2024: A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

2024: A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

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.

david-paleczny

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.

david-paleczny

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!

2023: A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

2023: A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

As 2023 draws to a close and we eagerly welcome everything the new year has to offer, we want to take a moment to reflect on the past year and showcase a few of our firm’s favourite highlights. Throughout the year, we have had the pleasure of working closely with our clients to offer professional investment management, sharing our monthly market commentary, and participating in group trips and other celebrations. Continue reading as we say our final goodbye to 2023 and prepare for an exciting new year. 

2023 was a rollercoaster ride for global markets, with unprecedented events impacting investments. RaeLipskie continued to demonstrate resilience in the face of this volatility, employing strategic risk management to protect and grow our client portfolios. Through proactive measures, RaeLipskie ensured its clients remained on a steady course amid unforeseen challenges. This included navigating the complexities of a shifting global economy by staying aware of international trends, allowing our clients to make informed decisions in an ever-changing economic landscape. Upon announcing RaeLipskie’s partnership with Guardian Capital in September 2022, we had the pleasure of reaching our one-year milestone after a successful and mutually rewarding first year together. In September 2022, Guardian Capital completed its acquisition of a 60% majority interest in The RaeLipskie Partnership. This acquisition increased Guardian’s assets under management in its Private Wealth segment by approximately $1 billion CAD and further extended its regional coverage in key markets. With a shared vision of enhancing client value, we look forward to a future of continued growth. Learn more about the partnership here.

Brian Lipskie, President and COO at RaeLipskie and George Mavroudis, President and CEO at Guardian Capital

The RaeLipskie team also spent some quality time away from the office together! We had the pleasure of volunteering at The Food Bank of Waterloo Region to assist with food sorting. The RaeLipskie Partnership sorted a total of 3,116 pounds of food! In the new year, we are eager to continue supporting our community through our involvement with local charitable organizations. 

Our team outings are some of our fondest memories of the year. One in particular was our trip to see the Toronto Blue Jays play! 

Left to right, top to bottom: Helen Snow, Laura Cornell, Heather Dewar, Becky Miller, Faulene McNanney, Rebecca Jackson, Laurie Orlik

As we reminisce over the past year, The RaeLipskie Partnership would also like to take this opportunity to thank our valued clients and stakeholders whose trust and partnership have been the cornerstone of our success. We look forward to having you alongside us as we enter into 2024. From everyone at RaeLipskie, we wish you a happy holiday season and an exciting new year ahead. Cheers! 

If you are interested in learning more about RaeLipskie’s services, book an appointment with one of our advisors today. Contact The RaeLipskie Partnership here.

If you would like to stay updated with RaeLipskie throughout the year, subscribe to our newsletter here by navigating to the bottom left of the page.

2022: A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

2022: A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

Another year has flown by. 2022 was an exciting year for The RaeLipskie Partnership, seeing 12 months of market commentary, tailor-made investment portfolios, office wide events and activities, and a brand new partnership with Guardian Capital. This year we were also honoured to have been recognized for our services by The Globe and Mail and The Waterloo Chronicle. 

As 2022 comes to an end and we begin preparations for the new year, The RaeLipskie Partnership takes a look back at RaeLipskie’s 2022 Year in Review in this month’s blog!

As this year saw a shifting global landscape, the financial professionals at The RaeLipskie Partnership shared their insight on the market and projections for what was to come in 2022. Drawing from historical economic data, international relations, inflation, and key attention to the ever growing green industry and pandemic recovery, we shared our perspective over the year on what Canadians might expect, providing our expertise in maintaining and building investments during turbulent and changing times.

If you are interested in staying up to date on industry trends (and more!), you can subscribe to The RaeLipskie monthly newsletter here! Follow this link to our website and scroll down to the bottom left of the page. 

In September, students went back to school and The RaeLipskie Partnership shared exciting news about our partnership with Guardian Capital. In a fall newsletter we detailed Guardian Capital’s acquisition of a 60% majority interest in The RaeLipskie Partnership. “We’re so excited to officially partner with Guardian,” said Brian Lipskie, President & COO of The RaeLipskie Partnership. “We plan to utilize their strength, stability and 60-year reputation to the benefit of both our clients and our community.” You can learn more about our partnership here! 

In 2022, The RaeLipskie Partnership and Brian Lipskie were also ranked in the top 20 amongst Canada’s Top 150 Wealth Advisors. In October, The Globe and Mail presented their rankings of Canada’s most effective financial advisors and The RaeLipskie Partnership was recognized among the top advisors in the country. Our team was thrilled to be acknowledged for the second year in a row, as we dedicate ourselves to serving our clients through a customer-forward and community driven approach. Thank you! You can view the rankings by following this link. 

The RaeLipskie team was proud to have earned a Platinum for Investment Company of the Year in the 2022 Waterloo Chronicle Readers’ Choice Awards! It is an honour to be recognized by our community for our continued effort to serve the needs and goals of our clients in designing tailored and unique portfolios to achieve their investment objectives. Thank you all for your continued support, we look forward to helping you achieve your financial goals in 2023! 

After years of anticipation, our team finally got to come together this summer and celebrate our annual RaeLipskie Summer Social! We took the day to spend quality time together outside, away from the office. It was a day to remember, with our team already looking forward to what our Summer Social might have in store for us in 2023! 

This year, we made a point of highlighting some amazing organizations operating in the community! The RaeLipskie Partnership believes in the importance of supporting causes close to home and for this reason we committed to donating to local organizations, sharing the incredible work they do with our clients! Over 2022 The RaeLipskie Partnership learned more about the wonderful efforts of The Food Bank of Waterloo Region, The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Birds Canada, KW Habilitation and many more incredible causes. 

We look forward to continuing to support the amazing work of these foundations and learning about other local organizations in the new year!

As we wrap 2022, The RaeLipskie Partnership would like to extend a special thank you to each and every one of our clients who continue to support us and the work we do! Your contribution made this year a great success. Here’s to a wonderful holiday season and an exciting new year! 

If you are interested in learning more about RaeLipskie’s services, book an appointment with one of our advisors today! Contact The RaeLipskie Partnership here.

A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

A Year in Review at RaeLipskie

2021 has been another year of transition as we slowly move out of the pandemic and discover the next normal. Through it all, The RaeLipskie partnership has embraced many changes, and we’re eager to start building things back up as we move into 2022. As this year comes to a close, The RaeLipskie Partnership shares some of our milestones and things we’re looking forward to in 2022. 

Charitable Giving

The RaeLipskie Partnership continues to recognize the value in giving back to the community through charitable giving. The team participates throughout the year; however, a few events always stand out for us.

 

​​The JA “Putting for Potential” is an annual golf tournament presented by Libro Credit Union in support of financial literacy. In September, our team sponsored the event, and as a result of the golf tournament and silent auction, 800 students in Waterloo Region will benefit from a JA program this school year!

That’s 800 youth who will learn about:

  • earning, saving and investing money
  • creating and living within a budget
  • creating a small business
  • teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills

The Food Bank of Waterloo Region is a charitable organization we have continued to support over the years. In September, we supported the 8th annual Waffles in the Warehouse as a Main Stage sponsor. Waffles in the Warehouse @ Home brings together business owners, influencers and community champions for a morning of connection, learning and impact. 

On October 27, our team participated in Dress Purple Day through the Family & Children’s Services of the Waterloo Region. On this day Ontario Children’s Aid Societies raise awareness about the role that individuals and communities play in supporting vulnerable children, youth, and families. 

Achievements

Canada’s Top Wealth Advisors 2021

A huge congratulations went out to Brian Lipskie who has made Canada’s Top Wealth Advisors list for 2021 by The Globe and Mail! Brian placed #1 for independent wealth advisors and #13 overall out of the top 150 financial advisors in the country. In partnership with SHOOK Research, The Globe and Mail presents its inaugural ranking of the country’s most effective financial advisors. We are thrilled to celebrate Brian’s national recognition with him!

2021 L. F. Gower Award

Lloyd Gower was a man of distinction. His presence was always known and his dedication to the clients and affiliates of Rae & Lipskie Investment Counsel was remarkable. Lloyd played an integral part in the early development of Rae & Lipskie and its continued growth. He led with strength and by example and we are proud of the legacy that he has left behind. He was certainly viewed as the “gold standard”, and for this reason, The RaeLipskie L. F. Gower Award was established.

Annually, we present The RaeLipskie L. F. Gower Award to one of our staff in recognition of the high standards represented by Lloyd Gower. Lloyd’s endless client service, depth of knowledge in the investment industry, strong ethics, his dedication to family and the volunteer involvement of community support in Waterloo Region continue to be core values for RaeLipskie.

The recipient of the 6th annual Lloyd F. Gower Award has been presented to our exceptional team member, Andréa Miljkovic, CFA, Vice-President & Portfolio Manager. Andréa began her career at RaeLipskie in 2002 and meticulously manages investment portfolios for many families and charitable organizations. Andréa is a member of RaeLipskie’s Investment Committee and holds a number of research responsibilities.

In recognition of this achievement, RaeLipskie has made a donation in Andréa’s name to The Linda and Lloyd Gower Fund at Cambridge and North Dumfries Community Foundation. 

We are very proud and grateful of the important and caring work Andréa does both at the office and in the community.

Our Biggest Takeaways

Taking time to reflect over the past year has allowed us to celebrate our achievements and recognize how to better serve our clients moving forward. The success of our clients is our main priority, as we are committed to ensuring their needs are met even in times of change. If there’s one thing we learned from 2021, it’s that change happens quickly and the only way to succeed is to adapt. 

Thank you to all of our amazing clients for the great year! We look forward to connecting with you in 2022!

A Year in Review

A Year in Review

2018 has been a great one at The RaeLipskie Partnership. Through our professional and personal victories, giving back to our community and having fun around the office, 2018 has been one of our most memorable 12 months. As we approach our 30th year it is time to reflect on the successes and triumphs of 2018.

Giving Back

RaeLipskie places great importance on giving back to our community and 2018 was no different.

In March of this year, RaeLipskie was delighted to help present Stone Soup 4 in partnership with HeartBeatsHate, a pro-diversity, anti-bigotry, and anti-racism movement.The event raised nearly $10,000 in proceeds supporting the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region and the KW Multicultural Centre. We also had a great time sponsoring the Century Challenge Invitational at the Waterloo Tennis Club, featuring some of the best players in SouthWestern Ontario

As always, our charity golf tournament schedule was busy including the Golf Fore KidsAbility Classic, The KW AccessAbility Fourth Annual Golf Tournament and the Swing BIG Golf Classic with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Waterloo Region. We also had the pleasure of sorting 4638 pounds of food at the Food Bank of Waterloo Region. That’s enough food to serve 3623 meals in our community!      

The RaeLipskie Partnership again sponsored the 2nd Annual Flappers and Fedoras Charity Gala Evening at Saint Luke’s Place, benefitting Saint Luke’s Place Long-Term Care Redevelopment Project.

We were also proud to support several local teams throughout the year including the Waterloo Wolves PeeWee White Team.

The RaeLipskie Partnership was honoured to support several organizations throughout the year in addition to the charities listed above including Carizon Family and Community Services, Family and Children’s Services, Christian Horizons, KW Habilitation, KW YWCA, KW Art Gallery, Nature Canada, Sandra Schmirler Foundation, Scouts Canada, The Centre in the Square, St. Mary’s General Hospital Foundation, Vasculitis Foundation Canada and Waterloo Mathematics Charitable Trust Foundation.

Achievements

Our beloved Jo-Ann Carlisle retired in 2018 after a 23-year career at The RaeLipskie Partnership. Jo-Ann played an integral role at RaeLipskie, managing portfolios for over 100 families. Jo-Ann is now enjoying the Northern life in Manitoulin Island with her husband.

Our own Ken Rae was honoured this year by being included in Wealth Professional Canada’s Hall of Fame magazine issue. “Among this collection of industry veterans, there are a lot of years of experience. None have had quite the career of Ken Rae, however. The Waterloo-based advisor, now chairman and CEO of the RaeLipskie Partnership, made his start in the business in 1963 as an investment assistant at Canada Permanent Trust Company in Toronto. From there, he joined the Mutual Life Insurance Company as an investment analyst, relocating to Kitchener-Waterloo. After serving as investment director with Dominion Life Insurance Company, Rae decided to branch out on his own and set up Advantage Investment Counsel in 1985. That enterprise proved to be a success and was acquired by Michael Lee-Chin in 1987. Rae’s entrepreneurial vigour remained, and in 1988 he founded Kenneth Rae Investment Counsel, which ultimately became Rae and Lipskie Investment Counsel after he forged a partnership with Brian Lipskie. The two men remain at the forefront of the company today, managing approximately $650 million in assets [Ed note: magazine used old figures – our AUM is closer to $1 billion] and specializing in investment management for individuals, trusts, estates, foundations and corporations, with offices in both Waterloo and Burlington, Ontario.”

Annually, we present The RaeLipskie L. F. Gower Award to a member of our staff in recognition of the high standards represented by Lloyd F. Gower. Lloyd’s excellent client service, depth of knowledge in the investment industry, strong ethics, dedication to family and volunteer involvement in Waterloo Region continue to be core values for RaeLipskie. Lloyd Gower played an integral role in the early development of the RaeLipskie Partnership and for that we are forever grateful. The 3rd Annual L. F. Gower Award was presented to exceptional RaeLipskie staffer Leslie Stallard, Client Service Associate. Leslie’s phenomenal work in both the office and the community made her the perfect recipient for this award. In recognition of this achievement, RaeLipskie made a donation in Leslie’s name to KW YWCA and The Linda and Lloyd Gower Fund at Cambridge and North Dumfries Community Foundation. 

Around the Office

As always, we had a wonderful time celebrating Pi Day with the help of our friends at local hotspot Sweet and Savoury Pie Company. We also loved sharing more local favourites on our Facebook and Twitter pages throughout the year.

Olivia Frederick and her fiance continue to help train service dogs, a true labor of love for both of them.

A big congratulations also goes out to Heather Dewar and her husband John for completing the Mississauga Marathon and Half-Marathon earlier this month. Heather completed the 30K Around the Bay this year too!

Derek Rae also jumped into running, completing his first 5km this June at the Waterloo 10km Classic!

We thank all of our clients and supporters for an amazing 2018. We look forward to the future and our 30th anniversary year in 2019.