Frequently Asked Questions

All the funds to be invested are deposited to your National Bank Correspondent Network (NBCN) or your Credential Correspondent Partners (CCP) account depending on the selected custodian. Electronic fund transfers between financial institutions are deposited directly to your account held by NBCN/CCP. All client cheques received for deposit are made payable to either NBCN or CCP and never made payable to Tulett, Matthews & Associates, nor do we accept cash deposits. Cash and security transfers between institutions are handled directly by NBCN/CCP. All client cash requests are disbursed by NBCN/CCP and electronically deposited to the client’s bank account on file with the custodian.

The funds can be disbursed to the client either:

• By electronic transfer. To do this, a client must first submit a specimen cheque and sign an electronic transfer agreement for the deposit of funds to his/her bank account.
• By cheque issued by NBCN/CCP in the name of the client, or in the name of a third party (provided that NBCN/CCP has received written authorization from the client). The cheque can be mailed to the client or he/she can pick it up at Tulett, Matthews & Associates’ offices after submitting proper identification and signing the register.

Based on their experience and reputation in the investment industry, we selected two financial institutions to act as custodian for our clients, National Bank Correspondent Network (NBCN) and Credential Correspondent Partners (CCP).

NBCN is Canada’s leading provider of comprehensive financial solutions to investment counseling firms. It is a member of the Investment Dealers Association and the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), which are the regulatory organizations overseeing and protecting the interests of Canadian investors. They provide specialized administrative support so that we can dedicate our time to managing your investment portfolio. You also benefit from our relationship with National Bank Correspondent Network through competitive fees, which can help improve long term investment results.

CCP is part of Credential Financial Inc., a national financial firm with over 20 years of experience in the Canadian financial services industry. CCP provides comprehensive custody, trading, clearing and reporting services to more than 225 firms and 1,300 advisors across Canada. It is regulated by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), and is registered as an Investment Dealer with all Provincial Securities Commissions. CCP is also a member of the CIPF, which are the regulatory organizations overseeing and protecting the interests of Canadian investors

Vanguard and BlackRock are the companies responsible for managing a series of exchange traded funds. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are flexible asset class investment tools that empower institutional and private investors as well as investment counselors and financial advisors to gain asset class exposure in a low-cost, transparent and tax efficient manner.

Tulett Matthews & Associates have been working with ETFs since 1996. As early adopters, we have always had a close working relationship with the professionals at Vanguard and BlackRock. But we do not receive any commission, trailer fee or referral compensation from Vanguard or BlackRock. Although not an exclusive relationship, we very much value their contribution to the financial advisory community in Canada.

Tulett, Matthews & Associates has worked with Dimensional Fund Advisors (“DFA”) since 1999 and have invested in DFA strategies on behalf of our clients since their launch into Canada in October 2003. Their investment researchers are well known in the global investment industry for their pioneering work in portfolio construction concepts and capital market research. We rely heavily on DFA asset class strategies for our clients’ portfolios because they provide access to what we believe are the best asset class investment strategies available in the Canadian marketplace. Please note that this is not an exclusive relationship and we do not receive any commission, trailer fee or referral compensation from DFA.

Their investment portfolios (or asset class investments) are not available to the public and only authorized investment managers or financial advisors are granted access to their strategies. Advisory firms that have access to Dimensional all share a common belief in a set of values that drives their investment philosophy, their investing process and their commitment to excellence in client service.

Yes, but only for non-registered accounts and corporations.

Our asset class investment approach is based on structuring portfolios for long-term results. Subsequently, we hold many asset class investment holdings for very long periods of time. When rebalancing portfolios, we try to use client driven cash inflows and outflows whenever possible to help reset the portfolio to the desired asset allocation for each client.

Given the fact that many of our asset class investment holdings are passively managed asset class strategies (vs. actively traded investment strategies) and in some cases index based strategies, investors can also expect a lower number of transactions within the investment holdings themselves. Many industry studies have shown that lower turnover or equity based strategies that trade less — are in fact, more tax-efficient over long-periods (yielding higher after-tax returns), than actively traded portfolios. Studies typically compare various investment strategies with similar pre-tax returns but very different stock trading levels.

We also believe that this disciplined (long-term) investment approach is a key factor in helping our clients capture the higher expected returns that come from investing in riskier asset classes, such as Value Companies (neglected, out of favor, low price-to-book securities) as well as Small Cap Companies.

You will receive a monthly statement from the custodian (National Bank Correspondent Network or Credential Correspondent Partners) showing the value of your investment holdings as of the end of the month, plus the activity for the month, such as transactions, interest earned, dividends and charged management fees.

In addition, clients receive customized quarterly portfolio management statements that show various levels of asset class diversification. Major asset classes are broken out into the more specific asset classes or sub-asset classes. Our goal in providing you with a more detailed asset class reporting structure is to ensure that the process is as transparent and easy to understand as possible.

1) We provide a complete suite of wealth management services that incorporates portfolio management, financial planning and tax services. While some other investment firms focus on one or two of these areas, we are able to integrate all three client services which include:

• Investment strategy, risk profile determination and asset allocation
• Investment rebalancing and portfolio management
• Performance monitoring and reporting
• Education planning
• Retirement planning
• Cash flow projections, budgeting and drawdown analysis
• Estate and succession planning
• Risk and insurance review
• Income tax planning
• Tax preparation
• Charitable giving

This integrated approach provides peace of mind, comfort and security to our clients from having a comprehensive personalized action plan that comes with a clear and transparent path forward.

2) We are an independent firm with fiduciary responsibility towards our clients. We are not owned by any banks, nor are we affiliated with any brokerage houses. Our compensation is 100% fee-based which ensures that we provide unbiased and conflict free advice characterized by our independence and the absence of commissions.

3) We adhere to a liberating investment philosophy driven by a proven evidence-based approach and Nobel prize-winning research. This investment philosophy has proven to maximize the odds for success and increase expected return over the long-term. To know more about our winning investment philosophy, please click here.

While it may seem challenging to evaluate the difference between various financial professionals, due to the vast array of firms and individual service offerings, the process can be simplified. This short report created by the Portfolio Management Association of Canada gives you a better understanding of all the options available so that you can make an informed decision that best suits your investment objectives. Click here for the PMAC report entitled, Selecting Investment Counsel.

Never.

100% of the firm’s investment revenues come from investment management fees, charged directly to client investment accounts. We do not receive any compensation or commissions from any third party investment product manufacturer, nor is our compensation ever contingent upon the number or value of transactions made in client accounts. This structural compensation format ensures that we provide unbiased and conflict free advice characterized by the absence of commissions and that our loyalty is directed exclusively towards our clients.

We manage private client investment accounts including RRSP, locked-in RRSP, TFSA, RESP, RRIF etc., as well as holding company investment accounts. All accounts are managed on a segregated basis.

Our office is located on the West Island of Montreal but we serve clients from coast to coast. Modern technology has made it easier than ever to provide our client consultative approach to investors across Canada.

We are licensed to do business in all ten Canadian provinces.

Tulett Financial Services was co-founded by Donald Tulett and Hugh Campbell in 1995 and has operated as a discretionary investment management firm ever since. Keith Matthews joined the firm in 2005 as a partner and portfolio manager, bringing with him over 15 years of experience in the private client and institutional investment marketplace. The name was then changed for Tulett, Matthews & Associates and now the firm offers a full suite of integrated wealth management services.