Portfolio Strategies Corporation
Suite 200
1615 – 10th Ave SW
Calgary,
Alberta
T3C 0J7 Canada
Click for Map/Directions
Tel:
403-616-3434
403-262-5205
Fax:
403-287-8422
403-262-6748
mikewise@wiseword.ca
Bio & Investment Philosophy
• Introduction• Biography - H. Michael Wise, P.Eng., F.C.S.I.
• Investment Philosophy
• Note for Prospective Clients
• Portfolio Strategies Corporation • Ray Hansen and Associates Ltd
Introduction
Mike Wise provides conservative wealth management services to his clients, including financial and estate planning and investment and insurance advice.
He is associated with Portfolio Strategies Corporation, an independent Calgary-based financial services firm that has branches in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. Portfolio Strategies manages nearly $1.5 billion on behalf of clients.
Mike provides insurance-related services through Ray Hansen and Associates Ltd, a boutique managing general agency headquartered in Calgary.
Biography
H. Michael Wise, P.Eng., F.C.S.I.
Mike Wise has served as advisor to a corporate retirement fund, as an investment advisor with a full-service brokerage firm, and now provides financial advice to individuals and corporations with Portfolio Strategies Corporation. His specialty is a client-centred approach to financial planning, using a custom Statement of Guidelines and Objectives to direct investment policy.
Mike is a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute. This is the highest award available in the investment industry in Canada. He is registered to offer investment products to clients in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, and insurance solutions to Alberta residents.
He has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada. The IFB is a professional association representing approximately 4,000 financial advisors. All members are registered and licensed to provide investment and/or insurance advice to their clients.
The hallmark of IFB members is that they are independent advisors who are able to offer a range of financial services in order to best serve the needs of their clients. All IFB members must adhere to a strict Code of Conduct.
Mike is author of Canadian Asset Allocation Strategies, was a contributing writer to Canadian MoneySaver magazine for several years, and has been quoted in The Calgary Herald, The Financial Post and The Globe & Mail.
He appeared on CBC Newsworld to speak on retirement planning issues, and was also a guest lecturer at a professional society annual meeting and at a national sales conference. Mike was The Investor Learning Centre of Calgary's most frequent guest speaker, with four presentations over two years.
Investment Philosophy
"Because of my pension background, I believe in a very disciplined approach to money management, which starts with a formal Statement of Guidelines and Objectives.This document lays out the ground rules for the investment process: the time frame, income requirements, returns expected, and any portfolio constraints. It also includes a benchmark against which to evaluate performance.
"Pension funds have historically achieved returns superior to those achieved by individual investors. I ascribe that performance to several factors:
- A written Investment Policy Statement;
- Performance measurement, against both a benchmark and the client's objective;
- Separation of the roles of investment manager and performance monitor.
"At Portfolio Strategies, we believe that the biggest risk that a client faces is failure to meet his or her financial goal. We are one of the foremost practitioners in Calgary (and possibly all of Canada) in the application of Modern Portfolio Theory to development of our clients' portfolios.
"This means that we determine the investment return that our client needs to fulfill his/her financial goals, and find an asset mix that will meet the required return with the least possible uncertainty. We cannot eliminate risk, but we can measure it and minimize it! The result is usually a portfolio that has far less volatility than a standard balanced portfolio, but comparable or superior returns."
Note for Prospective Clients
"I have been practising for almost 20 years. My method of doing business is quite labour intensive, and I maintain a client base of under 100 families in order to achieve a high level of personal service to all. I am not actively trying to expand my client base, and am seeking only clients with whom I can develop a long-term close relationship."New clients that I accept must have current financial assets over $200,000, or the financial ability and resolve to reach that position within a few years.
"I use mutual funds for the equity part of the portfolio because the volatility of individual stocks is too high for me to project return and risk for the portfolio as a whole. Clients may have individual stocks or corporate bonds within their account, but these will not be part of the financial plan, and clients will be responsible for buy/sell decisions.
"I mainly use GICs, government bonds and income-producing exempt market securities (such as mortgage investment corporations) for the fixed income side of a portfolio. I use mutual funds for foreign bonds and high yield corporate debt, because I believe it cost-effective to pay a manager to control the currency or default risk.
"Most importantly, I prefer clients with whom I can develop a good working relationship, based upon mutual trust and respect."
Portfolio Strategies Corporation
Corporate Profile
Portfolio Strategies Corporation is a Calgary-based investment consulting firm with offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. The firm is growing rapidly, and now has over 300 representatives. Our clients entrust us with nearly $1.5 billion in assets. Portfolio Strategies is totally independent, and can access the professional management services of most Canadian investment management firms. We also offer government bonds, strip bonds, mortgage-backed securities or GICs, when these are appropriate to our client's needs.
We provide financial planning and investment advice mainly to individuals, offering a high level of personal service to our clients. Our investment policy tends to be conservative, with a long-term outlook.
Portfolio Strategies believes in innovation that will improve the service offered to clients. The firm is the leader in Western Canada in applying Modern Portfolio Theory to custom tailor client portfolios. This means that we can design an investment portfolio that will meet or exceed a targeted rate of return, while minimizing (and measuring) the shorter term downside riskiness. The result is a portfolio that usually has better performance than the traditional "balanced" portfolio, while having less year-over-year fluctuation in returns.
Portfolio Strategies has installed an on-line electronic order processing system for efficient handling of client accounts. The system allows our clients to have web-based access to their account information.
Ray Hansen and Associates Ltd is a boutique MGA that has been specializing in marketing and field administrative support for selected Life Insurers for the past 18 years.
Ray Hansen and Associates Ltd
Corporate Profile