Wealthsimple targets younger investors

Strategic move: Drake (seated left) and son Adonis watch the Toronto Raptors in an NBA game in Toronto. Wealthsimple is betting that it can capture a significant share of the younger market with personalities like the Canadian musician and Hollywood actors. — AFP

TORONTO: Wealthsimple Financial Corp, the online investment platform backed by Canada’s billionaire Desmarais family, has set a target of quadrupling assets to C$100bil (US$74bil) in five years, betting that it can capture a significant share of younger investors who don’t want to use traditional money managers.

Toronto-based Wealthsimple has grown rapidly, with assets rising about 10-fold to C$25bil since 2018, thanks in part to slick advertising and some Hollywood star power: celebrities Drake, Michael J. Fox and Ryan Reynolds are among its minority investors.