Wellington-Altus is equipping its advisors for success to run their business as they see fit
Wellington-Altus Private Wealth has grown significantly, crossing the $10-billion AUM mark before hitting its third birthday. Part of that success is thanks to co-founder, vice-chairman and investment advisor Todd Degelman. For Degelman, who also co-manages a practice within Wellington-Altus, Platinum Group, out of Saskatoon, the firm’s success can be attributed to experience and becoming the ‘unbank’ for advisors as the industry moves forward.
Degelman and his partner, co-founder and chairman Charlie Spiring, have had their practices in Saskatoon and Winnipeg for more than 25 years. In 2000, Degelman joined Charlie and they formed Wellington West Capital, combining their practices. They started with the two offices and $750 million in AUM. Within 10 years they had grown to 40 offices and $10.3 billion.
They sold to National Bank and entered into a five-year commitment. However, after the five-year commitment ended the pair realized they weren’t the bank type; they were entrepreneurs. In April 2017, they created the second version of their independent firm – Wellington-Altus.
“One of the primary reasons we are having this success is we have a high level of experience. We have done it before, the management team knows how to run a successful practice,” Degelman told WP. “The second factor is that the 10 years going forward are going to be more disruptive. Major bank firms are creating frustration with compliance, increased costs, and cutting grids, making bank firms feel more like the bank and less like the investment firm. That is leading to advisors listening to what we are doing different and better.”
With advisors listening to those options, Degelman and Wellington-Altus have been able to bring many seasoned advisors to their team. Those advisors are oriented in Degelman and Spiring’s tried-and-tested approach, which is holistic planning on fee-based platforms.
“We are on board with holistic planning and attracted to discretionary portfolio managers. We look for quality people with compliant books of business. We want to arm advisors with the best products and services to give clients the best experience,” said Degelman.
He added that they are not looking to change a way an advisor does business, instead giving them tools to do it more efficiently. Among those tools are their technology platforms, which Degelman says gives them an advantage because they can adapt and implement quickly. “We are a speed boat while the big banks are like freighters, we can be agile and update quickly where as it takes them longer to implement.”
Technology is just one of the many benefits that Degelman sees to being an independent. “The first is being completely objective and unbiased; we don’t have any proprietary products in-house. Second is less burden of bureaucracy that is the nature in big banks. Third is the technology platform, which I think we have made competitive or best-in-class in our peer group.”
Technology can sometime be a hindrance because the influx of information makes it seem like anyone can invest, but Wellington-Altus addresses it by aiming for three things with their philosophy: Simple, Personal and Fun. “We live by those three words,” said Degelman. “We want to keep it simple and reduce the stress for clients. We also want to make it personal because every situation is different and everyone’s goals are unique. Finally, we want to make it fun, which means we are passionate about what we do and that comes off in conversations with our clients.”
In addition to their growth as a firm, Wellington-Altus advisors have received recognition. Degelman, along with co-founder Frank Mauro, both made the 2020 Wealth Professional Top 50 Advisors list at number two and 11 respectively; immediately following at the top 12 spot is Roderick Mahrt, a 34-year industry veteran who joined Wellington-Altus just over a year ago. Their colleague, Laurie Bonten, has made repeat appearances on the Top 50 list, and was in contention for the 2019 Women in Wealth Management award for Excellence in Philanthropy and CSR. Spiring, meanwhile, has been presented with a lifetime achievement award.
“I think we find it flattering and it is very marketable,” Degelman said. “But it doesn’t make us stop there. We all want to be the best at all times and are always self-improving.”
