RBC Wealth Management Review
RBC Wealth Management offers both financial planning and investment advisory services. Here’s how these services work and what they offer.
Sean Canonica
Senior Finance Writer
Sean is a finance writer and content strategist for ComparisonAdviser. He has over three years of experience writing about various topics, such as insurance, financial advisors, and investing. Additionally, he is a co-founder and the CEO of RateSonic, an online insurance resource. Sean values helping readers understand difficult topics by creating easy-to-read and thorough content.
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As a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), RBC Wealth Management is an advisory firm that serves clients in the United States as a registered investment advisor (RIA) and broker-dealer. The company offers various financial services to individuals, businesses, and families, including wealth planning, investment management, and estate planning. In its 2023 awards, Family Wealth Report named RBC Wealth Management the Best Regional Private Bank in North America.
This guide will outline RBC Wealth Management’s advisory services. This includes breaking down its account minimums and fee structures. You’ll also learn about key company information, including disclosures, points of contact, and how to open an account.
Assets Under Management
$1.01 trillion
Number of Employees
85,301
Date Founded
1864
CEO
David I. McKay
Fee Structure
Fee-based
Headquarters Address
3 World Financial Center, 200 Vesey Street, New York, NY 10281
Phone Number
Pros and Cons of RBC Wealth Management
Pros
- Firm is a fiduciary
- Serves a wide variety of clients, including beginners
- Offers both investment management and financial planning services
- Clear fee structure
Cons
- High fees
- 481 disclosures
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Types of Clients RBC Wealth Management Serves
RBC Wealth Management serves a wide range of clientele, including individuals, families, business owners, and corporations. The firm doesn’t list an account minimum for its financial planning service. However, it does require an initial investment for its other advisory services:
| Program Name | Minimum Investment |
|---|---|
| RBC Unified Portfolios | $2,500 |
| Consulting Solutions | $100,000 or $250,000 for Fixed Income accounts |
| Managed Account Program (MAP) | The higher between $100,000 or the investment manager’s minimum |
| Portfolio Focus | $50,000 |
| RBC Advisor | $25,000 |
Keep in mind that you’ll also be responsible for paying advisory fees in addition to your initial investment. You should also expect to cover transaction or fund management costs, if any.
Financial Advisor Services It Offers
RBC Wealth Management provides both financial planning and investment management services for its clients. The former is a non-discretionary model in which a financial planner assists you with developing a long-term, comprehensive plan for your money. With the latter, a portfolio manager will work either in a non-discretionary or discretionary capacity to select and monitor investments according to your goals and risk tolerance.
Below is a more specific breakdown of what each service offers:
Financial Planning
RBC Wealth Management offers financial planning for both individuals and corporate employees. In both arrangements, advisors for the firm follow a “three-step process” according to its Financial Planning Disclosure Brochure:
- Gather information about your financial situation and goals to better assist you.
- Analyze what you’ve given them so that they can make informed decisions and recommendations.
- Propose or suggest any courses of action that they think you should take based on the previous information.
Investment Management
RBC Wealth Management provides a variety of portfolio management services. In general, this means an investment manager will work with you to develop a strategy, select securities, and monitor your portfolio. The firm offers five types of this service:
- RBC Unified Portfolios. In this arrangement, an overlay manager will oversee your portfolio. They’ll typically invest in open- and closed-end mutual funds and exchange-traded products (ETPs).
- Consulting Solutions. With this tier, an advisor of your choice will manage your portfolio and investments based on a strategy you select.
- MAP. This program allows you to hand-select an investment manager to oversee your portfolio. However, it also requires you to pay their fees, as well as participate in an agreement between both parties.
- Portfolio Focus. This is a discretionary program in which RBC assigns a financial advisor to manage your portfolio. They may invest in various securities, including equities, fixed-income, and mutual funds. Keep in mind that you’ll often be working in conjunction with them to build a strategy for your investments.
- RBC Advisor. This is a non-discretionary service in which you receive investment advice based on what an advisor understands about your situation, goal, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
Fee Structure
RBC Wealth Management’s fee structure depends on the service you’re receiving. For its investment management and advisory services, you can expect to pay a fee percentage of your assets under management (AUM). According to the firm’s Advisory Programs Disclosure Brochure, this number doesn’t typically exceed 3% but can be as high as 2.5% for an AUM below $25,000,000.
For RBC Wealth Management’s Financial Planning service, fees are typically a flat rate between $1,000 and $20,000. The firm claims that these figures are negotiable depending on the services you need, project complexity, and the amount of assets you have. The majority of the fee goes to the company itself, while a small percentage goes to the advisor.
RBC Wealth Management’s Investment Philosophy
RBC Wealth Management doesn’t specifically lay out a company-wide investment philosophy. With this in mind, you can expect each advisor to tailor their strategy toward your financial situation, goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon.
Despite this, the firm points out that its investment management services tend to focus on strategies that encourage diversification and risk management. This includes investing in securities such as:
Additionally, all of RBC Wealth Management’s investment professionals are bound by a fiduciary duty. This means that any securities they recommend or buy on your behalf must be in your best interest.
Disclosures
RBC Wealth Management is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC and a broker with FINRA under the name RBC Capital Markets LLC. Because of its status with both of these regulatory authorities, it must report any legal issues or proceedings as disclosures on its Form ADV.
According to FINRA’s BrokerCheck, RBC Capital Markets LLC has 481 disclosures on file. 358 of these are regulatory events, which commonly refer to litigation or disciplinary action against the firm. An example of this is that, in 2020, RBC settled with the SEC over a violation of sections 17(A)(2) and 17(A)(3) of the Securities Act.
Customer Service
If you need to contact RBC Wealth Management for assistance, you have a few different choices:
- The company’s contact page
- General inquiries – (800) 759-4029, 8:30 am-6:00 pm ET, Monday-Friday
- Online account access help – (800) 933-9946, 8:00 am-10:00 pm ET, Monday-Friday or 10:00 am-6:00 pm ET
- By email at clientsupport@rbc.com
How to Get Started with RBC Wealth Management
The most convenient way to begin working with RBC Wealth Management is by visiting their website and clicking “Find an Advisor.” From there, you can filter your search by location or the specific name of an expert. Then, you can set up an initial consultation to help figure out what services you need most, whether it be financial planning or investment management.
Tips for Choosing a Financial Advisor Firm
When you’re looking for a financial advisor firm, it can be difficult to know which option to pick. It’s most important that you find one that has your best interest in mind. These are often fiduciary firms that are RIAs with the SEC. You should also look for professionals with specialized designations, such as Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP), or Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).
Other key factors to pay attention to include account minimums and fee structure. If a firm requires a large initial investment to open an account, you may need to rethink using its services. Additionally, fees can be steep, often taking a percentage of AUM. In this case, be sure a company is charging a reasonable amount for the services it’s providing.
If you need help starting your search for a financial advisor firm, we recommend using this free matching tool. After you fill out a short quiz regarding your goals and current situation, it’ll connect you with up to three vetted fiduciary professionals in your area.
Methodology
This review is based on publicly available information directly from RBC Wealth Management’s website, the SEC, and FINRA. Neither the firm nor its representatives have any say on what we’ve included on this page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is RBC Wealth Management a fiduciary?
Yes, the firm is a fiduciary because it’s registered with the SEC as an investment advisor. This means that it and any of its representatives must act in the best interest of their clients if they are giving investment advice or managing a portfolio.
Is RBC Wealth Management good?
RBC Wealth Management offers all of the services you’d expect from a financial advisor firm. However, it does have rather steep account minimums to open an account, as well as higher fees. But if you’re looking for financial planning and investment management from one company, RBC has what you need.
Keep in mind that you should also research each advisor’s credentials before going with them, even if a firm itself is high quality. You can do this using BrokerCheck or the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD).
How much money do you need for RBC Wealth Management?
This depends on the services you get. For financial planning, the firm doesn’t list an account minimum. However, its investment management requires between $2,500 and $250,000, depending on the tier.
Is my money safe at RBC Wealth Management?
While advisors at the firm must manage your assets while adhering to a fiduciary duty, there is still risk with the investments they make. In addition, any investment or insurance products through RBC Wealth Management aren’t insured by the FDIC.