VirtualWealth Review For 2024: Qtrade Guided Portfolios Analysis
VirtualWealth Review Rating: 2.0/5
Gone are the days when investors pay humongous fees to traditional financial advisers to manage a portfolio.
The emergence of robo-advisors has completely revolutionized the world of investment.
Today, thousands of Canadians are adopting robo-advisors because of the relatively low costs of usage.
And the best part is that robo-advisors often deliver a more fantastic job in helping to diversify an investment portfolio.
Robo-advisors save you the stress of doing research, investing, monitoring and/or rebalancing your portfolio.
One of the leading robo-advisors in Canada today is VirtualWealth — now referred to as Qtrade Guided Portfolios.
It’s a convenient and simple automated investing platform that gives you the best of an automated and human-managed portfolio.
In this article, I will provide a comprehensive VirtualWealth review. I will also compare VirtualWealth with two other popular robo-advisors in Canada to help you make a cost-effective decision.
If you are with me, read on!
What is VirtualWealth?
The popular name is VirtualWealth but it was recently rebranded to Qtrade Guided Portfolios.
This is a robo-advisor powered by Aviso Wealth, a leading financial service provider in Canada.
VirtualWealth offers relatively low-cost pre-designed ETF portfolios that are diversified across various markets and sectors.
Many robo-advisors are known for strictly investing funds through “passive” investing strategies. But VirtualWealth begs to differ.
The VirtualWealth robo-advisor manages your investment by employing an “active” investing strategy.
By this, VirtualWealth boasts of having a professional team that monitors your automated investment to ensure that you get the best results.
As of today, VirtualWealth ranks among the best robo-advisors in Canada. But is it the best for you?
Let’s find out!
Who Owns VirtualWealth?
By being rebranded to Qtrade Guided Portfolios you can easily tell that VirtualWealth is the trade name of Credential Qtrade Securities Inc.
But the ownership chain doesn’t end there.
VirtualWealth is owned by Aviso Wealth, a reputable Canadian wealth manager with $100 billion in assets under administration and management for 500,000 clients across the country.
As of the time of writing this VirtualWealth review, Aviso Wealth has 300 partners and 25+ years of experience in managing wealth.
On the other hand, Aviso Wealth is the product of a joint venture between Desjardins, CUMIS, and Credit Union Centrals.
Is VirtualWealth Safe?
Qtrade Guided Portfolios or VirtualWealth is a safe robo-advisor because it protects your assets and personal data on its platform.
VirtualWealth is regulated by the IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada). By doing so, VirtualWealth complies with the best industry practices for portfolio management.
It might also interest you to know that the CIPF (Canadian Investor Protection Fund) provides up to $1 million in insurance per VirtualWealth investment account.
Also, your private information on the VirtualWealth platform is highly protected by strong firewalls and a 256-bit encryption algorithm.
In addition to all of that, you should be reminded that VirtualWealth is owned by Aviso Wealth — a company with $100 billion in assets under management and administration. Isn’t that enough to calm your mind?
How Does VirtualWealth Work?
To get started with VirtualWealth, you only need to follow 3 simple steps and the robo-advisor will handle the rest of your investing journey.
To invest with VirtualWealth, all you need is to follow the steps below:
- Complete a Questionnaire: Immediately after you sign up on the VirtualWealth Robo-advisor, you will be required to complete a questionnaire. This is to help the robo-advisor understand your risk tolerance, investment objective and so on.
- Fund your account: Once you have completed your application and gotten approval, the next step is to fund your account with a minimum of $2,000 to start investing. This can be done easily via cash transfer, bill payment, or electronic funds transfer.
- Portfolio Management: After completing the above steps and depositing the minimum required amount, the VirtualWealth automated system will handle the rest of the investing process.
The automated system will invest your funds according to the data you have provided in the questionnaire.
Also, the robo-advisor will keep monitoring the real-time performance of your investments and do rebalancing when needed.
If your situation changes at any time in the future, you can easily inform the robo-advisor and it will adjust your portfolio to suit your needs.
Bear in mind that VirtualWealth has a team of professional portfolio managers that are also available to rebalance your investment portfolio.
This simply means that you get automated portfolio management and human management altogether.
VirtualWealth ETF Portfolios
VirtualWealth invests funds in pre-designed low-cost ETF portfolios that are diversified across different assets and markets.
Due to the company’s recent rebranding, the VirtualWealth ETF portfolios are now referred to as Guided Portfolios.
Check out the table below to see the ETF portfolios offered by VirtualWealth.
| Guided ETF Portfolio | Assets Allocation |
| Income | 20% equity & 80% fixed income |
| Income and Growth | 35% equity & 65% fixed income |
| Balanced | 50% equity & 50% fixed income |
| Growth and Income | 65% equity & 35% fixed income |
| Growth | 80% equity & 20% fixed income |
| Maximum Growth | 100% equity |
As you can see from the above table, VirtualWealth uses your risk tolerance to determine which of the ETF portfolios to invest your funds in.
If you have a curious mind like me, you would probably be eager to know the underlying assets of VirtualWealth ETF portfolios.
Well, I took time to get that information as well. Below is a list of all the underlying assets that make up VirtualWealth ETF Portfolios.
| Asset | Ticker |
| Vanguard Global ex-U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ETF (CAD-hedged) | VBG |
| FlexShares STOXX Global Broad Infrastructure Index ETF | NFRA |
| iShares Global REIT ETF | REET |
| iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF | XEF |
| iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF | IXUS |
| iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF | IEMG |
| iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | ITOT |
| Vanguard U.S. Aggregate Bond Index ETF (CAD-hedged) | VBU |
| Vanguard FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF | VCN |
| Vanguard Canadian Aggregate Bond Index ETF | VAB |
VirtualWealth Responsible Investing Portfolios
VirtualWealth also offers Responsible Investing (RI) portfolios that are designed for investors that only want to put their money in companies that comply with ESG (environmental, social & governance) standards.
To some degree, the VirtualWealth Responsible Investing portfolios share the same underlying assets as the guided ETF portfolios.
However, Responsible Investing portfolios reduce risks and focus more on sustainable investments.
One of the key features of Responsible Investing is it doesn’t invest in companies that generate significant revenue from nuclear power, weapons, or tobacco among others.
Also, VirtualWealth fund managers help investors identify and choose companies that are compliant with environmental, social & governance standards.
At the moment, the VirtualWealth Responsible Investing portfolio has the following underlying assets:
- NEI Canadian Equity RS Fund
- NEI U.S. Equity RS Fund
- NEI Canadian Bond Fund
- NEI International Equity RS Fund
- NEI Global Total Return Bond Fund
Bear in mind that Responsible Investing has the same management fee as Guided ETF portfolios. But, the management expense ratio for Responsible Investing is relatively higher at 0.72% – 0.96%.
VirtualWealth Investment Accounts
VirtualWealth offers access to registered and non-registered accounts as highlighted below:
- Cash
- RRSP
- RLSP
- LRSP
- LIRA
- TFSA
- RESP
However, the robo-advisor doesn’t support tax-loss harvesting. This means capital gains through VirtualWealth taxable accounts are taxed with the standard rate without reduction.
VirtualWealth Fees
This comprehensive VirtualWealth review will never be complete if I don’t tell you about the fees charged on the platform.
To start with, I would like to point out that all the robo-advisors out there charge management fees and also management expense ratio (MER). This is the same case with VirtualWealth too.
The platform usually calculates its management fee per daily average value but charges it quarterly.
Also, the VirtualWealth management fee is based on how much you invest.
Check out this table below to see VirtualWealth fees for all its portfolios.
| Portfolio Value | Fee |
| First $2,000 – $100,000 | 0.60% |
| Next $400,000 | 0.50% |
| Next $500,000 | 0.40% |
| Greater than $1 million | 0.35% |
Note that VirtualWealth waives the management fee for the first quarter.
As per MERs, VirtualWealth has a different schedule for ETF and RI portfolios. The ETF portfolios’ MERs are below 0.15%. But the RI portfolios’ MERs range between 0.72% to 0.96%.
Both the management fees and MERs on the robo-advisor are higher compared to those of other robo-advisors in Canada.
Aside from the MERs and management fees, VirtualWealth also charges the following transaction fees:
| Paper statement requests (for each quarter) | $6 |
| Paper trade confirmation requests (for each trade) | $2.50 |
| Cheque requests (for each request) | $10 |
| Partial deregistration of properly registered account (excluding RESP & TFSA) | $50 |
| Closure of an account within just 1 year | $100 |
| Total deregistration of a properly registered account | $125 |
| Transfer (out of an account) full & partial | $150 |
| Estate settlement (minimum) of each account | $250 |
Pros & Cons of VirtualWealth
Like many other Robo-advisors in Canada, VirtualWealth does have its own benefits and disadvantages as well.
Let’s have a closer look at the pros and cons of VirtualWealth.
Pros of VirtualWealth
- Diversified portfolios: The VirtualWealth system invests funds in low-cost ETFs that cut across both the US and Canadian markets. The portfolios are also diversified into different company sizes, sectors and industries.
- Real portfolio managers: Besides managing your investments with a robo-advisor, VirtualWealth also has human professional managers that monitor your portfolio.
- Multiple account options: VirtualWealth supports both taxable and non-taxable accounts such as TFSA, RESP, RRSP, RLSP, LRSP, and so on.
- Automated contributions: You can contribute funds to your VirtualWealth account automatically, helping you invest on autopilot.
Cons of VirtualWealth
- Quarterly management fee schedule: Management fees are usually charged annually by most robo-advisors in Canada. VirtualWealth has a quarterly fee schedule, making it more costly.
- Higher fees than competitors: When compared with other Canadian robo-advisors, VirtualWealth turned out to be charging a higher management fee. The robo advisor also has higher MERs.
- Minimum investment requirement: You can open a VirtualWealth account with a $0 balance. However, a minimum of $2,000 must be deposited to start investing on the platform.
- Restricted performance information: While other robo-advisors display their returns and performance statistics, VirtualWealth doesn’t.
My VirtualWealth Review Rating
I rate VirtualWealth 2.0 out of 5 stars based on comparative analysis and the total rating of the following features.
VirtualWealth Review Rating Methodology
Overall Rating
With the above low rating, I can’t recommend VirtualWealth to investors looking for a low-cost robo-advisor with a low minimum investment requirement and tax efficiency.
How to Open a VirtualWealth Account
The account opening process is straightforward at VirtualWealth. Follow the steps below to open your VirtualWealth account:
- Visit the account opening page using this link
- Enter your personal details (full name, email)
- Choose your investment goal from the drop-down menu
- Provide more information about yourself (age, marital status, employment status, income level etc)
- Follow answer the following questions to complete the registration
When your account is approved, you can start investing by depositing a minimum of $2,000. You can invest the $2,000 at once or do so gradually.
However, you must reach the minimum balance threshold to start investing with the robo-advisor.
VirtualWealth vs Other Robo-Advisors in Canada
At the beginning of this article, I promised to show a quick comparison between VirtualWealth and two other popular investing platforms in Canada.
Well, here you go!
VirtualWealth vs Questwealth Portfolios
Instead of boring you with too many details, I have simply added a table below to show you how VirtualWealth compared with Questwealth Portfolios.
| Profile | VirtualWealth | Questwealth Portfolios |
| Management strategy | Actively managed | Actively managed |
| Minimum investment | $2,000 | $1,000 |
| Portfolio types | ETFs, mutual funds and RI | ETF and SRI |
| Account types | Taxable, TFSA, RRSP, RLSP, LRSP, LIRA and RESP accounts | TFSA, FHSA, RESP, RRSP, RIF, LIF, LIRA, cash & corporate cash accounts |
| Tax-loss harvesting | N/A | Available |
| Management fee | 0.35% to 0.60% | 0.20% to 0.25% |
| ETF MERs | Less than 0.15% | 0.17% to 0.22% |
| CIPF coverage | Available | Available |
| IIROC regulation | Yes | Yes |
As shown above, the major differences between VirtualWealth and Questwealth Portfolios lie in their:
- Portfolio types
- Minimum investment requirements
- Management fees
- MERs
- Tax-loss harvesting
VirtualWealth vs Wealthsimple Invest
Another popular alternative to VirtualWealth in Canada is Wealthsimple Invest.
Check out the table below to see a side-by-side comparison between these two automated investment advisors.
| Profile | VirtualWealth | Wealthsimple Invest |
| Management strategy | Actively managed | Passively managed |
| Minimum investment | $2,000 | None |
| Portfolio types | ETFs, mutual funds and RI | ETFs, SRI and Halal |
| Account types | Taxable and non-taxable accounts (TFSA, RESP, RRSP, RLSP, LRSP, and LIRA) | Taxable and non-taxable accounts (TFSA, FHSA, RESP, RRSP, RRIF and LIRA) |
| Tax-loss harvesting | N/A | Available |
| Management fee | 0.35% to 0.60% | 0.40% to 0.50% |
| ETF MERs | Less than 0.15% | 0.13% to 0.16% |
| CIPF coverage | Available | Available |
| IIROC regulation | Yes | Yes |
The major differences between VirtualWealth and Wealthsimple Invest lie in their:
- Management strategies
- Minimum investment amounts
- Management fees
- MERs
- Tax-loss harvesting
The Bottom Line on VirtualWealth Review
My VirtualWealth review is negative for obvious reasons.
There is no denying that VirtualWealth is one of the best actively managed robo-advisors in Canada.
The platform offers a broad range of investment portfolios to match different investment objectives and risk appetites.
However, the minimum investment requirement, quarterly management fee, high fees and restricted portfolio performance data make VirtualWealth a distant robo-advisor to consider.
The bottom line is — go for VirtualWealth if you don’t mind its drawbacks. But if you do mind, you will be better off with Wealthsimple Invest or Questwealth Portfolios. The choice is yours to make.
Is VirtualWealth for you? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.
FAQs on VirtualWealth review
How can I contact VirtualWealth?
You can contact VirtualWealth on phone at 1.844.622.4500 or by mail at [email protected].
Is my money safe with VirtualWealth?
Your money is safe with VirtualWealth up to $1 million per insured account by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF)
Can you lose money with Robo-advisors?
Robo-advisors are safer than human advisors because they use an automated process that eliminates human errors.
As with other investment platforms, assets in robo-advisors in Canada are covered up to $1 million per insured account by the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF).
However, no investment platform is 100% safe. So you must take extra measures to protect your assets and data while using a robo-advisor.
At best, you should never invest money with a robo-advisor that you cannot afford to lose.
VirtualWealth Review
Summary
VirtualWealth is unsuitable for investors looking for a low-cost robo-advisor with a low minimum investment requirement and tax efficiency.
