Frequently Asked Questions
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Account Setup and Administration
Am I eligible to open up an account?
Justwealth is able to provide service to residents from any of the ten Canadian provinces and Yukon, 18 years of age or older. At this point, we are unable to provide service to residents of the Northwest Territories, Nunavut or non-residents.
What is the minimum investment to become a Justwealth client?
The minimum investment to open an account at Justwealth is $5,000 except for RESP/FHSA accounts where no minimum is required.
What do I need to get started?
To begin, simply click on our Get Started button. You will need to provide us with some basic personal and employment information about you and your spouse (if applicable) as well as some financial information. Key pieces of information that you will be requested to provide will be the Social Insurance Number for you and your spouse (if applicable), your bank account details and a government-issued piece of photo identification. You will be asked to answer some general questions about investing. The entire Get Started process could take as little as fifteen minutes to complete.
What happens after I receive my recommended portfolio?
After you receive your recommended portfolio, you will be asked to enter some basic personal information in Step 2. After completing Step 2, Justwealth will then assign your profile to one of our Personal Portfolio Managers and they will contact you as soon as possible to continue the process of getting your account(s) set up at Justwealth. You may continue to e-sign your application form and upload your photo identification. Please note that it will be necessary for a Personal Portfolio Manager to contact you before your account can be established.
Why do you collect personal information?
Justwealth requires certain personal information in order to assist us in assessing your financial needs, ensuring proper details for communication and account administration, and allowing us to fulfill our legal and regulatory obligations. For more information on our policies regarding your personal information, please review our Privacy Policy here.
What is a custodian?
A custodian is a financial institution that is entrusted with safekeeping a client’s assets. In addition, a custodian may provide trade execution, account administration, tax reporting, or other related functions. Securities regulations require that Portfolio Managers use a custodian to hold client assets. This adds an extra layer of protection for investors. When you open up an account with Justwealth, an account will be opened in your name at our custodian CI Investment Services Inc.
What account types can I open up?
We are able to provide service for any of the following accounts types:
- Non-Registered
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan
- Spousal Registered Retirement Savings Plan
- Tax-Free Savings Account
- First Home Savings Account
- Registered Education Savings Plan
- Locked-In Retirement Account
- Registered Retirement Income Fund
- Life Income Fund
To learn more about each type of account, please refer to our definitions in How it Works
Can I open more than one account with Justwealth?
You may set up as many accounts with Justwealth as you are legally able to. When filling out your online application, you will be prompted to let us know which account(s) you would like to open. If you sign up for more than one account, we will ask you to complete your information only once to avoid duplication. Afterwards, we will have a discussion with you to clarify if there are any differences in investment objectives for each account or suggest strategies that may be beneficial for you. If you initially only open one account but would later like to open another account, you may contact your Personal Portfolio Manager or support team and they would be happy to assist you.
Can I open a U.S. dollar account?
Justwealth is able to accommodate U.S. dollar accounts for the following account types:
- Non-Registered
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan
- Spousal Registered Retirement Savings Plan
- Tax-Free Savings Account
- Registered Education Savings Plan
- First Home Savings Account
- Locked-In Retirement Account
- Registered Retirement Income Fund
- Spousal Registered Retirement Income Fund
- Life Income Fund
Can I transfer an existing account to Justwealth?
Yes, you can. You may transfer accounts from another financial institution in the form of cash or transfers in kind. There may be some securities that Justwealth is unable to accept, so you should speak to your Personal Portfolio Manager to discuss how best to handle your transfer.
Will I get reimbursed for the transfer fees that I am charged to transfer assets from my existing financial institution?
You may be reimbursed up to $150 for transfer fees charged by your existing financial institution for any account that is $25,000 or greater in value. For U.S. accounts, you may be reimbursed up to $30 for an initial wire transfer fee charged by your financial institution. To qualify you must provide a copy of the statement from your existing financial institution detailing any transfer fees.
Is it possible to speak with someone before I sign up?
Absolutely. For general inquiries, you may contact us at any time by phone or email. Please refer to the Contact Us information on our home page.
How do I receive my account statements and tax slips?
All account statements and tax slips will be available electronically on your client account access.
When will my account statements and tax slips be made available online?
Accounts Statements: Quarterly
Tax Slips: First Quarter of Calendar Year
How do I make a withdrawal and how long does it take?
You can request a withdrawal via the Justwealth Client Portal: https://portal.justwealth.com/login.
Once your withdrawal request has been received, it will take approximately 4-5 business days for the funds to be electronically transferred to your desired bank account.
What is a FHSA?
What is a FHSA? “The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) is a type of registered savings plan aimed at helping you save tax free (up to certain limits) for you first home purchase. For more information, check https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/first-home-savings-account.html
How do I update my email address with Justwealth?
As your email address is used to log you on to the Justwealth portal, the best way to update that information is to call or email Justwealth Support ( 1-866-407-JUST (5878) / support@justwealth.com). Justwealth clients aren’t able to update their email address on their own.
General Questions
What is a Robo-Advisor?
Robo-Advisor is a term that was adopted several years ago to describe a firm that provided online wealth management services. The reference to “robo” is due to the highly automated nature of enrolling clients into investment portfolios with limited interactions from humans. At Justwealth, we do not believe this term is appropriate as our Personal Portfolio Managers and account staff interact with clients, however, the term is being used to reference online wealth management services providers in Canada.
What should I do if there is a change to my financial or personal information?
If there is a change to your financial or personal information please let us know right away. We will update your information and if necessary, revisit your financial plan and/or investments.
Who owns Justwealth?
Justwealth is 100% privately held, with employees owning the majority of the company. This allows us to make decisions that are exclusively in the best interests of our clients, not our shareholders.
What if I want to close a Justwealth account?
Whether you would like to transfer your assets to another Justwealth account or to another institution, we would be happy to assist you in the process. Please call or e-mail your Personal Portfolio Manager or e-mail support@justwealth.com and we will walk you through the required steps.
What is a Personal Portfolio Manager?
A Personal Portfolio Manager is the registered advising representative who will be responsible for overseeing your investments. Every client of Justwealth will have access to a Personal Portfolio Manager as well as other investment professionals and support staff.
What is the difference between a Portfolio Manager and a Financial Advisor?
The terms Portfolio Manager and Financial Advisor are somewhat generic and can have different meanings for different companies. A Portfolio Manager as it pertains to Justwealth is an investment professional who is registered with a provincial Securities Commission as an Advising Representative. Becoming registered with a Securities Commission requires a high degree of qualifications and experience and with it comes a fiduciary duty to act with care, honesty and good faith, always in the best interest of their clients. Financial Advisors regulated under other entities are not held to that same standard.
Where can I learn more about your RESP Target Date Portfolios?
Justwealth maintains a dedicated RESP page which includes the downloadable Justwealth Guide to RESPs.
Where can I learn more about your Tax-Efficient Portfolios?
Justwealth maintains a page dedicated to tax-efficient investing. You can find specific information on Justwealth’s tax-efficient portfolios by clicking on any individual portfolio name on our performance page.
Security and Protection
Where are my assets held?
All assets are held in an account in your name at our custodian CI Investment Services Inc.
How can I be sure this is safe?
Millions of Canadians have tested and actually prefer to do their banking online. Online investing is a natural extension of online banking and the technology and security measures utilized by online investing firms are comparable to the standards used by banks. In addition:
- Your account is registered in your name which means the only person who has access to your assets is you, or anyone else whom you authorize. Justwealth, as the Portfolio Manager, has trading authority but cannot access the assets other than to accept payment for management fees.
- Your assets are protected by the CIPF up to $1 million.
- Without exception, we pledge our Just Commitment to Our Clients, putting clients interests first, and avoiding the conflicts of interest and inefficiencies that traditional investment companies face.
- We have experience in successfully running sophisticated, large-scale investment programs and offer Canadians the most complete set of investment options of all online providers.
What is the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF)?
The Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) is a not-for-profit corporation with a mandate to provide protection to investors in the unlikely event of an insolvency of a CIPF member. Investors are covered up to $1 million for each type of account held at a member firm. CI Investment Services Inc. (formerly BBS Securities Inc.), the custodian used by Justwealth, is a CIPF member firm.
Investment Process
How do you construct portfolios?
We take a goals-based approach to portfolio construction. That means we build each portfolio using advanced statistical analysis including optimization, simulation and stress testing, to create an asset allocation policy that maximizes the probability of meeting your financial objective. After we determine an asset allocation policy, we will search for the most appropriate, low-cost ETFs available to match the allocations defined by the asset allocation policy.
How many portfolios do you offer?
We currently offer over 60 different portfolios, each of which receive the same level of rigour and analysis in portfolio construction. Justwealth recognizes that investor preferences for growth, income, capital protection, time horizon, taxation status, currency, and risk tolerance can vary greatly. We have taken the time to create portfolios that are suitable for a large number of investor types, not just five or ten like most providers.
How is my portfolio rebalanced?
All accounts are monitored daily to ensure that they are aligned within the rebalancing guidelines set out in the Investment Policy Statement. In the event that an account does not comply with the guidelines, due to cash flows or market movements, appropriate transactions will automatically be placed to ensure that the account conforms to the guidelines.
Do you provide financial planning?
Yes, we do. Financial planning is an optional service available to all clients on an ongoing basis and we highly recommend it.
What is an Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)?
An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is an investment fund that trades like an individual equity security on a stock exchange. An ETF may hold individual stocks, bonds, derivatives or other financial instruments, and usually are designed to closely replicate the performance of a market index such as the S&P/TSX Composite Index. ETFs are similar to mutual funds in some ways, but generally ETFs have substantially lower fees compared to mutual funds and are much more liquid. In Canada, the growth rate of ETF assets has exceeded 25% per year since 2001, validating the movement of investors to these low-cost investment options.
What Exchange Traded Funds does Justwealth use?
Justwealth screens the entire universe of ETFs available in Canada and the United States. Justwealth has no preferential arrangements with any ETF provider ensuring that our clients receive best-in-class ETFs in each of our portfolios. Currently, we use 29 different ETFs from 7 distinct ETF providers.
What is passive investing?
Passive investing is an approach used to closely replicate the performance of a market index such as the S&P/TSX Composite Index. This can be contrasted with active investing which attempts to exceed the performance of a market index. Typically, the fees associated with active investing are significantly higher compared to passive investing.
Am I able to pick my own Exchange Traded Fund(s)?
No. Justwealth will work closely with you in selecting a portfolio that is well-suited to meet your financial objectives, but the portfolios are managed by Justwealth on a fully discretionary basis.
Does Justwealth receive any commissions, trailers or referral fees?
Justwealth does not receive any commissions or trailer fees on any securities purchased for client accounts. Justwealth will not accept any referral fees.
What does "fully discretionary" mean?
Fully discretionary means that an investment representative has been given authority by the client to place trades on their behalf without having to obtain their consent, as long as the trades follow the guidelines set out in the Investment Policy Statement. A fully discretionary account is sometimes referred to as a managed account.
Do you manage non-registered accounts differently compared to registered accounts?
Yes, we do. Our portfolios are specifically constructed for either registered or non-registered accounts. Furthermore, we are happy to determine an integrated strategy between your registered and non-registered accounts that will help maximize your overall wealth accumulation. All non-registered accounts may take advantage of our tax loss harvesting strategy.
What is Tax Loss Harvesting?
Tax Loss Harvesting is a strategy used to manage short-term tax implications for investors with non-registered assets. A tax loss harvesting strategy is usually unique to an individual investor and if coordinated properly, can have a large impact on wealth maximization over time. Justwealth is able to provide this service to all clients with non-registered accounts.
What is a target date portfolio?
A target date portfolio is a unique investment structure that has an asset allocation policy that changes over time. Target date portfolios are ideal investment solutions when there is a well-defined time horizon such as a pending retirement or education enrollment date. For more information on Justwealth’s RESP Target Date Portfolios, please download our information brochure.
Do you offer socially responsible investment options?
Yes, Justwealth offers a suite of portfolios which exclusively use ETFs that would fall under the category of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards.
I have multiple accounts. Will they be managed individually or together?
We are happy to manage multiple accounts either way, it is really up to you.
Will I be able to have a custom portfolio?
Many companies will claim to offer customization but ultimately end up investing a client’s assets into one of five or ten standard portfolio models. Justwealth has over 60 different custom-designed portfolio models which greatly increases the likelihood that we have a portfolio that is appropriate for you. For investors with over $1,000,000 in an account, we would be happy to build you a customized ETF portfolio, specifically designed to meet your financial objective.
What is an Investment Policy Statement?
An Investment Policy Statement is a document that summarizes all of the key investment information regarding your account along with the recommended portfolio and investment guidelines. All clients will receive a personalized Investment Policy Statement for each account that is opened with Justwealth.
What is an Asset Allocation Policy?
An asset allocation policy is the benchmark reference point for how assets will be allocated across various asset classes or investment categories. In short, the asset allocation policy is what defines a portfolio. Justwealth devotes significant resources and has industry-leading expertise in creating unique and innovative asset allocation policies that will help investors meet their investment objectives.
Fees
How much does Justwealth charge?
Please refer to our Pricing Page. Please note that our single-fee pricing model includes all trading and custody related costs.
Do I have to pay fees for the trades in my account?
No, trading fees are included in your annual fee.
Do I have to pay custody fees?
No, custody fees are included in your annual fee.
Do I pay a fee for cash withdrawals?
RESP, RRIF, TFSA, FHSA and non-registered accounts: No fee.
RRSP and Spousal RRSP accounts: Full account de-registration = $50 + HST. Partial account de-registration = $25 + HST.
What is the cost involved with currency exchange?
Brokerages maintain a spread between buying and selling currencies within an account. Spreads vary amongst the brokerages, but are typically several cents per dollar exchanged. For each transaction where a foreign security is purchased or sold in a Canadian dollar account, the investor will lose the spread, which could add up over time. At Justwealth, we only use Canadian-based ETFs in Canadian dollar accounts and U.S.-based ETFs in U.S. dollar accounts thereby eliminating investor losses on currency exchange transactions.
If I have multiple accounts, will the assets be combined for fee purposes?
Yes, we will combine all of the assets managed by Justwealth that are within the same household for fee calculation purposes. This includes spouses, siblings, children, parents, etc. Sorry, no pets.
How do I remit management fees to Justwealth?
Payments to Justwealth are made automatically from your account on a monthly basis, based on the applicable annual rate.
Is Justwealth's management fee tax deductible?
For non-registered accounts, yes, Justwealth’s management fee is tax deductible. For registered accounts, Justwealth’s fee is not tax deductible.
Are there any other fees besides the Justwealth Management Fee?
The only other recurring fee borne by the client is the embedded management expense ratio (MER) fee charged by the ETF providers. These fees are deducted automatically within each respective fund. The average MER in the portfolios that Justwealth offers is about 0.20% annually.
What are the fees to transfer my account out of Justwealth?
If you decide to transfer your account from Justwealth there will be a $50 fee for a partial account transfer and $150 fee for a full account transfer.