Scotia McLeod

A wealth management service company like this charges significant fees to its clients. Like most wealth management companies, they push fee heavy mutual funds onto their clients and are really there to rake in the commission… which is fair enough because that is part of their job. My main problem with them is that they don’t listen to your needs. If someone states that they have certain goals for their money, they don’t seem to listen because their objective is to sell, sell, sell despite your risk level. Here’s the thing, I am the client and if my risk tolerance is «x», then they should respect it. So what results from not listening to your client is pushy sales pitches that no one wants. They need to work on being professional, customer oriented and courteous. No one would feel comfortable with someone who is pushing them to do something that they are uncomfortable with when it comes to their money.
Unfortunately this place, specifically relating to their Director of Wealth Management/​Branch Manager — he needs to be retrained in his customer management skills. I never expect much when dealing with banks in general but I think Scotia McLeod and management here has set a new low. This is very unfortunate and I hope that people need to realize that there are better ways to invest their money without giving all your gains to a person who just happened to pass the Canadian Securities Course and doesn’t have much expertise beyond a basic financial course. You would think that these wealth management positions would hire courteous individuals with education that is specific to the finance industry such as the CFA designation. But that is not the case.
Overall, investigate less expensive options for your investment strategies such as exchange traded funds (ETFs) — which are a fraction of the fee of a mutual fund. Also, many of the ETFs are out there are extremely liquid unlike mutual funds. You can buy and sell these funds on TSX, NYSE etc and it’s even cheaper when you do that through an online discount brokerage that easily charges under $ 10 a trade compared to these wealth management types who charge a couple of hundred for just clicking on a button (which you can do too). Or go and find a professional broker who is willing to listen and work with your goals instead of acting like a know-​it– all bully.
It’s your money so don’t take crappy service because it’s a «hassle» to change accounts! Brokers need to learn to treat clients with respect. In this day in age, brokers are becoming obsolete because there are better and lower cost options out there.
Some online discount brokerages to consider:
Qtrade, TD Waterhouse, RBC Direct Investing, BMO InvestorLine, TD Waterhouse, Questrade. Read up Globe & Mail’s annual ranking: