About Us
Our Beginning
Weigh House began as Second Opinion Investor Services. At the time, we were one of the few organizations in the market asking investors to take a sober second look at how their portfolios were performing.
As our client base grew over the years, it became increasingly apparent that investors need much more than second opinions.
So, today, while almost every one of the large banks and financial institutions has come around to the phrase – using it as a marketing gimmick to get clients in the door – we are asking investors to work with us on the fundamentals first – at the beginning of the process – before considering any financial product pitches.
The unfortunate truth is most individual investors do not have the financial background to evaluate the performance of their portfolio, nor the claims made by sales professionals who seek to advise them on the merits of one approach over another. Few know their investment portfolio’s true rate of return or how well they are doing relative to a valid benchmark.
It is also true that most investors have no idea how much they are paying in investment fees and commissions. Most individual investors seriously underestimate the amount they pay in annual fees.
In fact investors are paying substantial amounts in fees and commissions. Fees are so high, that the average Weigh House client can reduce his or her fees and taxes by an average of $8,700 per year, simply because we have no vested interest in individual financial products.
Let’s be clear, the blame does not lie with the investor. If we were all financial experts, there would be no need for advisors or consultants. The truth is that the system has let us down. Compensation structures and incentive packages have gotten in the way of what is best for investors. Advertising is now disguised as education and investors get advice on products – rarely straight answers.
Never has there been a time when clarity and transparency are so important. It is time to reject the fine print and say no to opinions given without some form of accountability.
It is time for the truth.
Our New Name
Weigh House Investor Services takes its name from history. Weigh houses were built before international standards for weights were established. Local goods were brought to a central location where they were accurately measured and valued.
Imagine what it would have been like for farmers before standardized weights and measures – a time when a single sack of grain carried differing values depending upon who owned the scale upon which the sack was laid?
This is where most individual investors find themselves today. They are operating in a world where reports and products from financial institutions are weighted differently – where finding a valid benchmark from which to measure progress is difficult, if not almost impossible.
In this non-standardized context, comparing the results from one advisor to another takes investment knowledge and skill far beyond what anyone should expect from an individual investor who is just trying to do the right thing.
The rules need to change.
Our Promise
Weigh House delivers independent and unbiased answers to its clients. We reset the power balance in the advisor-client relationship by standing with the individual investor to ensure that they understand the real value of their current position and give them straight answers as to how they can get to where they want to go.
No financial product pitches. No hidden fees or commissions. No biases.
The result is that we are free to tell the truth. And that is something that is worth paying for.
We look forward to working with you.
Our mission is to empower Canadian investors through unbiased counsel, disciplined process and rational measures of progress.
