Yes, clients are required to have minimum assets under management of $50,000 per household (can include spouse, corporations, parents & children).

Fo households with less than $50,000 in investible assets, we recommend using a low-fee service such as Wealthsimple.

We think it’s important for our clients to know exactly what they pay for our services - no surprises. Our fee structure is simple, composed of 4 components, calculated daily and deducted monthly from your accounts:

1. Harness Platform Fee of 0.35% (or 0.25% on households with invested assets over $1M)

2. Inner Circle Advisory Fee of 0.90% to 1.15%, depending on total invested*

3. Sub-Advisor Fee of 0% to 0.60%, depending on the portfolio chosen

4. Investment MER of generally 0.20% to 0.60%, depending on the investment operating costs

Total Annual Fee = 1.35% and up** There are no additional charges for meetings, services or advice. No hidden fees or account fees - that’s real transparency.

*Inner Circle Advisory Fees are applied incrementally to household assets as follows: $0-$100K = 1.15%; $100K-$250K = 1.10%, $250K-$500K = 1.05%, $500K-$1M = 1.00%, $1M-$2M = 0.95%, $2M-$5M = 0.90%, $5M+ = Negotiable.

**To find your Total Annual Fee, please refer to your client documentation or contact your advisor.

The Harness Platform Fee, Inner Circle Advisory Fee and Sub-Advisor Fee (if applicable) will be deducted from the investment portfolio directly on a monthly basis, so clients do not need to worry about paying an invoice or writing us a cheque. These charges will show on clients’ quarterly statements. The Investment MER is deducted by the investment company prior to distributing the growth to the client’s account, so clients won’t see this on their statement as a deduction. The MER changes from year to year depending on the expenses the fund incurs and can be found on ETF Facts or Fund Facts sheets.

Through our partnership with Harness Investment Management, we are able to offer:

• Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) - individual & spousal

• Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs)

• Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs)

• Non-Registered Accounts - individual & joint

• Corporate Accounts

• In-Trust Accounts - individual & joint

• Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs) - individual & spousal

• Locked-In Retirement Accounts (LIRAs)

• Life Income Funds (LIFs)

• Locked-In Retirement Income Funds (LRIFs)

• Prescribed Registered Retirement Income Funds (PRIFs)

• Locked-In Retirement Savings Plans (LRSPs)

• CAD & USD Accounts

• Margin Accounts

Through our partnerships with a number of insurance companies we are able to offer:

• Term Life Insurance

• Permanent Life Insurance (whole life & universal life)

• Disability Insurance

• Critical Illness Insurance

• Long-Term Care Insurance

• Segregated Funds

• Group Insurance

• Health & Dental Insurance

We set up Inner Circle as a fee-based financial planning firm for a reason. Our advisory fee is based on a fixed percentage of the assets invested, not a commission. This means that we get paid the same amount regardless of what portfolio we recommend, so our clients can be sure we are always making unbiased recommendations that are in their best interest.

We work with our investment partner, Harness Investment Management, to implement the investment portion of our financial plans with our clients through their team of registered Portfolio Managers. Portfolio Managers are some of the most trusted financial professionals in Canada, as they are bound by a fiduciary duty to act with care, honesty and good faith, always in the best interest of their clients.

Sadly, this fiduciary duty does not currently extend to financial advisors or financial planners in Canada. This has been a highly controversial topic within the industry and Inner Circle is strongly in favour of the adoption of a fiduciary duty for financial advisors & financial planners. As it stands currently, regardless of how they choose to market themselves, financial advisors & financial planners in Canada do not have an outright statutory (legal) fiduciary duty to their clients (with the exception of portfolio managers that have discretionary authority over their client accounts and a corresponding fiduciary duty). However, this is a complicated issue, and in some cases advisors can be found to have a court imposed fiduciary duty depending on the details of the client-advisor relationship.

Even if it is not a statutory legal requirement, at Inner Circle we believe that putting our clients’ best interests first is certainly a moral requirement. Because of the current regulatory environment in Canada, it is important that you work with an advisor that you trust and believe will put your best interests first. As a CFP® professional, our advisor subscribes to FP Canada’s Standards of Professional Responsibility which includes a “duty to act in the client’s interest by placing the client’s interests first”.

Your existing institution may charge you a fee to transfer out your account. We want to make sure your experience at Inner Circle starts on a positive note, so the transfer fees are on us! We reimburse transfer fees of up to $150 per account (as long as the account is $15,000 or greater) so you can move your money over painlessly.

If your existing accounts have assets with Deferred Sales Charges (DSCs) or a Non-Registered account with significant unrealized gains, let us know and we may be able to accommodate your existing investments on our platform.

Our clients’ funds are insured through the same organizations that the banks and large firms use. Harness’ custodian, Fidelity Clearing Canada, is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and client accounts are protected by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund within specified limits. More information on this coverage can be found here.

In the unlikely event that either Inner Circle or Harness were to go out of business, your account would remain safe and be mostly unaffected. All your investments are held by the custodian in your name, and if we were to close, you would have the option to keep your investments with Fidelity Clearing Canada or transfer them to a new advisor or your bank account.

The financial industry in Canada is highly regulated and proper compliance and security practices require teams of people. As a result, independent advisors partner with existing investment firms to offer their services. At Inner Circle, we have partnered with Harness Investment Management who have significant security measures in place so that clients can be confident that their investments are safe.

It is customary in the industry to have a separation between the advisor/investment firm and the investments for additional security. This is accomplished through the use of an independent company, called a custodian, who is responsible for safeguarding client assets and is the most important line of defence against the risk of theft and asset mismanagement. This means that neither your advisor, nor the investment company have direct access to the investments in your account.

Fidelity Clearing Canada & Canaccord Genuity Corp. are the custodians used by Harness and are both members of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). In addition, Harness Investment Management is also regulated by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). The OSC administers and enforces compliance with the provisions of the Securities Act (Ontario) and the Commodity Futures Act (Ontario). The OSC works to protect investors and foster fair and efficient markets by monitoring compliance with the rules governing the securities industry.

You can also help to protect yourself by following some basic rules to avoid investment fraud:

• Only work with registered firms - Harness Investment Management Inc. is registered with the provincial & territorial regulators across the country. Our custodians, Fidelity Clearing Canada & Cannacord Genuity Corp., are registered with IIROC and the CIPF.

• Be aware of fraud warning signs - these include unrealistic returns, guaranteed high returns, pressure to borrow, high-pressure sales, inside information or Ponzi schemes.

• Cheques payable only to registered firms - Only hand over money in the name of registered firms. Never issue a cheque made out to an advisor personally (i.e. in the individual’s name rather than the firm’s).

• Stick to regulated investments - Unsophisticated investors, generally speaking, should only invest in products that securities regulators have given some scrutiny to. Usually this means a document called a prospectus and other disclosure documents about the investment have been filed with the securities regulator and are available.

• Ask questions and verify - If you do not understand an investment after discussing it with your advisor, do not buy it. Never sign a blank document or one that you do not understand.

You can get in touch with us in several ways:

• You can book telephone or virtual zoom appointments with our advisor at a time that works for you using our Calendly link. For extra convenience, our advisor runs appointments in the evenings and on the weekends. If none of the available times work for you, send us an email and we will work around your schedule.

• Email us at Layne@innercirclewealth.ca

• Call or text us at +1 604 312-7331

• Send mail to Unit 138 9-3151 Lakeshore Road, Kelowna, BC V1W 3S9