Darrell Gebhardt of National Bank Financial is part of Wealth Professional Canada's Portfolio Management Powerhouses 2017
Senior vice-president and investment advisor
NATIONAL BANK FINANCIAL
Years in the industry: 20
Years as a PM: 4
Industry accreditations: CIM, CFP, FCSI, FMA
Typical clients: Business owners and professionals; average of $750,000 in assets
With a book size of just under $800 million, Darrell Gebhardt has built a practice at National Bank Financial where clients can expect the full wealth management package. That means investment specialists, as well as an accountant, a lawyer and a risk management specialist, all of whom are part of the staff. Given the assets involved, high-net- worth clients have come to view such service as more of a necessity than a luxury, Gebhardt explains. “A lot of my clients are business owners, so they appreciate they expertise of the tax planning we do, the investment planning we do,” he says. “A lot of our clients have complicated situations with holdcos and opcos, so we need to incorporate all the estate planning situations that go with that.”
With many of his clients approaching retirement, finding ways to generate income without putting them at unnecessary risk is a major part of Gebhardt’s job. “We are advocates of keeping your money boring – the strategies that worked always work,” he says.
“It’s the discipline and emotion that always create the asset bubbles and the panics.” Aside from traditional stocks and bonds in his portfolio, Gebhardt likes to use real estate for diversification. Investing in REITs also has very tangible benefits, as he outlines. “Real estate is a core percentage of our portfolio, typically anywhere between 5% and 15%,” he says. “It is industrial and commercial REITs, and we love the cash flow – plus, the return of capital in corporate and nonregistered accounts is the most tax-efficient. It’s a deferred capital gain, so in the right account, it is great cash flow.”
While stocks have performed well in the North American markets so far in 2017, that’s not to say that momentum will continue throughout the rest of the year. Gebhardt certainly sees the potential for volatility, with valuations not matching fundamentals in many sectors. “There is a scenario right now where Tesla has a greater market cap than GM,” he says. “Amazon is larger than Walmart from a market cap standpoint. Snapchat, after losses of $500 million, comes out with an IPO and a $30 billion market cap – twice the size of National Bank. We are definitely erring on the side of caution right now.”
NATIONAL BANK FINANCIAL
Years in the industry: 20
Years as a PM: 4
Industry accreditations: CIM, CFP, FCSI, FMA
Typical clients: Business owners and professionals; average of $750,000 in assets
With a book size of just under $800 million, Darrell Gebhardt has built a practice at National Bank Financial where clients can expect the full wealth management package. That means investment specialists, as well as an accountant, a lawyer and a risk management specialist, all of whom are part of the staff. Given the assets involved, high-net- worth clients have come to view such service as more of a necessity than a luxury, Gebhardt explains. “A lot of my clients are business owners, so they appreciate they expertise of the tax planning we do, the investment planning we do,” he says. “A lot of our clients have complicated situations with holdcos and opcos, so we need to incorporate all the estate planning situations that go with that.”
With many of his clients approaching retirement, finding ways to generate income without putting them at unnecessary risk is a major part of Gebhardt’s job. “We are advocates of keeping your money boring – the strategies that worked always work,” he says.
“It’s the discipline and emotion that always create the asset bubbles and the panics.” Aside from traditional stocks and bonds in his portfolio, Gebhardt likes to use real estate for diversification. Investing in REITs also has very tangible benefits, as he outlines. “Real estate is a core percentage of our portfolio, typically anywhere between 5% and 15%,” he says. “It is industrial and commercial REITs, and we love the cash flow – plus, the return of capital in corporate and nonregistered accounts is the most tax-efficient. It’s a deferred capital gain, so in the right account, it is great cash flow.”
While stocks have performed well in the North American markets so far in 2017, that’s not to say that momentum will continue throughout the rest of the year. Gebhardt certainly sees the potential for volatility, with valuations not matching fundamentals in many sectors. “There is a scenario right now where Tesla has a greater market cap than GM,” he says. “Amazon is larger than Walmart from a market cap standpoint. Snapchat, after losses of $500 million, comes out with an IPO and a $30 billion market cap – twice the size of National Bank. We are definitely erring on the side of caution right now.”
