Aliu IsaInvestment firms will be able to offer you a wide array of products to help you realise great returns. But there are risks involved.
In this article, we review the best investment firms in Toronto. These firms offer a mix of products that has a good balance of return and risks.
How much are the fees of investment advisors in Toronto?
Here are the indicative percentage of fees of investment advisors:
Fee can be charged on a commission basis. Clients pay this upon purchase of an investment product that was recommended by the advisor.
Other financial advisors charge a fee based on the assets under management (AUM). Clients pay a percentage of the total dollar amount that is being managed.
The Best Investment Firms in Toronto
Here is our guide to selecting the top investment firms in Toronto:
1. AGF
| Criteria | Rating |
| Investment Approach | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Real-Time Updates | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Experience of Advisors | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Product Performance | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Range of Products | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
AGF has been doing asset management for the past 65 years. It has proven its strong track record in portfolio management with $42.6 Billion in assets under management.
For diversification, it offers products invested in equities, fixed income, and even ETFs invested in infrastructure. What’s great is these products take into consideration investments in the global market.
Its management style has gained them loyal clients among individuals as well as institutional clients. These clients have met their investment objectives because the firm follows three effective principles.
For one, the team shares their expertise and knowledge in different industries with each other. This has helped them find new opportunities and offer innovative investment strategies.
Furthermore, the team regularly conducts research and analysis of the market. Thus, they get to manage the risks involved in their various portfolios.
Accountability is also important as it actively strives to achieve the goals of each product as well as its clients. The portfolio managers continuously review their investment strategies and make changes when necessary.
Do note that it requires portfolio managers to invest 2x their basic compensation in the mutual funds they manage. This helps ensure the funds are managed well and continue to improve in performance.
Its transparency in investment strategies is also commendable. Clients are glad they know how their funds will be managed and the risks involves.
What’s more, the firm also keeps the client up to date on the market. Its website is up to date on the company’s insights and views that can affect the clients’ portfolios.
Pros
- 65 years in business
- 42.5 Billion in assets under management
- Wide array of products for diversity
- Sharing of expertise and knowledge on specific industries among the team
- Manage risk by research and analysis
- Practices accountability and transparency
- Portfolio managers are readily available
Cons
- Closed on weekends
- Portfolio managers need to invest their own funds
Customer Reviews
Excellent portfolio and investment structure
“I’m an investor with AGF for nine years. The portfolio’s and investment structure is excellent. Very good returns, much better than big banks. Comparing to banks the fees are less. The withdraw options are also good and its true. After seven years I dont pay fee. The investment helped me at the time of pandemic. Best thing is I could open an account for $25/_ whereas in RBC to get one share or open an account its $500/. The customer service is excellent. Moreover, you can manage your own investment and have income for your own money, if you become a mutual fund agent. I could recommend everybody to join AGF. Thank you, AGF.” – Viola
5 stars
“Positive: Quality, Responsiveness, Value” – Julius
2. Purpose Investments
| Criteria | Rating |
| Investment Approach | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Real-Time Updates | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Experience of Advisors | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Product Performance | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Range of Products | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
Purpose Investments strives to change the way asset management is done with its modern approach. And despite just 10 years in the business, it has $14 billion in assets under management.
Part of its modern approach is using non-financial factors such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) in determining growth opportunities. They allocate funds to be invested in companies that are socially responsible and have good governance.
It is good to note that transparency is important to the firm. Its strategies and portfolio results are available anytime on its website.
Here, the portfolio managers discuss how the funds are doing versus competitors as well as current market insights.
The Purpose Credit Opportunities Fund has a yield of 5.68%. This is a good return considering that the fund leverages on government and institutional borrowings.
Meanwhile, Purpose Tactical Asset Allocation Fund automatically shifts funds to markets that are performing better. With this approach, it gets to protect the capital of clients and so far is yielding 0.81% but still the lowest return among all its products.
Its Purpose Structure Equity Yield Portfolio has the highest yield compared to its other funds, at 7.1%. This is equity-based but with contingency to protect assets from losses.
The Purpose Diversified Real Asset Fund invests in commodities and equities with a key concentration in the real estate sector. Currently, clients enjoy a yield of 1.2% in their funds.
What is notable about these top funds is the protection of capital from possible risks. They also allow clients to freely choose which product and its risks they are comfortable with.
Pros
- $14 billion in assets under management in just 10 years of business
- Investment strategies take into consideration factors such as environmental, social, and governance
- Transparent with strategies and portfolio performance
- Different investment funds have good returns
- Clients can choose products depending on their risk appetite
Cons
- Still relatively new in industry
- Yield of a managed fund is below 1% – relatively lower than its other products
Customer Reviews
Various products that fit goals
“A great product suite of ETFs that fit my investing goals. Also bitcoin.” – Tuba
Innovative firm
“One of the most innovate finance companies in the world!” – Omer
3. CI Global Asset Management
| Criteria | Rating |
| Investment Approach | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Real-Time Updates | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Experience of Advisors | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Product Performance | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Range of Products | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
CI Global Asset Management is part of the publicly listed company, CI Financial. It is now one of Canada’s largest investment firms offering diverse investment products.
As a one-stop investment company, it offers a selection of both traditional investments like bonds to the more volatile cryptocurrency. Financial advisors need time to clearly explain the products so clients can make a more informed decision as to where to best place their funds.
It opens the global market to clients when investing in mutual funds and other managed funds. These funds are placed in different types of investments, sectors, and markets around the world.
Its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are fundamentally healthy investments. We found out that these can easily be traded just like equities so, the risk involved is managed.
For the more sophisticated investors with higher risk tolerance, it offers alternative investments and cryptocurrencies.
What’s more, they publish on their website the performance of all their funds. This is a big help since it has limited operating days to ask updates on a specific investment product.
For further convenience, clients can make use of the calculator on its website to create their cash flow. This is great in helping them plan their finances as it shows what they own and how much they need to earn for retirement.
We appreciate also that useful information on investment options is available on its website. It contains updates on the market and insights on what the future looks like for the companies they are invested in.
Pros
- Part of a publicly listed financial company
- One-stop investment firm
- Diverse investment products
- Products opens the global market to its clients
- Access to modern investments like cryptocurrency
- Website calculator for cash flow and other financial computations
Cons
- Limited operating days
- Investment portfolio might be overwhelming for first-time investors
Customer Reviews
Highly recommended
“Great investment company I would definitely recommend them 100%” – David
Helpful
“Really helpful” – Siju
4. Vanguard
| Criteria | Rating |
| Investment Approach | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Real-Time Updates | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Experience of Advisors | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Product Performance | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Range of products | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
Vanguard has been helping investors gain success in their investments since 1975. It has a good range of investment products clients can choose from to meet their financial goals.
Its clients get a bigger return on their investment because Vanguard does not have outside owners that they need to generate profits for. This means that more income from investments goes into the investors’ pockets.
The mutual fund of Vanguard employs active management of funds. Aside from keeping fees low, they also select their fund managers well.
In-house talents and external advisors are matched to complement each other and find a better approach to mitigate the volatility of the funds.
Vanguard also offers Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) that allow people to invest in different indexes such as the S&P 500 (the 500 biggest companies listed in the US), MSCI International index, and others. This allows investors to have instant diversification.
While the firm provides investment products, access to these is through third-party advisors. Clients’ own financial advisors can invest in any of Vanguard’s funds on their behalf.
Another convenient option to get into its investment products is by opening an online trading account with any of the brokerages. Once you have an account it will be easy to buy and sell Vanguard’s ETFs during trading hours.
Also, just like other investment firms, Vanguard also utilises its website to provide its views on the market and trends. Client’s can also read the company’s analysis of current news affecting the financial world.
However, we hear that clients with investment concerns have encountered some difficulty in contacting the office and did not receive call-back requests.
Pros
- Has been managing funds since 1975
- Good range of mutual funds and ETFs
- Select their fund managers well
- $1.8 trillion of active funds
- Online access to buy managed funds
Cons
- Some instances of difficulty in contacting the office
- Advisory and purchasing of products coursed through third-party advisors and brokers
Customer Reviews
No problems with investment products
“I have invested with their US S&P 500 ETF and it had very low management expense ratio, around 0.08%. I never had any problems with it.” – Alex
Simply the best
“Everyone should learn about index funds and ETFs as opposed to investing with mutual funds or hedge funds. The MER is better and all those hidden fees will compound to eat your profits over time. Vanguard is simply the best! Don’t listen to me, listen to Warren Buffet and John Bogle.” – Vee
5. CPP Investments
| Criteria | Rating |
| Investment Approach | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
| Real-Time Updates | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Experience of Advisors | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Product Performance | ★★★★★ (5/5) |
| Range of Products | ★★★★☆ (4/5) |
CPP Investments manages assets invested in Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) since 1997. This focused asset management aims to help Canadians secure their funds for retirement, which is a great mission.
This firm is not only accountable to the federal government but more so to the Canadians who entrust their retirement savings to them. As of March 2022, it has a total of $539 Billion in managed funds.
However, do note that it does not offer other investment products aside from managing funds earmarked for CPP. Clients’ funds might not be able to take advantage of higher earnings because it is restricted by government laws on retirement funds.
That said, it is good to know that the funds of clients are protected by legislation so they will not be put at risk. Investments should always have a good balance of risk and reward to favour the interests of the pension plan contributors as well as their beneficiaries.
The firm can deliver this good rate of return because of its total portfolio approach. It invests locally and globally in diverse markets covering equities, bonds, private debts, real estate, and infrastructure investments.
Also noteworthy is its continuous selection, re-assessment, and weighing of the risk of its portfolio to achieve better returns. One of their ways to mitigate risk is by investing in Canadian government bonds, a minimal risk investment.
Its investments also have to take into consideration the availability of funds anytime to be able to disburse the benefits of pension holders. So, they ensure that part of the portfolio, like equities, can easily be liquidated.
Pros
- Manages CPP funds for more than 20 years
- $539 Billion in managed funds
- 6.8% return for the fiscal year 2022
- Total portfolio approach
- Continuously checks and re-assess investment strategies
Cons
- No other investment products aside from managing CPP-allocated funds
- Less chances of higher earnings due to government regulations on risk and reward balance
FAQs on Investments
That sums up our research on the top investment firms in Toronto.
For more information on investments, check these articles we have written as well:
