Two large, independent wealth management firms spanning the US and Canada have linked up to provide their services cross-border.

Two large, independent wealth management firms spanning the US and Canada have linked up to provide their services cross-border.

Dynasty Financial Partners, a network of 17 wealth management firms in the US, has formed a strategic relationship with Canada’s Richardson GMP, increasing both firms’ scope to serve the North American market.

Richardson GMP has an 150-strong network of advisors working in offices across Canada, with $15 billion in client assets.  

New York-based Dynasty, meanwhile, has 17 firms managing over $16 billion in client assets.

The reciprocal relationship means that Dynasty’s clients can access wealth management products and services in Canada, while Dynasty can provide services to Richardson GMP clients in the US.

"We look forward to working with Dynasty on cross-border solutions for all of our clients, as well as cross-border opportunities for both our advisor networks," said Andrew Marsh, chief executive of Richardson GMP.

"In today's world of highly mobile professional athletes, entertainers and entrepreneurs, the ability to provide a complete North American wealth management solution is essential,” said Todd Thomson, Dynasty's chairman.

Earlier this year, Octagon Financial Services, a wealth manager specializing in sports and entertainment clients, selected Dynasty’s wealth management platform and joined the partnership.

US-Canada ties

In other recent moves indicating firms' appetite for having a presence spanning the US and Canada, last month, CIBC (or Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) pushed into the US private wealth market when it agreed to buy Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management from its parent company, Invesco, for $210 million.

Atlantic Trust manages about $20 billion in assets for clients through 12 metropolitan locations across the US.

Meanwhile, the Canadian market can prove tempting for US firms. The number of high net worth individuals in Canada grew by 7.7 per cent in 2012 to reach 422,000, reversing a 3.6 per cent decline in 2011, according to new research from WealthInsight.

Having examined millionaire performance between 2007 and 2012, the UK-based firm found that Canadian HNW individuals hold about $1.53 trillion in wealth, which is equal to 26 per cent of the total individual wealth held in the country. It also found that, while global HNW volumes decreased by 0.3 per cent, numbers in Canada rose by 1.8 per cent during the review period.

In terms of high net worth population size, the top Canadian cities are: Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton. Ottawa, meanwhile, has been a quick riser of late by this measure, boosted by growth in the hi-tech sector.

There are also strong links between the two countries which mean that wealthy individuals will often want to own assets on both sides of the border. For example, Canadian "snowbirds" are the largest buyers of houses in Florida, with some 500,000 currently owning real estate there, according to BMO Private Bank. In 2010, they accounted for 36 per cent of all real estate purchased by foreigners.