Relationship Disclosure
At Nest Wealth, we strive to serve your financial needs by providing you with access to investment advice that takes your personal objectives into account. For this reason, we would like you to have a good understanding of:
- Our products and the services we offer;
- Your account(s) and how we operate client accounts; and
- Our responsibilities to you.
Keep us up to date: is important that you provide us with full and accurate information so we can properly advise. You should also promptly notify us of any change to your personal circumstances, such as a change to your income, employment, net worth, address or marital status.
Keep informed: You should understand the potential risks and returns on investments and review the risks outlined in our investment management agreement. Where appropriate, we encourage you to consult professionals, such as lawyers or accountants, for legal and/or tax advice that we cannot offer you as a portfolio manager.
Stay on top of your investments: We encourage you to review all account documentation provided by us and our custodians including account statements and other reporting.
Ask us Questions: If you later have any questions related to the contents of this document, or need to change any of the information we have on file for you, please contact us at support@nestwealth.com.
Section 1 — Nest Wealth Products & Services
Standard offerings: Nest Wealth Asset Management Inc. (“Nest Wealth”) is registered as a Portfolio Manager (“PM”) in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Newfoundland & Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island.
As a portfolio manager, we provide managed account services to Canadian investors which means that we have discretion to invest, reinvest and maintain your account invested in a portfolio that is suitable for you. The suitability of your account investments is based on information that we collect about you through our digital solution and through discussions with you.
Other services: As a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider, we offer digital solutions to financial advisors and financial advisory to help improve the quality of advice in our industry. This includes digital tools related to financial planning and investment advice. We also offer tools within our product that allow you to track your goals and investment performance.
New services: You can find out about new services by visiting our website, www.nestwealth.com or through information included in email communications that we may send from time to time.
For a full list of products and services, and the relevant commissions and fees, please ask us or visit our website at www.nestwealth.com or refer to our client investment management agreement and other account opening documentation provided by our custodians.
Location Restrictions: As a Portfolio Manager (PM) registered with provincial authorities in Canada, we may be unable to offer you advisory services if you do not permanently reside in Canada. In other cases, there may be adverse tax consequences to you as a result of investing with a Canadian-based asset manager while you are present in another country. Restrictions will vary by jurisdiction. If you are a non-resident, we strongly encourage you to consult with an accountant or tax specialist prior to initiating a new account application with us.
Product Restrictions: You should be aware of the following restrictions which pertain to our offering:
- We do not purchase or hold mutual funds with deferred sales charges (DSC).
- You cannot invest in securities outside of the investment solutions we have selected to use in our model portfolios.
- We do not accept in-kind transfers nor can we advise you on securities that you may hold externally with another institution or advisor (“legacy securities”).
- As a discretionary portfolio manager, Nest Wealth is not obliged to act on client investment instructions or accept client-directed trades. Please refer to Section 2 for more information on how we operate our managed accounts.
Section 2 — Understanding Managed Accounts
Managed account: Your account is managed by members of Nest Wealth’s portfolio management team that are registered with provincial securities commissions. Our advising representatives have an obligation to assess whether a purchase or sale of a security is suitable for you.
To assess suitability, our representatives rely on information collected about you through our digital product as well as through ongoing discussions with you.
Our risk tolerance questionnaire (RTQ) and digital onboarding is meant to let us understand your investment objectives, investment time horizon, investment knowledge, risk tolerance and other relevant personal and financial circumstances.
Investment Alternatives: Our model portfolios consist of Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) model portfolios. Based on your risk score, we invest you into an asset mix which our advising representatives believe to be suitable for you. Please refer to our website or further details about these investment alternatives and our investment process.
Personal Information Updates: We rely on the information that we have on file about you to manage your portfolio and rely on you to keep us informed about big changes in your life so we can properly advise you. By signing our investment management agreement prior to opening an account with us, you agree to update your account information when material changes happen in your life such as a change of employment, change of address, change in income, or any other change that might change the information on the risk profile that we have on file for you. If you have any questions about updating your portfolio or risk profile, please contact us at investors@nestwealth.com
Digital Advice vs. Traditional Advice Models: You understand that compared with traditional “in-person” advisory firms, person to person contact may be more limited through our service. To help keep you informed, we provide you with 24/7 access to your account online so you can review your account balances, transaction history, account statements, account performance, and other account related information. Of course, we understand that questions do arise and so we also encourage you to contact our support team if you have any questions or concerns.
Custodial Arrangements: As a portfolio manager, Nest Wealth does not hold custody of your assets. When you open an account with us, your accounts are held by a custodian appointed by us.
The custodians that we presently work with are referenced in the table below:
The custodians we have selected are qualified custodians under applicable securities laws. Each Custodian is independent of Nest Wealth, is required to segregate client assets from its own assets and is subject to regulatory oversight, minimum capital and insurance requirements. The Custodian may hold securities on behalf of the client in its name or as nominee of the client.
Section 3 — Risks To Consider
Investment Risk: Which we assess your investment objectives and risk tolerance to provide you with a recommended investment portfolio, It is important that you understand that if you invest with us, you are not guaranteed to see positive investment returns.
At Nest Wealth, most of the investments we will make for you will be in ETF portfolios. ETFs fluctuate in value on a daily basis and will generally reflect changes in the value of the underlying investments which may fluctuate based on market events including but not limited to changes in interest rates, economic conditions, news and political events.
There are risks associated with investing and the greatest risk to you as an investor is that you could lose all or part of your investment. For more information regarding different types of investment products and their respective risk and reward profiles, you can refer to Investments at a Glance which is a resource that Canadian regulators have made available to financial services customers. Please refer to Schedule F of our investment management agreement for more specific information around investment risks.
Leverage Risk: Using borrowed money to finance the purchase of securities involves greater risk than using cash resources only. If you borrow money to purchase securities, you are responsible for the repayment of any loans you take and pay interest on any borrowed amounts even if the value of the securities that you purchase declines. We do not recommend using short-term debts such as lines of credit or credit cards to invest with us.
Custodian Risk: Our custodians are qualified custodians under applicable securities laws. Each custodian is independent of Nest Wealth, is required to segregate client assets from its own assets and is subject to regulatory oversight, minimum capital and insurance requirements.
Client assets are subject to risk of loss if:
(i) if the Custodian becomes bankrupt or insolvent;
(ii) if there is a breakdown in the Custodian’s information technology systems; or
(iii) due to the fraud, willful or reckless misconduct, negligence or error of the Custodian or its personnel.
On an ongoing basis, we assess our custodians’ relevant internal controls and ability to deliver custodial services effectively. Through these reviews, we aim to ensure that the custodians’ system of controls and supervision is sufficient to manage risks of loss to our clients in accordance with prudent business practice.
Other Risks: Please refer to our Investment Management Agreement for a complete list of other risks that you should be aware of as an investor using our services.
Section 4 — Account Fees
Portfolio Management Fees: We offer various pricing solutions for different investor types, including those that are already working with a financial advisor when referred to our platform. We provide more information about these fees on our website and through the pricing section of our investment management agreement.
Management Expense Ratio (MER): A Management Expense Ratio (MER) represents the cost associated with owning a fund or ETF. The MER indicates how much a fund or ETF pays in management fees and operating expenses (including taxes) on an annual basis. MERs are generally expressed as a percentage and while this is not charged to you as a separate line item, the MER reduces the returns that you would see as an investor. Please consult our ETF page for additional details about the MERs of the products we offer.
Referral Fees: If you were referred to Nest Wealth by your financial professional (“Referrer”), referral fees may be deducted and paid by Nest Wealth to the Referrer. You will receive information about these fees in the disclosure of referral arrangement documents provided to you during the account opening process.
Administrative fees: Our custodians may charge fees for certain activities and services related to the administration of your accounts. Information about these fees is provided by our custodians through the account opening package which may be delivered to you digitally through our platform or through physical mail to your address on file.
Section 5 — Conflicts Of Interest
Conflicts of interest: A conflict of interest includes any circumstance where Nest Wealth or an employee of Nest Wealth has an interest that may conflict with the interests of a client or the ability of Nest Wealth or one of its employees to deal with clients fairly in a manner consistent with the best interests of the client.
We have adopted policies and procedures to help us identify and manage conflicts of interest that may exist as part of our relationship and provide you with more information about these potential or actual conflicts below.
Management of Conflicts of Interest: The way in which we deal with different conflicts of interest will differ depending on the extent and severity of a specific conflict:
- Avoidance: This includes avoiding conflicts that are prohibited by law, as well as conflicts that cannot effectively be addressed in a client’s best interest.
- Management: We manage acceptable conflicts through means such as by implementing specific procedures and solutions
- Disclosure: For certain conflicts, we will provide you with meaningful information about the conflict so you can assess its significance and make a well-informed decision.
Possible Conflicts: Below, we outline potential or actual conflicts of interest that may arise as part of our relationship with you and details about how we address them.
Section 6 — Client Reporting
Account Statements (Nest Wealth): You will receive quarterly statements from us which outline the same detailed information as the custodian statements but presented on a quarterly basis. These statements are posted and made available to you through our client portal.
Account Statements (Custodians): You will receive account statements from our custodians on a monthly basis or quarterly if no transactions are executed on a given quarter. These statements outline your account activity over a specific period of time such as purchases and sells of securities, contributions, withdrawals, dividends, interest, transfers, grant payments and any other transactions that may have occurred in the time period covered by the statement. These statements also list your current holdings and the net value of your portfolio.
If your accounts are custodied with FCC, statements will be made available to you through our client portal. For clients with accounts custodied with NBIN, the custodian will mail physical copies to your address on file unless you enroll for digital delivery through NBIN’s MyPortfolio+ service.
Annual Investment Performance Report: The Annual Performance Report is designed to help you better understand how your investments are performing. It contains information about your personal rates of return net of any fees and it also contains information about changes in the value of your accounts over a given calendar year and since the inception of your account. We generate this report on an annual basis during January and make this available to you in the client portal on the “Statements” section.
Annual Fees Disclosure Report: The Annual Fee Disclosure Report is a summary of investment-related charges you have paid during the calendar year. Our report will summarize for you management fees, referral fees, and taxes on these fees charged to you during a given calendar year. We generate this report on an annual basis during January and make this available to you in the client portal on the “Statements” section.
Our custodians will also make available to you their own Annual Fees Disclosure document which will outline other administrative fees that the custodian may charge from time to time for activities such as partial de-registrations of a registered account. Our custodians will make this report available to you on or about January of each year.
Tax Reporting: Depending on your specific account types and/or investment activity for the year, our custodians will generate tax documentation.
If your accounts are custodied with FCC, tax documentation will be made available to you through our client portal. For clients with accounts custodied with NBIN, the custodian will mail physical copies to your address on file unless you enroll for digital delivery through NBIN’s MyPortfolio+ service.
Section 7 — Complaint Handling Process
Step 1: Client Experience: We manage large volumes of client inquiries on most days and our support team strives to provide you with the best possible client experience. If you have issues or concerns that you would like us to investigate further, please contact our support team at support@nestwealth.com.
Step 2: Director of Customer Success: If our support team is unable to resolve your concerns or if you feel that your concerns have not been addressed or resolved to your satisfaction, please contact our Customer Success Director at support@nestwealth.com subject line “Attention Director of Customer Success” so we can learn more about your issue and try to find a resolution.
Step 3: Compliance Department: If you are unable to resolve your concerns with our support team or with the Director of Customer Success, you can send your concerns in writing to the Compliance team at compliance@nestwealth.com.
Step 4: Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBSI): If our firm is unable to help you resolve your concerns, clients have the option to escalate their concerns to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (“OBSI”). OBSI is an independent dispute resolutions service that is available to you at no cost. More information about this process can be found in the OBSI’s services brochure.
Section 8 — Other Information
Address Updates: If you move, it is important that you update our support team with your new address as timely as possible. Failure to update your address in a timely manner can result in restrictions being set on your account by our custodians which may impair our ability to service your account effectively.
Privacy & Confidentiality: By signing our investment management agreement, you consent to the sharing of your information as outlined in our Privacy and Security policies. We strongly encourage you to review these policies carefully prior to deciding to use our service and to contact our team if you have any questions.
Electronic Communications: By signing up for our service, you understand that our process for providing investment advice is largely delivered through electronic means and that notices will be delivered to you electronically as described in our investment management agreement.
Errors: You understand that it is important for you to review carefully and promptly your account statements and other documentation (as requested) to make sure that there are no unintentional errors that may have arised.
If you identify any errors in your account statement, you must notify us within a reasonable time period from receiving the statement so that our team can help to amend any errors.
Disclosures & Important Information
*Fidelity Clearing Canada ULC (FCC) is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of 483 Bay Street Holdings LP, which is a joint venture between FIL Limited and Fidelity Canada Investors LLC. FCC and two other separate related legal entities are also Canadian securities registrants – Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and Fidelity (Canada) Asset Management ULC – conduct business under the “Fidelity Investments” brand, which is a trademark of Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and a registered business name of FCC. However, each Canadian securities registrants operates and conducts its business independently of each other