Wealthsimple ‘Black’ Premium Service Debuts [u]

Update May 15, 2020: Wealthsimple has removed the Priority Pass membership as a perk from Wealthsimple Black and Generation.

“The world changes, and we try to change with it. As you’ve certainly noticed, a lot has changed in the last couple of months. Many of our clients don’t use air travel as much as they once did and that reality is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future. And, we want the benefits we offer our clients to add consistent and substantial value. That’s why, after careful consideration, we’ve decided to discontinue the Priority Pass membership as a Wealthsimple Black and Generation perk,” said Wealthsimple in a statement.

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Wealthsimple Black has just debuted from Canada’s leading online investment service (or robo-adviser), Wealthsimple, as an added service for premium customers with $100,000 or more in deposits.

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Added perks of the Black program—available to new and existing clients—include a 0.4% management fee (versus 0.5% for the standard Basic service), a Priority Pass to 1000+ airline lounges worldwide for the cardholder plus a guest, personalized financial planning, tax-loss harvesting, and tax-efficient accounts.

“At Wealthsimple, we’re constantly evolving to meet the needs of our clients, and as their savings grow we’re growing with them,” said Michael Katchen, founder and CEO of Wealthsimple, in an emailed statement to iPhone in Canada. “Our mission is to provide the best service and financial advice to all investors, no matter how far along they are toward reaching their financial goals.”

Here are the differences between Wealthsimple Basic versus Wealthsimple Black:

Wealthsimple Basic:

  • 0.5% management fee
  • A personalized portfolio
  • On-demand financial advice from experienced portfolio managers
  • Automatic portfolio rebalancing and dividend reinvestment
  • The first $5,000 managed for free

Wealthsimple Black:

  • All Basic features, plus:
  • 0.4% management fee
  • Priority Pass access to 1,000+ airline lounges globally for cardholder + one guest
  • Goal-based financial planning with an experienced portfolio manager
  • Tax-loss harvesting
  • Tax efficient funds
Wealthsimple expects to cross $1 billion in assets in 2017, while the company’s staff has tripled to 75 in the past year, according to Reuters. Katchen said “We’re planning on some really major growth this year. We’re certainly looking to cross the billion (dollar) threshold in very short order and get to billions very quickly thereafter.”
The company is backed by Power Financial Corp., with nearly 15,000 clients in Canada investing about $750 million CAD ($567 million USD) in exchange traded funds (ETFs).
Also with today’s announcement is a new design for Wealthsimple’s website, adding a cleaner, simpler design. The online investing service is targeting younger investors or those who do not have time to manage their investments.

Bonus: click here to sign up for Wealthsimple—and get an additional $10,000 managed for free for iPhoneinCanada.ca readers. You can then manage everything from the company’s iPhone app.

Disclosure: Wealthsimple is one of our affiliate partners, which allows you to support iPhoneinCanada.ca. 

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