After reaching a crossroads in his career, an experienced advisor has reshaped and enhanced PWM Private Wealth Counsel's offerings with the help of innovative independent platform
This article was produced in partnership with PWM Private Wealth Counsel and Q Wealth.
Life is a rollercoaster. In many ways, how one responds to the highs and lows determines the life you live and whether it’s defined by success or failure, or happiness or worry.
Kevin Hegedus, the founder of PWM Private Wealth Counsel, has seen firsthand that careers rarely follow a straight path. In 2023, he encountered a moment of reflection and re-evaluation. His working life had been marked by a commitment to innovation, exceptional service, and a focus on holistic planning, and he had received recognition and success for his efforts. However, there was something he couldn’t shake – he believed in his heart there were better solutions for his clients and for his business.
He reflected: “Despite our successes, I grew increasingly concerned about the limitations within the standard retail investment framework and PWM’s approach within this space—especially around alternative assets. It became clear to me that if we wanted to elevate our services and our results for clients, we needed a new approach that went beyond the conventional.”
Hegedus faced a question: did he have the ambition and desire to climb the mountain again? With 33 years of experience, former clients he had known for decades, and a wealth of knowledge gained from running a $750 million book of business, the answer was an emphatic “yes.”
He’d been the rainmaker once and was ready to go again. He quickly realized that the innovative advisors and true leaders in the industry were following the lead from the RIA movement in the United States, and he saw the independent portfolio management platform in Canada was gaining momentum.
Having explored the idea of going the Investment Counsel Portfolio Manager route on his own, in December 2023, he reached out to Q Wealth and met with Jared Rabinowitz, CEO, Executive & Founding Partner, and Stephen Gasparek, Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Partnership Development, to find out more about its platform.
After a rigorous due diligence process, the partners “all agreed the PWM team would be a valuable partner to take on,” Hegedus said. Since that first meeting with Q, Hegedus has had hundreds of meetings with clients and been entrusted with significant assets, goals, and the legacies they wish to leave.
“This path was not without challenges,” he said. “But the amazing part is that it led me to a place that didn’t just feel like the right fit, it felt like where we’d always belonged - a partnership with Q Wealth, a firm reshaping the wealth management landscape in Canada. Q Wealth is blazing a trail for advisors who align with their client-centric values and commitment to positive innovation.
Saskatoon-based Hegedus is excited about PWM’s potential moving forward. Having now attained a higher fiduciary standard than he held previously, he also has access to Q Wealth’s pension-style investment approach with the ability to help build private pools of funds. One such opportunity is through Northleaf Capital Partners, for example, which specializes in infrastructure and other private markets investments and counts Canada Pension Plan as one of their largest investors.
Hegedus explained: “Gaining access to their unique and hard-to-access investment strategies, ones that were previously unavailable to us, is truly transformative.”
He added: “By joining the Q Wealth partnership, it allowed PWM to enter this independent space while staying focused on our true purpose and what brings meaning to my life, which is helping clients find their meaning and retire well. It was a return to the core values that make this work truly fulfilling and impactful. PWM clients are benefitting from a platform with higher fiduciary standards, lower and more consistent fee structures with enhanced transparency, and tailored risk tolerance assessments that allow us to customize portfolios more precisely to our client’s needs.”
PWM is now in prime position to take advantage of the growth of the independent advice channel in Canada. And having emerged from his career sliding doors moment, Hegedus is delighted to have found a home where he can shape a lasting legacy—one that elevates the standard of independent advice in Canada and leaves the industry stronger for future generations.
“I love the culture,” he said. “I love the collaboration and being able to sit on an investment committee with over 20 like-minded individuals, sharing best ideas and best practices, and have everyone say, ‘how do we build a better client experience? How do we build better portfolios?’. And then we go and make it happen. His journey has been a testament to the power of reinvention and the courage to pursue a better way. A beacon for what is possible when passion meets purpose.
