CashNews.co
Lee spent 14 years at BMO GAM managing $50 billion in assets across various strategies, including fixed income, equity beta, factor-based, sector and thematic ETFs. He also has extensive experience in product development, portfolio management, and client-focused solutions.
His new role will involve working closely with Q Wealth’s CIO Larry Berman, enhancing the core asset solutions platform at firm, and supporting the firm’s registered advisors to create custom pooled solutions and tailored portfolios aligned with what their clients need.
Lee told WP the move had reignited the feeling of excitement and potential he last got when he started at BMO.
“I come from the ETF industry where I, along with a couple of other people, helped build one of the biggest ETF franchises in Canada,” he said. “That began 14 years ago. Looking back then, there was so much excitement in the ETF industry and all this growth expectation, and when I look at the [RIA-style model] in Canada, I get the same kind of feeling. There’s so much buzz about it.”
The RIA business in the US has exploded and the independent space in Canada, while growing, is on the precipice of a similar rush thanks to two incoming tailwinds: interest from US private equity firms, and CIRO’s more welcoming stance on advisor incorporation. But even once committed to going it alone, the process can be daunting for advisors who don’t have a business background or the infrastructure in place. Q Wealth provides turnkey solutions for advisors to step out on their own while still having the firm’s support.