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At the start of 2019, I left my comfortable government job of 13 years to begin a new professional journey. I spent the next six months researching the Canadian financial services industry, meeting with industry practitioners, testing out different tools, getting licensed to sell insurance products in Alberta, and establishing a corporation. Those efforts ultimately resulted in the creation of High Level Wealth Management Inc., a company that provides independent, evidence-based financial planning and wealth management services to Edmontonians.

Industry issues

While researching the financial services industry and laying the groundwork for High Level Wealth Management, several issues stood out to me:

  1. Navigating the array of choices for your personal financial needs can be both frustrating and confusing. There are insurance agencies, mutual fund dealers, banks, trust companies, private wealth firms, portfolio managers, investment dealers, and robo-advisors. These entities fall under at least four different regulatory bodies, each with different registration requirements for their members. As a result, practitioners in the Canadian financial services industry possess a wide range of experience and qualifications. In Alberta, there is no protection for titles such as Financial Advisor or Financial Planner and there is an abundance of finance-related designations each with varying proficiency requirements. All of this creates a landscape where it can be very difficult to determine who to trust.
  2. Most practitioners are employed by one of the big banks or a large investment management company. This results in part because of the heavy legal/compliance burden placed on firms in the financial services industry, making it difficult for small independent firms to compete. The large firms may offer financial planning services to their clients, but they also market their own proprietary investment products, creating a potential conflict of interest. Are you being recommended a product because it is the best option for you or because it is the most lucrative for the company selling it?
  3. Traditional investment products like mutual funds typically compensate the individuals selling them with embedded commissions that can be difficult to understand. The lack of transparency creates the potential for a conflict of interest and erodes trust between advisors and clients. These hidden fees can also quickly eat away at your investment returns.

A different approach

I kept these and other issues front and centre while establishing High Level Wealth Management, structuring the company in a way that addresses each of them:

Qualifications

In addition to a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction from the University of Alberta, Kent is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®), an international designation considered the highest distinction in the investment management profession.

Experience

Prior to starting High Level Wealth Management, Kent spent a decade in the institutional investment industry, with five of those years spent as a discretionary Portfolio Manager responsible for $550 million of fixed income investments at the City of Edmonton.

Transparency

Our fees are transparent and straight-forward so you’ll never be unsure of how much you’re really paying. We charge a fixed rate for our financial planning services and fully disclose any commissions we might earn from investment or insurance products.

Alignment of Interests

Charging a flat fee for financial planning allows us to offer independent opinions that aren’t tied to selling products. We can work with your existing investment portfolio or provide a straightforward referral to a portfolio manager when appropriate.

If you’re looking for a financial advisor with custom pinstripe suits and a lavish downtown office building, we probably aren’t the right fit for you. Instead, we offer a comfortable and private setting in a hundred-year-old brick home-office. We are located in the Oliver neighbourhood, just a few blocks from the High Level Bridge.

Our working hours are flexible, with daytime, evening, and weekend meeting times available to accommodate your schedule.

Thank you for taking the time to read a bit about High Level Wealth Management. I encourage you to explore our website to learn more about our services, or to get in touch with us to discuss how we might be able to help you.

Sincerely,

Kent Akgungor, CFA
High Level Wealth Management Inc.