disruption to your long-term plan. For those who rely on their investments for income, we can structure portfolios to generate steady cash flow through dividend-paying securities.
Our goal is to help find balance between growth, income, and liquidity — so that your portfolio not only grows over time, but supports your evolving lifestyle needs with ease and confidence.
Tax Strategy
Our role is to act as a strategic tax conductor — orchestrating the use of various accounts and strategies to minimize our clients’ lifetime tax liability, ultimately leading to greater long-term wealth accumulation.
We help clients leverage the benefits of tax-advantaged accounts like TFSAs, RRSPs, and FHSAs, ensuring each dollar is positioned to grow in the most efficient environment possible. We also incorporate active management techniques to reduce the drag of taxes throughout the year — including capital gains management, tax-loss harvesting, and asset location strategies that place the right investments in the right accounts.
For retirees drawing income, we coordinate withdrawals across multiple account types to minimize taxation and extend portfolio longevity. This includes carefully sequencing withdrawals from RRSPs, TFSAs, and non-registered accounts to ensure income needs are met while keeping taxes low.
Ultimately, our approach ensures that taxes are not just an afterthought, but an integral part of the overall financial strategy.
Reporting and Reviewing
The Scenic Route
You will have access through the Client Portal or phone application to review your accounts at any time. You will also receive a statement for each account on a monthly basis. Our team is also fully accessible for any questions about your portfolio. We emphasize the importance of regular check ins as our relationship is beyond just numbers. We want to know what is going on in your life.
Stops Along the Way
Estate Planning
ClearEstate* is our trusted partner for wills, trusts, representation agreements, and professional executor or trustee services. They offer a full range of modern, streamlined solutions — from simple do-it-yourself cases to complex, fully managed trusts, executorships, and powers of attorney. By working together, we ensure your estate and financial plans are seamlessly aligned.
Education Savings
When you partner with us to set up your family’s RESP, we do more than just open an account — we help you make the most of every dollar invested in your child’s future education. We take care of the complexities of government grants to ensure you receive every dollar of available funding. And your RESP is managed with a clear, strategic investment plan tailored to your time horizon and education goals.
*Estate planning services offered through ClearEstate. Only products offered through iA Private Wealth are covered by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.