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RaeLipskie Partnership
Ken Rae and Brian Lipskie founded the firm in 1989 as an independent investment counsel in Waterloo, Ontario. Co-founder Ken Rae, a CFA charterholder, has...
RaeLipskie Partnership
Ken Rae and Brian Lipskie founded the firm in 1989 as an independent investment counsel in Waterloo, Ontario. Co-founder Ken Rae, a CFA charterholder, has since retired, leaving Brian Lipskie as President and COO. The firm serves individuals, families, charities, endowments, corporations, and retirement funds with discretionary management for clients holding at least $1 million in investable assets. The firm builds concentrated, high-quality portfolios tilted toward large-cap companies with consistent earnings and dividend growth. Asset allocation spans equities, fixed income, and alternative investments. Geographic focus is domestic, with Canadian equities and bonds forming the core. The team includes Vice-Presidents and Portfolio Managers Dave Brune, Andréa Miljkovic, Derek Rae, Robin Stanton, and Alex Stoody. The investment process emphasizes a top-down macroeconomic outlook to guide sector and security selection, and the firm explicitly markets Socially Responsible Investing options. On September 1, 2022, Guardian Capital Group Limited acquired a majority interest in RaeLipskie Partnership. Guardian’s President and CEO George Mavroudis stated the transaction added “over $1 billion in assets under management” to Guardian’s Private Wealth segment and extended regional coverage (per firm website, 2022). The deal placed RaeLipskie under Guardian, which itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., part of the Desjardins Group. The firm maintains offices in Waterloo and Burlington, Ontario. The team includes a dedicated compliance function led by Chief Compliance Officer Joe Banwait and a client service group of ten associates. The firm’s structure as a fiduciary investment counsel — not a brokerage or bank — sets its operational posture. Client assets are held in their own names at an independent third-party custodian. RaeLipskie’s compensation is a tiered percentage of assets on a quarterly basis, with no commissions or transaction-based fees. This architecture, combined with the parentage under Guardian and ultimately Desjardins Group, creates a layered governance model: a boutique investment team operating inside a public asset manager, itself owned by a Quebec-based financial cooperative.
General information
Firm type
Single Family Office
Year founded
1989
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
Canada
City
Waterloo
Corporate office
20 Erb St. West, Suite 201, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 1T2, Canada
Additional offices
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
Principals
Brian Lipskie
President & COO, Investment Counsellor/Portfolio Manager
Ken Rae
Retired Co-Founder
Sheila Yendt
Deputy Chief Operating Officer
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at RaeLipskie Partnership?
Brian Lipskie, President and COO, leads the investment team. He is supported by Vice-Presidents and Portfolio Managers including Dave Brune, Andréa Miljkovic, Derek Rae, Robin Stanton, and Alex Stoody, all of whom hold CFA charters or the CIM designation. The firm operates under an Investment Policy Statement customized for each client, and the team executes discretionary management.
How does the firm’s ownership structure affect governance?
Since September 2022, RaeLipskie Partnership has been a majority-owned subsidiary of Guardian Capital Group Limited, which is itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., part of the Desjardins Group. This creates a three-tier governance layer: the local investment team in Waterloo, the public-company parent Guardian, and the ultimate cooperative owner Desjardins. The firm retains its own brand, office, and portfolio management team.
What is RaeLipskie Partnership’s minimum account size?
The firm provides discretionary management services to clients with combined investable assets greater than $1,000,000, as stated on its website. This threshold positions it in the mass-affluent to high-net-worth segment within Canada, distinct from the ultra-high-net-worth threshold common among multi-family offices.
What role do alternative investments play in client portfolios?
The firm markets portfolios of stocks, bonds, and alternative investments. While the website does not specify the types of alternatives, it positions them alongside traditional asset classes. Portfolio Manager John Zondo and Associate Portfolio Manager Jason Taylor are part of the team that executes these allocations.
Is RaeLipskie Partnership a full-service brokerage?
No. The firm is a registered Investment Counsellor/Portfolio Manager with a fiduciary duty, not a broker-dealer. Client assets are held at an independent third-party custodian in the client’s own name. Compensation is strictly a tiered percentage of assets under management on a quarterly basis, with no sales commissions or transaction-based fees.
What philanthropic or foundation relationships does the firm maintain?
The firm serves charities, endowments, and retirement funds as client segments. The website features a testimonial from the Sandra Schmirler Foundation, a named charitable client. Other named client types include estates, trusts, and corporations. Specific philanthropic vehicles or DAF structures are not detailed publicly.
What is the firm’s relationship with Desjardins Group?
Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., part of the Desjardins Group cooperative, is the ultimate parent of Guardian Capital Group Limited, which acquired a majority stake in RaeLipskie Partnership in 2022. This makes RaeLipskie an indirect subsidiary of Desjardins Group, Quebec’s largest financial cooperative, while the firm continues to operate under its own brand from Waterloo, Ontario.
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