As 2024 comes to an end and the first fiscal quarter of 2025 begins, we would like to take the time to acknowledge the past year and highlight RaeLipskie’s milestones and accomplishments.
Being private wealth managers, RaeLipskie has the pleasure of helping wonderful people, businesses, organizations and foundations achieve their financial goals. The mark of a new year is a cause for reflection and appreciation. We look forward to another 365 days of assisting our cherished clients to achieve a life of financial success and freedom.
In 2024, the Canadian economy experienced growth, decline and stagnation across all categories and sectors. During these ebbs and flows, RaeLipskie remained dependable and dedicated to the financial well-being of our clients. As the population continued to grow this year, we saw an increase in demand for housing and higher unemployment rates. With the Canadian population continuing to boom, unemployment rates perpetually rose and housing markets and targets shifted immensely. Along with these changes, capital gains inclusion rates changed significantly, causing major adjustments for personal and corporate portfolios. As leaders in adaptive financial planning, the RaeLipskie team provided support during these uncertain and ever-changing circumstances.
We continue to rise to the challenge of the times, establishing ourselves as a reliable partner our clients can turn to when faced with an unexpected turn or bend in the economic road. As the Bank of Canada navigated the challenge of lowering interest rates to prevent a recession, while also trying to avoid further inflating the real estate market, RaeLipskie focused on helping our clients stay informed and ahead of the trends by making well-informed decisions. After all, the only thing we can count on in this life is change, so rather than fighting the current, we are committed to prevailing as we recalibrate our approaches when needed and offer expert guidance to the people who rely on it most.
Honouring the members of our team remains one of our top priorities, after all, the individuals that make up RaeLipskie are the reason why we are able to continue to prosper and serve our great community. Over the past year, we have experienced great accomplishments internally and externally, as well as said goodbye to a few key members of our team.
Becky Miller, our Marketing Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the President, was the recipient of the 9th annual L. F. Gower Award – an award given on behalf of Lloyd Gower, to an individual who set the standard for RaeLipskie’s commitment to clients, ethics and community engagement. Becky exemplifies the high standards set by Lloyd through her exceptional dedication and commitment to our team, clients, and community. In recognition of this achievement, RaeLipskie has made a donation in Becky’s name to The Food Bank of Waterloo Region. Congratulations Becky!
Our team is the driving force behind RaeLipskie. This summer, we celebrated our team with our Annual Summer Social to show our appreciation! From playing golf games with some friendly competition to connecting with team members and sharing some fun summer memories, this year’s Social was one to remember.
The team also paid it forward by participating in Red Day, an annual fundraiser for the St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation to help fund vital programs that focus on preventive care. This year, The RaeLipskie Partnership pledged to match donations raised by our team. The RaeLipskie team raised $1,010 which was matched by our Firm, bringing the total up to $2,020 to be submitted to St. Mary’s. Following this submission, Manulife also matched our donation, for a grand total of $4,040! It was incredible to be a part of this initiative, and we would like to acknowledge the contributions of our team.
This would not be a complete year in review without acknowledging the retirement of Ken Rae. As both the name and face of RaeLipskie, Ken celebrated 60 years of working in the investment world. From founding Advantage Investment Counsel (AIC) to creating Rae & Lipskie Investment Counsel alongside his wife, Norah, Ken curated a company that helped clients preserve and grow client capital while providing an unmatched level of service and communication that is still carried out to this day.
We are so grateful for the insights, values and missions Ken has engrained in RaeLipskie. As we continue to grow, we will never forget the roots he planted to make our investment counsel the company it is today. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you, Ken. You will be greatly missed.
On December 31st, we will say goodbye to David Paleczny, who has been a dedicated member of the RaeLipskie team since 1996. As a Vice-President & Portfolio Manager, David has been a pivotal part of the management of investment portfolios for select clients. David’s expertise has proven an indispensable asset within our investment and research processes for high-dividend clients. We wish David all the best in his retirement and thank him for nearly 30 years of expertise at The RaeLipskie Partnership.
We would also like to remember Patricia Haylock, a former Client Service Associate at RaeLipskie who we lost earlier this year. Pat will always be remembered for the light and professionalism she brought to our company every day.
As we enter into a new year, we thank you for your trust in our mission of serving clients with a customer-first and community-based approach. It is with great pleasure to continue serving such an amazing client base and work with such dedicated and inspiring stakeholders.
On behalf of The RaeLipskie Partnership, we wish you a safe and happy holiday season. See you in 2025!
