GLOBAL MARKETS · SEVEN ASSET CLASSES · INSTITUTIONAL DISCIPLINE

Stop Limiting Your Wealth to One Market. Start Accessing Global Opportunity.

Canada represents roughly 3% of global market capitalization — yet most Canadian investors hold 60% or more of their equity allocation at home. That imbalance isn't patriotism; it's a structural vulnerability that concentrates your retirement in a handful of sectors.

Since our founding in 2012, we've built every client portfolio across seven asset classes, multiple geographies, and every major market — because true diversification isn't optional. It's the single most reliable driver of long-term, risk-adjusted returns.

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Where Your Capital Works Around the Clock

Restricting your portfolio to your home market isn't prudent — it's a structural vulnerability. Our six credentialed professionals manage exposure across four distinct geographic zones, ensuring your wealth participates in economic growth wherever it occurs. Currently managing $285M+ under advisement across 340+ client households, every allocation is calibrated to reduce home bias while optimizing for tax efficiency and currency exposure.

Canadian Equities

Our home market and the foundation for tax-efficient income. We build concentrated positions in large-cap Canadian dividend payers — the major banks, pipelines, telecoms, and utilities — where direct stock ownership unlocks the dividend tax credit, reducing your effective tax rate on income by 20–30% compared to interest income in non-registered accounts.

TSX-listed equities with emphasis on financials, energy, utilities, and materials — sectors where Canada holds genuine competitive advantages on the global stage. Nathalie Ouellet, CFA, CIM®, manages sector rotation within the Canadian equity sleeve, adjusting weightings based on macroeconomic signals and valuation discipline.

Typical allocation: 15–30% of total equity, depending on the client's income needs and tax situation.

U.S. Equities

The world's deepest, most liquid equity market — representing over 60% of global market capitalization. We access U.S. exposure primarily through low-cost, broad-market ETFs from Vanguard, iShares, and BMO, capturing the full breadth of S&P 500, mid-cap, and total-market returns without the concentration risk of individual stock picking in a market where informational advantages are nearly impossible to sustain.

U.S. equities are placed in RRSPs where possible to recover the 15% withholding tax under the Canada-U.S. tax treaty — a detail that saves clients thousands annually and is overlooked by the majority of Canadian advisors. This is part of our broader asset location optimization discipline.

Typical allocation: 30–45% of total equity, forming the core growth engine of most portfolios.

International Developed Markets

Europe, Japan, Australia, and developed Asia — representing approximately 25% of global equity capitalization. These markets provide essential diversification because their business cycles, interest rate environments, and sector compositions differ meaningfully from North America. When Canadian and U.S. markets correct, international developed equities often provide a stabilizing counterweight.

Accessed through broad international equity ETFs with competitive MERs — typically 0.20–0.25%, a fraction of the 2.1% average Canadians pay on mutual funds. We favour EAFE-benchmarked funds (Europe, Australasia, Far East) and selectively add country-specific or sector-specific tilts when valuations justify it.

Typical allocation: 15–25% of total equity, ensuring meaningful participation in non-North American growth.

Emerging Markets

China, India, Brazil, Southeast Asia, and beyond — countries where younger demographics, expanding middle classes, and rapid industrialization create structural growth tailwinds that developed economies no longer offer. Emerging markets currently represent roughly 12% of global market capitalization but account for over 40% of global GDP, a gap that tends to close over multi-decade horizons.

We accept the higher short-term volatility inherent in these markets because the long-term return premium is real and well-documented. Accessed through diversified EM equity ETFs — never concentrated in a single country — with MERs typically under 0.30%.

Typical allocation: 5–15% of total equity, scaled to client time horizon. Clients within five years of retirement see smaller allocations; those with 20+ year horizons see larger ones.

Canadian & Global Fixed Income

Government of Canada bonds, provincial bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds, GICs for laddered maturity structures, and short-duration liquidity sleeves. Fixed income is the ballast in every portfolio — providing stability, predictable income, and rebalancing ammunition during equity drawdowns. When stocks fall 30%, bonds give you something to sell so you can buy equities at depressed prices.

Duration management is calibrated to our interest rate outlook and each client's specific cash-flow needs. For retirement decumulation clients, we build bond ladders that match anticipated withdrawal schedules year by year, eliminating the need to sell equities at inopportune times.

Typical allocation: 20–60% of total portfolio, depending on risk tolerance, time horizon, and income requirements.

Seven Asset Classes — Each Earning Its Place

Every asset class serves a distinct purpose within your portfolio architecture. No filler. No duplication. No trendy alternatives that generate fees without returns. Each allocation is stress-tested by our quantitative team and justified in your Investment Policy Statement before a single dollar moves.

Equities (Canadian & Global)

The primary growth engine for every long-term portfolio. Individual stocks for Canadian large-cap dividend positions — banks, pipelines, telecoms — where direct ownership delivers the dividend tax credit. Broad-market ETFs for U.S., international, and emerging market exposure, keeping MERs under 0.25% on average.

Sector rotation strategies managed by Nathalie Ouellet, CFA, CIM®, drawing on over a decade of institutional equity research experience. Weightings are adjusted quarterly based on macro signals, relative valuations, and earnings revisions — never gut feelings.

Role in portfolio: Capital appreciation, dividend income, long-term inflation protection.

Fixed Income

Government of Canada bonds, provincial bonds (Ontario, Québec, BC), investment-grade corporate bonds, and GICs structured in laddered maturity schedules. We construct custom bond ladders for decumulation clients — each rung matching a specific year's anticipated withdrawals — so you never sell equities to fund near-term expenses.

Duration management is calibrated to the prevailing interest rate environment and each client's liability profile. In rising-rate environments, we shorten duration. In falling-rate environments, we extend it. Every adjustment is documented and explained in your quarterly review.

Role in portfolio: Capital preservation, predictable income, rebalancing ammunition during equity corrections.

Real Assets

Infrastructure ETFs (toll roads, airports, data centres, renewable energy) and REIT (real estate investment trust) ETFs providing income and inflation protection beyond traditional stocks and bonds. Real assets generate revenue streams tied to physical assets with contractual escalation clauses — rents, tolls, and usage fees that rise with inflation by design.

We favour broadly diversified infrastructure and REIT funds over single-property or single-sector plays, maintaining low concentration risk. Distribution yields typically range from 3–5%, providing meaningful income while the underlying assets appreciate over time.

Role in portfolio: Inflation protection, income diversification, low correlation to traditional fixed income.

Preferred Shares

Canadian preferred shares — primarily rate-reset and perpetual issues from major banks, insurers, and utilities — offering attractive yields with the favorable tax treatment of eligible dividends. In non-registered accounts, the effective after-tax yield on a 5% preferred share can exceed that of a 7% bond for investors in higher tax brackets.

Deployed selectively in income-focused and conservative portfolios where tax efficiency is paramount. We monitor credit ratings, reset spreads, and call provisions to ensure each position continues to earn its place. Positions are accessed through individual issues or focused preferred share ETFs, depending on account size and diversification requirements.

Role in portfolio: Tax-efficient income, hybrid risk profile between bonds and equities.

Cash & Liquidity

High-interest savings ETFs (HISA ETFs), money market instruments, and short-duration T-bills. Often overlooked, cash is a strategic asset — not idle capital. Every portfolio maintains a minimum 12-month liquidity buffer covering anticipated withdrawals, fees, and tax obligations. This ensures that equities are never sold at depressed prices to fund near-term needs.

During periods of elevated market uncertainty, we may temporarily increase the cash allocation to 5–10% of the total portfolio, creating "dry powder" for opportunistic rebalancing when valuations become attractive. This tactical flexibility is a structural advantage of our discretionary portfolio management approach.

Role in portfolio: Liquidity, withdrawal funding, tactical flexibility, psychological stability.

A Framework Built for Resilience — Not Prediction

We don't predict markets. We build portfolios that are structurally resilient — designed to perform across multiple economic scenarios, not just the one we hope for.

Every portfolio starts with a formal Investment Policy Statement (IPS) — the governance document that codifies your objectives, constraints, risk parameters, asset allocation targets, and rebalancing triggers. This isn't a formality. It's the contract between you and your portfolio. It ensures that every decision we make on your behalf is traceable to a documented rationale, not a market opinion. Learn more about our comprehensive service approach.

Philippe Tran, our Director of Risk & Quantitative Strategy, stress-tests every portfolio against historical drawdown scenarios — the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (where the S&P/TSX fell 43%), the 2020 COVID crash (a 34% decline in 23 trading days), and the 2022 rate-shock environment (where bonds and equities fell simultaneously for the first time in decades). You'll know in advance what a bad year looks like for your specific allocation — no surprises, no panic, no rash decisions.

We employ a disciplined rebalancing methodology that automatically enforces "buy low, sell high" — trimming winners and adding to underperformers at predetermined thresholds. When Canadian banks are up 25% and emerging markets are down 15%, the rebalancing process systematically sells strength and buys weakness. Over time, this mechanical discipline adds 0.5–1.0% in annualized returns — the quantifiable value of removing emotion from portfolio management.

Asset location — which accounts hold which asset types — is optimized for after-tax returns. Canadian dividend payers go in non-registered accounts (for the dividend tax credit). U.S. equities go in RRSPs (to eliminate withholding tax). Bonds and GICs go in registered accounts (where interest income avoids immediate taxation). That distinction from asset allocation is one that most advisors overlook entirely — and it can add tens of thousands of dollars to your after-tax wealth over a lifetime. Explore our latest research on tax-efficient strategies.

STEP 1

IPS Creation

Objectives, constraints, risk tolerance codified into a binding governance document

STEP 2

Stress Testing

1,000+ Monte Carlo scenarios simulated against 2008, 2020, and 2022 benchmarks

STEP 3

Asset Allocation

Seven asset classes, globally diversified, calibrated to your specific risk-return profile

STEP 4

Disciplined Rebalancing

Systematic, threshold-driven execution that enforces buy-low, sell-high discipline

How We Protect Your Capital Before Growing It

Every allocation decision is evaluated through the lens of downside protection first, upside capture second. With a 94% client retention rate across 340+ households since 2012, our track record demonstrates that protecting capital during drawdowns is the foundation of long-term trust — and long-term returns.

7 Asset Classes in Every Diversified Portfolio

1,000+ Monte Carlo Scenarios Per Stress Test

3 Historical Drawdown Benchmarks (2008, 2020, 2022)

12 Mo. Liquidity Buffer Maintained in Every Portfolio

Philippe Tran's quantitative risk framework — refined over seven years at Mynewlife since joining in 2018 — models tail-risk scenarios that conventional volatility metrics like standard deviation fail to capture. Specifically, we measure Conditional Value at Risk (CVaR), maximum drawdown depth, drawdown duration, and recovery time for every portfolio at every proposed allocation. If the worst-case scenario exceeds your documented tolerance, we don't proceed until the allocation is adjusted.

Every portfolio is subjected to third-party due diligence processes commensurate with institutional capital markets standards. Our project management methodology ensures that risk assessment reports are delivered before — not after — allocation decisions are finalized. You see the numbers before we execute. You approve the approach before capital moves. This transparency is central to why our client retention rate stands at 94%.

The result: clients who experienced the 2020 COVID drawdown with a Mynewlife portfolio already knew what to expect. They had seen the stress-test numbers during onboarding. They had a 12-month liquidity buffer in place. They stayed disciplined because they understood, in concrete terms, that their portfolio was built for exactly this scenario. They recovered fully — and many came out ahead by rebalancing into equities at the bottom.

This is the difference between hoping your portfolio survives a downturn and knowing it will. Read more about our quantitative approach in our Research & Insights section, or schedule a conversation to see what a stress test looks like for your current holdings.

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