Eligible high net worth investors and entrepreneurs will be able to access credit easily and efficiently through a fully automated and integrated lending platform launched Wednesday by Scotia Private Client Group.

The new borrowing program, Total Wealth Credit Solution, enables eligible clients to use a broad range of their wealth assets in combination as loan collateral to take advantage of investment opportunities.

It what Scotia Private Client says is an industry first for Canada, clients can borrow against multiple asset classes held in different locations, under a single, integrated investment line of credit. This lets clients leverage their broad-based wealth in a more efficient and convenient manner.

“Total Wealth systematically consolidates information on the client’s available collateral in a single platform, making it an ideal solution for investors who want convenient, integrated access to credit and know how to make their wealth work for them,” says Andrew Wright, managing director & head of private banking at Scotia Private Client Group.

How it works

Private bankers at Scotia Private Client Group can now access fully automated daily market valuation and margin calculations for a broad range of securities maintained in client investment portfolios — whether with an investment advisor or an online brokerage account. This information is then automatically combined with valuations of other collateral types maintained in Total Wealth, such as residential real estate or insurance policies.

For example, investors and entrepreneurs can now combine their equity and fixed income securities portfolios with assets such as the cash surrender value locked in their insurance policy, or their residential or recreational property, to support convenient access to an investment line of credit.

Other features of the program:

> clients can reduce risks associated with borrowing to invest by diversifying collateral, using assets with relatively stable market values in combination with investment portfolios that are valued daily;

> collateral can be held as an individual, in a spouse’s name, or through a holding company;

> no need to transfer or sell assets to access liquidity or consolidated credit against those assets, enabling clients to reduce their transaction costs and preserve their tax and investment strategies; and

> credit can be accessed through simple overdraft or a combination of advances at fixed or floating rates in Canadian or U.S. dollars

“Total Wealth is ideal for the high net worth investor who values convenience, flexibility, simplicity and the ability to respond more quickly to opportunities dependent on ready access to credit,” conclude Wright. “We’ve anticipated that need and are now fulfilling it.”


Scotia Private Client Group provides consists of private client services from The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS), The Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company, Scotia Asset Management L.P., Scotia Asset Management U.S. Inc., ScotiaMcLeod Financial Services Inc., and ScotiaMcLeod, a division of Scotia Capital Inc.