Most clients are not that needy and are happy with a written quarterly report and a semi-annual or even annual meeting. “They’re hiring us to take a big worry out of their life, not because we’re going to double their money in the next six months,” says Stephen Clements, who has worked with Latremoille as Beutel’s private client portfolio manager since 1983.

“We have some clients we rarely see or rarely speak to,” Clements says. “That doesn’t mean we are not approachable. If I’m managing your portfolio, the time I’ve spent in a client meeting with you, two hours getting feedback from you, is money well invested. But if you want to talk to me about whether Nortel is going up or going down this week, we’re not doing either one of us a service.”

Sometimes Latremoille, Clements or Steven Smith, Beutel’s vice-president of client relations, might climb on an airplane to visit a customer in another city; other meetings might simply be done by telephone. Walter McCormick, the senior portfolio manager in Legg Mason’s Toronto office, likes to meet with a client formally, and then continue the conversation over a round of golf at the Rosedale Golf Club, where he is a member. Says McCormick: “There’s nothing like spending four hours with somebody and watching their temperament on the golf course, when you have good and bad shots. You play any sport together and you get a different understanding of the individual.”

	{Name: D. Walter McCormick Age 47} Job: Senior vice-president and senior portfolio manager for private clients, Legg Mason Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Legg Mason Inc. Background: BA in economics and accounting. Started as a retail stockbroker at Burns Fry. Earned designation as a chartered financial analyst and became a money manager. In 1991, joined MTA, which evolved into Legg Mason Canada. Quote: “Ours is a highly individualized service. It’s like having your suit built from scratch rather than pulling it off the rack. The one that’s built to measure tends to fit better and last longer.” Outside interests: Skiing and golf, family cottages. Investment style: Providing products that effectively manage risk. Investment team: Brian Carter, portfolio manager; Garreth Fallis, portfolio manager; Glen Rattray, portfolio manager; Paul Valois, portfolio manager. Private wealth assets under management: $570 million Three stock picks: CanWest Global, PetroCanada, Canadian Tire

Nisker refers to all his clients as friends. And one way he develops comfort in his clients is by showing them that he invests his own money in the same financial models he is advising for their portfolios. “It’s like eating your own cooking,” he says. “We manage the money as if it’s our own. If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me, and vice versa.”

Most wealth counsellors, however, are not rich enough to qualify to be their own clients. And Nisker is unusual in other ways as well. He doesn’t have an MBA or a CA or CFA designation, as his partners and peers typically do. He started working on the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange at the age of 19, then moved into his father’s stock brokerage. By 35, he was head of Brown Baldwin Nisker and running his own private charitable foundation. After selling the brokerage to Hongkong Bank of Canada in 1997, he set up his own wealth counselling service, which was bought two years later by YMG.

The bottom line for all money managers is steady performance. But clients who worked for a lifetime to build a financial legacy are usually more interested in preserving their capital than in aggressively pursuing more profits.

All of the managers interviewed for this story are conservative investors, constantly on the lookout for a stock that is undervalued in the market and shows a reasonable expectation of growth.

Beutel’s three private wealth managers admit that has become harder to do. “We’ve had less trading in the last six months than at anytime in recent memory,” says Clements. “We’re having a difficult time finding things that stand out.”

All of the companies favour income trusts—an investment vehicle that provides healthy dividends for clients who in most cases are senior citizens, drawing down their assets to maintain their lifestyle. YMG differentiates itself with a style Nisker calls socially responsible investing. “We will not invest in steel stocks, forest products and gold,” he says, partly because they are too cyclical and might have to be sold too soon, triggering capital gains.

Wally Kusters, one of four hands-on portfolio managers who deal directly with clients at Barrantagh, said his firm has sometimes missed out on a hot investment because of its careful approach. He cites the case of Research in Motion, which became one of the top performers on the TSX in 2004 after the company started making a popular new BlackBerry that worked with a Motorola cellphone.

	{Name: Wally Kusters Age 44} Job: Managing director and lead manager of equity portfolios, Barrantagh Investment Management Inc. Background: Grew up in Smiths Falls, Ont. Practised engineering for two years before returning to Queen’s University for an MBA. Managed Noranda’s pension fund, then mutual funds for Trimark, O’Donnell and CI Funds before joining Barrantagh in 2002. Quote: “We don’t use derivatives or any fancy things like that. Clients will understand their portfolios readily. We’re very good communicators with clients. We gain their trust.” Outside interests: Plays soccer, and is involved with his 11- and 13-year-old children’s music and sports. “Beyond that, if you’re in this business, you’d better enjoy what you do, because it’s all-consuming.” Investment style: Value-oriented with a bottom-up, long-term focus. Investment team: Peter Comber, managing director and lead manager on oil and gas portfolios; Bruce Jackson, managing director and manager of equity and oil and gas portfolios; John McCutcheon, managing director and lead manager on fixed income portfolios. Private wealth assets under management: $350 million Three picks: CP Rail, Harrah’s Entertainment, Yellow Pages Income Fund.

Kusters went to visit RIM’s chief financial officer two years ago and came back excited about the prospects of the product, then still in development. He crunched the numbers, which showed that sales could boom. “It’s probably because of our conservative nature, but we just didn’t believe it. That’s one where you kick yourself,” says Kusters.

Flexibility to jump in and out, at relatively little cost, is one of the benefits of dealing with an investment counsellor. “If you join today and you have post-consumer anxiety tomorrow, there’s nothing locking you in,” Kusters says.

“Every firm is going to go through peaks and valleys in terms of performance,” McCormick adds. “Their style will fall out of favour with what the markets are doing. What carries clients through is the relationship with the person who is looking after the money.”

Rothschild has relied on Nisker’s good contrarian judgment for almost two decades, knowing that it conflicts with his own natural inclination. “If it was up to me to be in the market, I would buy on top and sell at the bottom,” Rothschild says. “I go by herd instinct. I need calm and cool counsellors to hold my hand.”

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