Overview

The Summit portfolio is a managed portfolio that combines public and private markets to broaden diversification and reduce reliance on public markets.

Private markets — including private equity, private credit, and infrastructure — were historically only available to large institutions and ultra-high-net-worth investors. Summit makes them accessible in a simple, fully managed way within the Wealthsimple app. Wealthsimple's Investment Research team works with world-class fund managers, such as LGT Capital Partners and Sagard, to provide access to our private market fund. Our team oversees fund selection, monitors performance, manages liquidity, and rebalances portfolios as needed.

Summit is available in Balanced, Growth, and Aggressive risk levels. Clients are matched to the appropriate portfolio through our suitability process, based on their investment goals, timelines, and risk tolerance.

How it's different from our other portfolios

The Summit portfolio differs from our Classic portfolios by combining public market investments with a meaningful allocation to private markets, including private equity, private credit, and infrastructure.

Classic portfolios diversify across public assets such as equities, bonds, and gold. Summit goes further by allocating 20–30% of the portfolio to our private market fund, providing access to opportunities that were historically out of reach for most investors.

This structure delivers three key benefits:

• Broader diversification, with asset classes that don't move in lockstep with public markets.
• Potential for stronger long-term returns through exposure to private market opportunities.
• Simplicity with professional oversight, as Wealthsimple's investment team and world-class fund managers handle fund selection, monitoring, rebalancing, and liquidity.

In short, Summit brings the sophistication of alternatives into a straightforward, transparent managed portfolio.

Eligibility

To invest in the Summit portfolio, clients must meet the following requirements:

• Suitability assessment: You'll complete a quick assessment during the account opening process to confirm that Summit is appropriate for your goals and risk profile.
• Private market threshold: You can start investing with any amount, but exposure to the private market sleeve begins once your account reaches $10,000 in net deposits.
• Minimum liquid assets: You must have at least $50,000 in liquid assets to be eligible.

How to open a Summit portfolio

Follow these steps to open a Summit portfolio on the Wealthsimple app:

1. Log in to the Wealthsimple app
2. From the Home tab, scroll down and tap Open or move account
3. Select Open a new account
4. Choose an eligible account from the account options menu
5. Select Portfolios
6. Select the Summit portfolio
7. Tap Invest in Summit to finish

How the Summit portfolio is invested

The Summit portfolio blends public markets (equities, bonds, and gold) with private markets (private equity, private credit, and infrastructure). The exact mix depends on your risk level:

• Aggressive: Higher allocation to equities and private markets, designed for investors comfortable with more risk.
• Growth: A balance of equities, bonds, gold, and private markets for investors seeking growth with some stability.
• Balanced: A more conservative mix with greater exposure to bonds, alongside equities, gold, and private markets.

Here's how each portfolio is allocated:

Your Summit portfolio is invested in two parts, each with its own timeline:

• Public market portion: Invested within 1–3 business days.
• Private market portion: Invested during a monthly subscription window.

Withdrawing funds from the Summit portfolio

When you withdraw funds from the Summit portfolio, we always sell your public market investments first. If you need more than what's available in your public market investments, you can schedule a second follow-up withdrawal for your private market investments.

Follow the steps below to initiate a withdrawal from the Summit portfolio on the Wealthsimple app:

1. Log in to the Wealthsimple app
2. Select your Summit portfolio account
3. Tap Transfer money
4. Select the account to which you want to transfer funds
5. Tap Next
6. Enter your desired withdrawal amount
7. Tap Next
8. Confirm withdrawal details
9. Tap Submit

Liquidity

• Public markets: Fully liquid and redeemable on a standard settlement timeline, typically 2 to 3 days.
• Private markets: Redeemable through monthly liquidity windows, with payouts typically occurring within 30 to 60 days. Redemptions aren't guaranteed and depend on fund-level availability.

Tracking your withdrawal

You can track the progress of your withdrawal in real time using the Activity tracker in the app. The status will update as your investments are sold and the funds are sent to your desired destination account.

Portfolio rebalancing

After you make a withdrawal, we automatically rebalance your remaining investments. This ensures your portfolio stays aligned with your chosen risk profile.

Fees for the Summit portfolio

The Summit portfolio includes both Wealthsimple's management fees and fees from the external fund managers we partner with.

Wealthsimple fees

• Public market portion: Our standard advisory fee of 0.2%–0.5%, depending on your total assets with Wealthsimple.
• Private market portion: A 1% management fee applied to the private market sleeve.

External fund manager fees

The fund managers we partner with for the private market portion of Summit charge their own management and performance fees. These fees differ for each manager and could change:

• Private Credit (managed by Sagard):
  • A 1.25% management fee.
  • A 15% performance fee on returns above a 5% minimum return threshold (the "hurdle rate").
• Private Equity (managed by LGT Capital Partners):
  • A 1.5% management fee.
  • A 12.5% performance fee, subject to a minimum return of 8% (the "hurdle rate").

It's important to note that these external fees are built into the fund's net returns. The performance you see for your Summit portfolio in the Wealthsimple app has already accounted for them.

Frequently asked questions

About private markets

Eligibility and requirements

Liquidity and withdrawals

How Summit works