Industry veterans launch automated investment service

A technology-driven investment manager called Wealthsimple has launched in Canada.

It’s been designed to construct personalized investment portfolios for investors with a minimum account size of $5,000.

The service’s management fees are between 0.35% and 0.50% because people’s portfolios are built using low-cost index funds. Also, there are no trading costs and no administration fees on RRSP and TFSA accounts.

The service includes a dashboard that highlights investors’ total investments, portfolio values and overall performances.

Wealthsimple was founded by a team of financial experts and technology entrepreneurs. This group includes:

Eric Kirzner, professor of finance at U of T’s Rotman School of Management;
Roger Martin, former dean of the Rotman School of Management;
Joe Canavan, former CEO of Assante;
Silicon Valley’s David Ossip (DayForce and Workbrain) and Brett Huneycutt (Y Combinator alumni and 1000memories); and
U.S.-based entrepreneur Rudy Adler, who helped develop the service’s technology.

“We built our investment platform…to deliver a product that offers sophisticated investment strategies and personalized service that’s affordable,” says Michael Katchen, founder and CEO of Wealthsimple.

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