Beyond CRM2: Justwealth makes Portfolio Review Service available to public

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - January 26, 2017) - As part of its commitment to transparency, Toronto-based Justwealth Financial announced today that it is making its Portfolio Review Service available to the general public. The free portfolio review digs deeper than the rules set out by CRM2 and is the most comprehensive service of its kind by a robo-advisor.

"CRM2 is not complete in terms of full fee disclosure," said Andrew Kirkland, President of Justwealth. "Justwealth's Portfolio Review Service goes past CRM2 -- think CRM3. The service will inform investors of additional fees that they may be paying, and provide an in-depth review and opinion of the investment merits of their current portfolio."

Justwealth has offered its Portfolio Review Service to its clients for some time, but considering the new reporting requirements under CRM2, which require investment firms to report annually on Charges and Compensation and Investment Performance, the company has made this service available to all investors.

Beyond cost comparison: In depth analysis

Justwealth Portfolio Review Service is more than a simple cost comparison tool. It allows investment experts to provide their professional opinion on how an investment portfolio is invested -- without any cost to the investor. When analyzing an investment portfolio, Justwealth experts review many aspects including performance analysis, fees, diversification, account structuring and identifying any real or potential conflicts of interest.

"Quite often, the most significant cost to an investor is the cost of bad advice, whether due to conflicts of interest or lack of experience of their investment representative," said James Gauthier, Chief Investment Officer of Justwealth. Investors can securely upload statements or other confidential data for a free evaluation at https://www.justwealth.com/portfolio-review.

Robo-advisors: No Longer Just for Millennials

Looking at a breakdown of Justwealth's users by demographic cohort -- the company's Boomer and Gen X segments are showing robust growth. Justwealth's data shows that two-thirds of its clients are over the age of 35 (representing over 75 per cent of the company's assets under management):

• Millennials (35 and under) account for 33.3 per cent of clients and 24.3 per cent of assets under management
• Gen Xers (36-55) account for 46.4 per cent of clients and 35.0 per cent of client assets under management
• Boomers+ (56 and older) account for 20.3 per cent of clients and 40.8 per cent of client assets under management

"The notion that most robo-advisor clients are Millennials is just not true," said Mr. Kirkland, "Although Millennials comprised the majority of our early adopters, the surge of Gen X and Boomer clients has clearly defined a new trend. Given the expertise of our investment professionals and the breadth of our capabilities, I suppose that we should not be surprised by this data."

Overall Robo-advisor awareness still quite low

A 2016 Google Canadian consumer survey by Justwealth revealed 65.1 per cent of Canadians were not aware of the CRM2 rules, that almost two-thirds of survey respondents did not know how much they paid in annual investment fees and that more than 80 per cent were not familiar with the services provided by robo-advisors. Justwealth is confident now that now that CRM2 has come into full effect, and Canadians understand the fees they're paying, they will seek out greater transparency from investment managers, like Justwealth, that are held to a fiduciary standard for their clients.

Justwealth adds three new ETFs to their portfolios

Justwealth today announced the introduction of three new Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) into their lineup: The BMO Ultra Short-Term Bond ETF, the BMO US Put Write ETF and the Purpose Premium Yield Fund ETF. Justwealth is now using an industry-leading 32 different ETFs from seven distinct providers in its client portfolios. Overall, Justwealth offers 61 distinct investment portfolios, more than all online and most traditional investment firms in Canada. These portfolios are uniquely designed to accumulate wealth, preserve wealth or generate tax-efficient income.

According to Mr. Gauthier, "Justwealth is always looking for new ways to improve the efficiency of client portfolios in the form of enhanced returns, reduced risk and/or lower costs."

About Justwealth Financial

Justwealth is Canada's most comprehensive online portfolio management platform, offering over 60 different portfolios, customized to meet each investor's needs and goals. It is made of investment industry experts looking to change the way investment advice is provided in Canada, and to treat clients as they themselves would like to be treated: justly. Justwealth is registered to serve residents in all ten Canadian provinces.