Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/01/2018 (1969 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People often say there is a dearth of capital in Winnipeg, but according to the just-released list of the top 50 financial advisors in Canada, there are six Winnipeg advisors who have intimate knowledge of at least $1.32 billion.

That’s the total assets under management from the six Winnipeggers who made the top 50 list. Accounting for 12 per cent of the list, it’s another example of Winnipeggers punching above their weight.

Rob Tetrault, of Tetrault Wealth Advisory Group, part of National Bank Financial, is number two on the list with $341 million in assets under management. According to Wealth Professional magazine, the Toronto publication that puts the list together, Tetrault shot up the ranking from ninth last year after more than doubling his assets under management (AUM) in the last 12 months. 

David Keelaghan, news editor at Wealth Professional, said the ranking is based on a weighting of the actual dollar value of the AUM combined with the rate of growth of AUM in the past year.

Keelaghan said there is a certain amount of editorial licence used, but he said the fact that there are so many Winnipeg advisors on the list was a result of pure merit.

The majority of the people on the list — which is dominated by professionals from Ontario — operate on a fee-only basis, which, the magazine says, is a big change from the days not so long ago when advisors were paid by commissions. 

After Tetrault, the other five Winnipeggers on the list are:

● 15th: Jamie Townsend — Lawton Partners. Part of Lawton Partners Financial Planning Services, with $265.6 million in AUM;

● 17th: Charlie Spiring — Wellington-Altus Private Wealth. With $250 million, the founder of Wellington West is back in the money management business;

● 22nd: David Christianson — Christianson Wealth Advisors, part of National Bank Financial. The Free Press’s own “Dollars and Sense” columnist has been a constant presence on the list, which has been running for five years;

● 33rd: Sean Harrell — Howe, Harrell & Associates. Part of Quadrus Investment Services, with $148 million;

● 42nd: Laurie Bonten — Bonten Wealth Management. Part of Wellington-Altus Private Wealth, with $118 million. Bonten’s book of business added to Wellington-Altus’s total AUM of $2.5 billion since launching in April.