How we work
A written plan.
A clear view of the trade-offs.
Your investments, tax strategies, ownership structures, cash needs, and family goals belong in the same conversation. We examine how they work together before recommending what should change.
Fees and professional responsibilities →
01 Understand your personal and corporate picture
We review the assets, liabilities, income, commitments, and family priorities that shape your decisions. Where a corporation or trust is part of your wealth, we consider how it connects with your personal finances. Our team brings wealth planning into every onboarding, so it helps guide the relationship from the start.
02 Look for tax opportunities across your wealth
We proactively examine tax strategies and structures beyond the investments we manage. Depending on your circumstances, this can include tax deductibility and financing, personal and corporate income planning, trusts, estate planning, and tax exposure across borders. We assess opportunities against your liquidity needs, costs, risks, and longer-term priorities.
Our team develops recommendations, drawing on BMO’s tax and estate specialists where relevant. We explain the opportunity, assumptions, and practical steps, then work with your accountant and lawyer to assess the details and coordinate implementation.
03 Put the recommendation in writing
Before you decide to work together, you receive a written plan setting out your priorities, current arrangements, and our proposed changes. It includes the financial implications and relevant assumptions, costs, risks, and trade-offs. You have something tangible to review, question, and discuss with your other advisors.
04 Give each part of your capital a purpose
We develop investment recommendations from your tax exposure and liquidity needs outward. Capital needed soon has a different job from capital intended for a future opportunity or the next generation.
Near-term commitments
Cash for spending and known obligations, with attention to when it needs to be available.
Future plans and opportunities
Capital for goals with a longer horizon, balanced against the flexibility you may need along the way.
Long-term family wealth
Investments considered in the context of future generations, family priorities, and wealth transfer.
05 Act on the plan and keep it current
We agree on priorities, explain the next steps, and coordinate implementation. When a business transaction, family change, or new opportunity arises, our understanding of your financial picture helps us focus on the decisions that need attention.
Tax planning priorities
Start with the decisions that matter to you.
Personal and corporate capital
Examine ownership, financing, and the way income reaches you. We look for opportunities across personal and corporate arrangements, including distributions and potential deductions, and evaluate them with the appropriate specialists.
A sale or major transition
Review business ownership and succession structures before a transaction is underway. We develop planning ideas with BMO specialists and coordinate with your advisors, connecting tax considerations with cash commitments and the purpose of the proceeds.
Family wealth and giving
Consider trusts, estate tax exposure, liquidity, and charitable intentions alongside family priorities. We explore how ownership and timing may support the transfer of wealth, with attention to the rules that apply to each family.
Read BMO's overview of tax planning
Support for the wealth and the people behind it.
Prepare the next generation
With your agreement, we involve the second and third generations in age-appropriate conversations about investing, the family’s broader portfolio, and financial decisions. Education and ongoing support help them understand their responsibilities and prepare for an eventual inheritance.
Connect with BMO Private Banking
Our connection to BMO Private Banking brings banking, lending, and liquidity planning into the wider conversation. We work with private banking specialists to coordinate solutions around your personal, business, and family needs, subject to eligibility and applicable terms.
Broaden the investment choices
For suitable, eligible clients, we can access selected institutional-style investment strategies and specialist managers. We assess their role in diversification, capital preservation, and after-tax return objectives, weighing fees, liquidity, and risks.
Fees and professional responsibilities
How we are paid
We charge investment management fees for our services and do not receive commissions for those services. Before you decide to work together, we explain how your fee is calculated, what it covers, and any additional investment costs.
This structure supports advice focused on your objectives. We identify and address conflicts of interest and explain those that may affect the relationship.
Your interests come first
As a CFA charterholder, Justin is bound by CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct. These require him to act with loyalty, prudence, and care, and to place clients’ interests ahead of his own or his employer’s.
For you, that means recommendations grounded in your circumstances, careful consideration of risks and trade-offs, and clear explanations of costs and material conflicts.
Read CFA Institute’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct
Questions you may be considering
Who is the relationship designed for?
We typically work with individuals and families with $10 million or more in investable assets, particularly where personal investments, corporate wealth, and family responsibilities need to be considered together. The complexity of your circumstances, your planning needs, and the fit with our approach also matter.
How do you work with my accountant and lawyer?
We take an active role in identifying opportunities and developing planning ideas, drawing on our team’s experience and BMO’s tax and estate specialists. We bring recommendations to your accountant and lawyer for coordinated assessment and implementation. They retain their professional roles, while you benefit from a team looking across the whole picture.
Can we start before a business sale or liquidity event?
Yes. Planning can begin before a transaction is imminent. We can help you consider cash needs, personal and corporate wealth, and the role the proceeds may play in your life and your family's future.
What will I see before deciding to work together?
Your written plan gives you a concrete proposal to review, question, and discuss with your other advisors before deciding.
What can the relationship cover?
The relationship can connect investment management with tax strategies, personal and corporate structures, cash flow, business transitions, estate planning, and next-generation education. BMO Private Banking and specialist resources broaden the support available where appropriate.
Discuss your priorities →