Wealth & Finance International - January 2017

Wealth & Finance International 28 Providing Clients with Peace of Mind ranscend recently won the Most Outstanding Wealth Management Firm of the Year 2016 award, in part because they offer the revolutionary Pay-for-Performance™ platform which delivers sophisticated investment management for a low cost. Provisus the parent company manages $425 mil- lion in private client assets and has been offering investment management services since 2007. Transcend has turned the standard industry model on its head by aligning its interests with clients on an unprecedented level with the Pay-for-Performance™ fee structure. Specifically, clients will pay a fee of 0.25% for the administration of the investment funds used in their portfolios. If the funds perform better than the benchmark, a perfor- mance fee equal to 20% of the fund’s performance over and above the benchmark will be charged. Until the client sees performance over and above the industry benchmark they have a fee of 25 basis points, which is lower than the fees charged by most equity Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in Canada. Transcend’s achievements Transcend has adopted an idea that has never really caught on in the world of retail investing. Most firms do not like it because variable reve- nues are not a good match for an industry where the cost of doing busi- ness is steady. Transcend’s novel spin on performance fees is to use them as way to present an attractively low base fee of 0.25% on equity funds to clients. The innovation it represents is significant because it shows that fee competition in the financial services industry is picking up steam. Enhancing the quality of clients’ lives Transcend believes that all investors are entitled to personalised, comprehensive services, not just high net worth individuals. Their pro- fessionals work to enhance the quality of their clients’ lives by helping them understand, organise and simplify their financial affairs. Financial services should not be pulled from a shelf. Transcend’s vision is to build and nurture long term client relationships based on client-centric and highly customised services that focus on personal interaction, professionalism and integrity. Their team strives to be the leader in the design and delivery of high-value wealth management services and to be regarded as innovators in the financial industry. Feedback from customers Transcend shows that innovation does not stop in trying to deliver financial planning to clients at lower costs than the traditional financial services industry. Clients have provided extremely good feedback for the program as per the following examples: “...tax efficiency and tax planning capability which have been lacking in other formats.” ”Account service has been excellent when I have made changes to my portfolios and I have found them great to deal with and they make things easy to understand. Their reports are particularly informative and fees charged are fair. I have been investing for 25 years I have found them to be the best I have ever dealt with.” Opportunities and challenges ahead The onset of this new model comes on the heels of a new Canadian legal framework, pushing for tighter regulations governing the financial services industry. Many are of the opinion that greater transparency about how fees are calculated is required. With the advent of online financial firms, often known as robo-advisors, it is clear that more Cana- dians are searching for alternate methods of investing. 2017 is going to be a very trying year for many firms as fees, service levels and performance are thrust into the spotlight. There are a lot of people who are very knowledgeable and skilled, but in order to stand out, you’ve got to either shout a little louder or shine a little brighter. And Transcend prefers to shine a little brighter. Due to upcoming changes in the Canadian marketplace, clients for the first time in many instances will truly start to see what they are paying, and see what they are actually getting in terms of performance. Tran- scend suspects there’s going to be a lot of people questioning what they are in and trying to determine if change is necessary. As such, Tran- scend’s service model will provide lower net worth clients with the same level of service as higher net worth investors – an important feature as robo-advisor models become more prevalent among investors. Transcend Private Client was created by Provisus Wealth Management to offer Canadians flexible Wealth Management services. They are a financial planning firm that caters to a diverse range of clients and specialises in creating customised solutions that provide their clients with financial peace of mind. T 1701WF18 “Transcend has something different to offer Canadian investors who are tired of paying high investment costs without high returns.”