Personal Banking & Wealth Management
Successful Business Owners: A Financial Plan as Rigorous as Your Business Plan
Fee-only wealth management, retirement planning, and succession coordination for principals of Saskbank's commercial clients. No embedded commissions. No product sales. Just a clear, modelled strategy built around your goals.
Schedule Your Complimentary 45-Minute Wealth Review →Grow, Protect, and Transfer Your Wealth — With Complete Transparency
Most wealth management divisions at Canadian banks earn commissions on the products they recommend. Ours doesn't. Every service below operates on a published fee-only basis, so Desmond Achebe's recommendations are driven entirely by your financial objectives — not by which fund pays the highest trailer. Explore our Rates & Fees page for complete cost transparency.
Portfolio Management That Hides Nothing
- Fee-only basis — no embedded commissions on fund products, no trailing fees, no soft-dollar arrangements
- Minimum portfolio: $250,000
- Quarterly performance reporting with benchmark comparison (we show you exactly how your portfolio performed relative to a passive index — and whether the active strategy justified its cost)
- Corporate-owned investment portfolio management available for retained earnings held in holding companies or professional corporations
- Asset allocation reviewed annually or after any material life event — whichever comes first
You'll see exactly what you're paying, how your portfolio performed relative to its benchmark, and whether the strategy remains aligned with your goals — every quarter, without asking. If performance lags the benchmark for two consecutive quarters, Desmond initiates a review proactively. You don't have to chase your advisor for answers.
Retirement Income Planning — Modelled to Age 100
- RRSP and TFSA optimization strategies tailored to business owners who draw a mix of salary and dividends
- Pension income splitting analysis for couples approaching retirement
- Drawdown modelling against multiple longevity scenarios (age 90, 95, and 100) with variable spending assumptions
- Coordination with corporate retained earnings strategy — so the wealth inside your firm and outside it work in concert
- Stress-testing against historical market corrections, inflationary periods, and unexpected spending shocks
You'll walk away with a clear, modelled plan that shows your income through age 90, 95, and 100 — stress-tested against inflation, market corrections, and spending changes. For business owners who've spent decades building wealth inside a corporation, we map the optimal path for extracting it tax-efficiently over a 20- to 30-year retirement horizon.
Succession & Estate Coordination — One Coherent Strategy
- Tax-efficient equity transition structuring (including capital gains exemption planning and share reorganizations)
- Estate planning coordination with your legal counsel — we sit at the same table, not in a separate silo
- Insurance needs analysis through licensed third-party partners (we don't sell insurance, so our assessment is unbiased)
- Estate freeze strategies for business owners looking to lock in current valuations while transferring future growth
We coordinate with your lawyer and accountant — because financial planning doesn't happen in a vacuum. The result is a single, coherent transition strategy rather than three disconnected ones. If you're planning a succession financing arrangement through Saskbank's lending team, Desmond ensures the personal wealth plan and the credit plan are fully integrated from day one.
Corporate-Personal Integration — Bridging the Gap
- Salary vs. dividend optimization modelling — updated annually as tax brackets and rates change
- Holding company investment management for retained earnings that exceed operating needs
- Personal guarantee exposure reduction planning — coordinated with Marcus Thibodeau's commercial lending team
- Individual Pension Plan (IPP) analysis for incorporated professionals over age 40
- Accessible banking services across all personal and corporate accounts — both office locations are fully wheelchair accessible
Your corporate and personal finances are intertwined — your wealth strategy should reflect that. We model the interplay between retained earnings, compensation structure, and personal investments so nothing falls through the gap. For Saskbank business banking clients, this integration is seamless: your corporate deposit balances, lending facilities, and personal portfolio are visible in a single relationship view.
In Practice: How Ridgeline Structural Engineers Saved $185,000 in a Five-Year Succession
The Challenge
Ridgeline Structural Engineers — 18 engineers, $6.1 million annual revenue — had two founding partners in their early 60s ready to transition equity to three senior associates over five years. The firm's revenue was stable, client relationships were strong, and the incoming partners had been with the practice for over a decade. On paper, it was an ideal succession scenario.
Their previous bank offered a generic term loan for the buyout, but couldn't accommodate the phased structure or the requirement that the selling partners remain guarantors only during the transition period. The bank wanted a single lump-sum draw, 100% personal guarantees from both selling and buying partners, and a standard five-year term — regardless of the fact that the equity transfer was structured in annual tranches.
Worse, the retirement plan and the credit plan existed in separate silos. The selling partners' financial advisor at another institution had no visibility into the lending structure, and the bank had no interest in the tax implications of the retirement drawdown. That disconnect was costing the partners real money in unnecessary tax exposure — an estimated $40,000 per year in suboptimal RRSP contributions alone.
The Outcome
- $4.2 million phased equity transaction completed over 5 years — structured by Marcus Thibodeau's commercial lending team
- Three separate term loans drawn in annual tranches matching the equity purchase schedule — each with its own amortization aligned to projected cash flow
- Guarantee exposure dropped 20% annually, reaching zero in year five — triggered automatically by equity transfer milestones
- Desmond Achebe structured RRSP and TFSA optimization for both retiring partners, maximizing contribution room in the years with the highest marginal tax rates
- Dividend vs. salary mix optimized annually for the incoming partners as their equity stake grew
- Combined tax savings: $185,000 over the five-year transition
- Zero employee attrition during the entire transition — stability the selling partners credited to the clarity of the plan
Planning a succession of your own? Read our Succession Planning Playbook or schedule a conversation with Desmond and Marcus.
Your Wealth Advisor: 96% Client Retention Over a 12-Year Career
Desmond Achebe, CFP, CIM
Director, Wealth Management
Desmond spent a decade at Richardson Wealth advising professionals — dentists, lawyers, architects, engineers — on portfolio management and succession planning before joining Saskbank in 2021 to launch the wealth management division. His mandate was specific: build a fee-only practice that serves the personal financial needs of Saskbank's commercial banking clients, with a level of integration between corporate and personal finances that big-bank wealth divisions can't replicate.
His client retention rate across a 12-year career: 96%. That number isn't an accident. It's the product of a fee-only model that removes conflicts of interest, quarterly reporting that hides nothing, and a genuine conviction that wealth management for business owners means understanding the business as thoroughly as the portfolio. Desmond sits in on annual credit reviews with Marcus Thibodeau's lending team so he has direct visibility into each client's corporate financial health — not a secondhand summary.
"My job isn't to sell products. It's to make certain that the wealth you've built inside your firm translates into the retirement and legacy you've planned for outside of it. That requires understanding your partnership structure, your compensation strategy, and your succession timeline — not just your risk tolerance questionnaire."
Desmond is available at Saskbank's Ottawa headquarters Monday through Friday, and at the Toronto client office on Wednesdays and Thursdays. He volunteers with Junior Achievement Ottawa, mentoring the next generation of entrepreneurs. He holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and Chartered Investment Manager (CIM) designations.
Learn more about Desmond and the rest of Saskbank's leadership on our team page.
Schedule a Wealth Review With Desmond — 45 Minutes, No ObligationWhy Fee-Only Could Save You $400,000 Over 20 Years
Most wealth advisors in Canada earn commissions on the products they recommend — a model known as "commission-based" or "fee-based" (note: "fee-based" is not the same as "fee-only"). That creates a structural incentive to suggest funds with higher embedded fees — management expense ratios (MERs) of 2.0% to 2.5% — even when a lower-cost alternative would serve you better. The advisor's income increases when you hold higher-fee products, regardless of whether those products outperform.
Over a 20-year horizon, the difference between a 1.0% and a 2.3% total cost can exceed $400,000 on a $1 million portfolio. That's not a projection — it's compound math. At 2.3% total cost on a portfolio earning 7% gross, you keep 4.7%. At 1.0% total cost, you keep 6.0%. Over 20 years, the 1.3% annual difference compounds into a gap that could fund several years of retirement income.
Saskbank's wealth management division operates on a transparent fee-only basis. Desmond's compensation doesn't change based on which fund you hold, which insurance product you buy, or whether you increase your allocation to equities. His only incentive is to grow your wealth and keep your business — which is why 96% of his clients have stayed. You can review our complete fee structure on the Rates & Fees page before your first meeting.
Commission-Based Model
- Advisor earns trailing commissions from fund companies — typically 0.5% to 1.0% annually, paid from your fund's MER
- Higher-fee products generate more advisor income, creating an inherent conflict
- Conflicts of interest are embedded in every recommendation — the advisor benefits when you choose the more expensive option
- Total cost often opaque — buried in fund MERs that most clients never examine closely
- Advisor may receive incentive trips, bonuses, or preferred status from fund companies for meeting sales targets
Saskbank Fee-Only Model
- You pay a published percentage of assets under management — that's the only fee, and it's disclosed in writing before you sign
- No embedded commissions, no trailing fees, no soft-dollar arrangements, no referral fees from insurance companies
- Recommendations based entirely on your financial objectives, tax situation, and risk capacity
- Total cost disclosed in writing before you sign anything — including the cost of underlying funds
- Desmond's compensation is the same regardless of which products you hold — his incentive is your portfolio's long-term performance
Want to understand the full cost of your current advisory relationship? Bring your most recent portfolio statement to your complimentary wealth review — Desmond will calculate your all-in cost, including embedded MERs, and show you the 20-year projection side by side.
Your Personal Finances Deserve the Same Precision as Your Firm's Balance Sheet
You've spent years building a practice that runs with precision — your personal wealth strategy should reflect that same rigour. Desmond Achebe will review your current portfolio, calculate your all-in cost (including embedded MERs most clients don't realize they're paying), model your retirement income under multiple scenarios, and outline a fee-only engagement with complete cost transparency.
Saskbank's wealth management division serves the principals of our commercial banking and lending clients — which means your corporate and personal finances are managed under one roof, with full visibility across both. No silos. No disconnects.
No embedded commissions. No product sales. Just a clear plan built around your goals, your timeline, and your firm's unique structure.
Schedule a Wealth Review With Desmond Achebe — 45 Minutes, No Obligation