View Document Text
WMC_NRG_B_Bleed_CoolWhite
RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc.
Wrap fee brochure
A+ Program
Access Manager Selection Program
Private Investment Management Program
January 23, 2026
RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc.
155 Wellington Street West, 17th Floor
Toronto, ON, M5V 3K7
CANADA
416-955-2214
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc. If you have any questions about the
contents of this brochure, please contact us at 416-955-2214. The information in this brochure has not been approved or verified by the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission or by any state securities authority.
RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc. is an SEC registered investment adviser. Registration of an Investment Adviser does not imply any level of skill or training.
Additional information about RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc. is available on the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
1 | Wrap fee brochure
Item 2 – Material changes
Item 6- Investment manager and
sub-advisor selection and evaluation-
updated section
This Wrap Fee Brochure (the “Brochure”),
dated January 23, 2026, has
been prepared in accordance with
regulatory requirements.
both proprietary and non-proprietary
investment opportunities and ensuring
all products in your account comply with
your investment objectives.
The following are material changes to
the Brochure since the last update on
July 1, 2025. All capitalized terms have
the meaning set out in the Wrap Fee
Brochure.
9.4 Related and connected issuers. We
have amended this section to note that
we do not pay our Investment Advisors
or Investment Counsellors more if they
recommend securities owned by related
or connected issuers.
6.1.2 Review and replacement of
investment managers and sub-advisors.
We have added clarifying language to
note that we conduct due diligence on
investment managers and sub-advisors
to ensure that they align with client
specific investment objectives, as
applicable.
Item 4 – Services, fees and
compensation - updated section 4.3.2.3
Additional Information about the Access
Account Fee and A+ Account Fee,
Section 4.4.2 Fees and Section 4.4.3
Compensation.
9.5 Trading in your account. We have
added wording to this section to describe
how we allocate investment opportunities
to clients. We note that we mitigate any
perceived conflict of interest with respect
to fair allocation by ensure all investment
opportunities align with your investment
objectives.
6.1.5 Related Persons. We have amended
this section to note that recommending
affiliate sub-advisors may be perceived
as a conflict of interest. We manage this
risk by ensuring investment managers
and sub-advisors are only recommended
based on your needs and not to meet
business targets.
Interest Rates on Cash Balances and
Spread on Foreign Currency: We have
clarified that RBC Dominion Securities
Inc., as custodian, may earn interest
or revenue on any cash balances in
your account and may earn spread on
any foreign currency transactions. In
addition, we have provided a link to our
interest and spread rate disclosures.
9.6 Code of ethics. We have added
wording to describe our policies related
to the receipt of gifts and entertainment
from clients. We also note that we
mitigate any perceived conflicts of
interest with respect to the receipt of
gifts and entertainment through strict
adherence to policies and procedures
limiting such activities.
6.1.9 and 6.2.6 Voting Client Securities.
We have amended this section to note
that you give us express permission to
vote matters on your behalf relating
to the securities and/or the issuers of
the securities held in your account and
we provide clarity on our processes for
voting client securities.
Item 9- Additional Information- A+
Program, Access Program and PIM
Program
RBC PC USA will provide you with a copy
of the new Brochure without charge,
upon request to your Investment
Counsellor or Investment Advisor,
as applicable. This Brochure is also
available on the SEC’s website,
www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
9.3 Proprietary products. We have
added clarifying wording to note that
we address any perceived conflicts
of interest in offering proprietary
products by offering a wide range of
Compensation: We have amended the
description of the way we compensate
our Investment Advisors and Investment
Counsellors to clarify that Investment
Advisors and Counsellors are
compensated based on client account
balances and revenue generation in PIM,
A+ and Access Programs, respectively. We
have also provided a clear description
of the way we mitigate any perceived
conflicts of interest with respect to the
way we provide compensation.
Item 3 – Table of contents
Item 1 – Cover page
Item 7 – Client information provided to
investment managers and sub-advisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Item 2 – Material changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item 3 – Table of contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Item 8 – Client contact with investment
managers and sub-advisors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Item 4 – Services, fees and compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Item 9 – Additional information – A+ program,
Access program and PIM program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Item 5 – Account requirements and types of clients . . . . . . . 7
Item 6 – Investment manager and sub-advisor
selection and evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 2
Item 4 – Services, fees
and compensation
This section provides a general description of our firm, services provided
under the wrap fee programs that we offer for discretionary managed
accounts – namely, the A+ Program, the Access Manager Selection Program
and Private Investment Management Program, and the wrap fee charged
for each program. It also provides information on how we are compensated
for our advisory services.
4.1 General description and ownership
Regulatory Organization. In addition to
providing investment dealer services,
RBC DS provides discretionary and
non-discretionary investment
management and supervisory services to
retail clients in Canada.
the investment industry in Canada and
where applicable, internationally. In
particular, Investment Counsellors hold
the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
designation or Canadian Investment
Management (CIM) designation, in
combination with one or more
professional degrees. Investment
Advisors and Investment Counsellors are
permitted to recommend and open
accounts for the A+ Program and the
Access Manager Selection Program.
However, only Investment Counsellors
can recommend and open accounts in
our Private Investment Management
Program. Investment Advisors or
Investment Counsellors provide
investment advice to our clients and
meet and communicate with our clients
on a regular basis.
RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc. (“RBC PC
USA”) is a wholly-owned direct subsidiary
of Royal Bank Holding Inc., which is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of the Royal
Bank of Canada (“RBC”), and is a
member of the RBC group of companies.
RBC is an internationally diversified
organization with operations in many
areas of the financial services industry
and is a publicly held company (symbol:
RY on TSX, NYSE and SWX). RBC PC USA
was established in 1998 to provide
discretionary investment management
and supervisory services to U.S.
residents and is registered with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission
(the “SEC”) as an investment adviser
under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of
1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”).
4.2 Use of participating affiliates
RBC DS Global is a Bahamas corporation
that is registered pursuant to the
Bahamas Securities Industry Act 2011 and
Securities Industry Regulations 2012 as
dealing in securities as principal and
agent, arranging deals, managing
securities and advising on securities.
RBC DS Global is licensed as a full
securities investment business to
provide broker dealer, securities
manager and securities advisor business,
pursuant to the Securities Investment
Business Law (2011 Revision) of the
Cayman Islands. RBC DS Global is also
registered in Barbados as a securities
company and investment advisor
pursuant to the Financial Services
Commission Act, The Securities Act and
Securities Regulations of Barbados.
This brochure describes three different
programs with differing fees. RBC PC USA
does not incentivize Investment Advisors
or Investment Counsellors to recommend
a particular program to clients, nor does
it provide incentives based on the
underlying investments held in client
accounts.
In order to provide investment advisory
services to you, we have entered into
service arrangements with our Canadian
affiliate RBC Dominion Securities Inc.,
(“RBC DS”) and our affiliate, RBC
Dominion Securities Global Limited (“RBC
DS Global”) (each a “Participating
Affiliate” ) only in the Cayman Islands and
the Bahamas that allow us to utilize its
facilities, services and other investment
management capabilities, including
personnel such as Investment Advisors,
in rendering advice to our clients.
Although RBC DS and RBC DS Global are
not registered as investment advisers in
the U.S, in reliance on a no-action letter
issued to RBC by the SEC in addition to
other guidance provided by the SEC, we
make use of their services and other
management capabilities, including
personnel, of each of RBC DS, RBC DS
Global Cayman location and RBC DS
Global Bahamas location.
RBC DS is a Canadian corporation that is
registered as an investment dealer with
the securities authorities in each of the
provinces and territories in Canada and
is a member of the Canadian Investment
An RBC PC USA Investment Adviser
Representative uses the title of
Investment Advisor or Investment
Counsellor and has completed certain
proficiency requirements recognized in
Investment Advisors and Investment
Counsellors may offer different fees to
different clients, based on their overall
AUM, family members with accounts at
RBC PC USA and other unique
circumstances; in all instances
Investment Advisors and Investment
Counsellors are required to consider
certain factors in determining the fee,
specifically AUM, products held and/or
services provided. An approval process
exists for requests to charge clients
outside of the range.
3 | Wrap fee brochure
Your A+ Account Fee includes:
4.3.2 Fees
4.3 A+ Program and Access Manager
Selection Program
4.3.2.1 A+ Account Fee
4.3.1 Services
• fees for trade execution services and,
if applicable, compensation to an
Investment Manager(s);
Access Manager Selection Program
• services provided by RBC DS as
The A+ Account Fee will be comprised of
the following two components: 1) the
Portfolio Management Fee; and 2) the
Compensation to Sub-advisor(s).
Portfolio Management Fee
custodian for your account, including
all transactions cleared through RBC
DS.
The A+ Account Fee does not include:
• fees that may be embedded in
certain products, which are not paid
to us (such fees may include, but
are not limited to, fees embedded in
investment funds);
The Portfolio Management Fee to
operate your account will be established
at account opening between you and
your Investment Advisor or Investment
Counsellor The maximum Portfolio
Management Fee payable to us is 2.75%.
We have the right to increase the
Portfolio Management Fee upon 60 days’
prior written notice to you.
In the Access Manager Selection
Program (“Access Program”), there is a
choice between a select group of
investment managers (collectively, the
“Investment Managers”). Your
Investment Counsellor or Investment
Advisor, as applicable, will recommend a
model portfolio or investment vehicle(s)
for your account(s) based on your
current personal and financial
circumstances, investment knowledge,
investment objectives and time horizon,
risk profile (collectively, Know Your Client
information).
Compensation to Sub-Advisors
• any fees or commissions for trades
executed outside of RBC DS or for
trades executed by us with respect
to securities transferred into your A+
Account at your request; or
• fees and charges that you are
Following the selection of your
Investment Manager(s), trading in your
account will be carried out on a
discretionary basis in accordance with
recommendations provided by your
chosen Investment Manager(s).
No U.S. mutual funds may be purchased
or sold within the Access Program.
A+ Program
The Compensation to Sub-advisor(s) will
be determined based on the fee schedule
established with each sub-advisor. The
Compensation to a Sub-advisor
component of the A+ Account Fee paid to
the sub-advisor
will typically range between 0.05%-0.40%
depending on the type of investment
strategy and the total amount of assets
in the program allocated to the sub-
advisor.
responsible for including, without
limitation Administrative Account
Services Fees as contemplated in
the CAA, under the headings entitled
“Fees, Commissions and Charges”
under the sub-sections entitled
“Commissions”, “Foreign Exchange”
and “Physical Precious Metals”,
commissions, fees, taxes or charges
applicable in connection with a trade
on a non-Canadian stock exchange,
or such fees required by a regulatory
authority.
4.3.2.2 Access Account Fee
If a new sub-advisor is selected, your
total A+ Account Fee (Portfolio
Management Fee plus the Compensation
to Sub-advisor(s)) may increase or
decrease based on the sub-advisor(s)
selected. However, only the sub-advisor
portion of the A+ Account Fee may
increase. Upon request, the
Compensation to Sub-advisor(s) for your
account holding can be provided.
Calculation of A+ Account Fee:
The Access Account Fee will be
comprised of the following two
components: 1) the Portfolio
Management Fee; and 2) the
Compensation to Investment
Manager(s).
In the A+ Program, there is a choice
between investment vehicles and a
select group of sub-advisors
(collectively, the “Sub-Advisors”). You
and your Investment Counsellor or
Investment Advisor, as applicable, will
select one or more model portfolio or
investment vehicle for your account(s)
based on your current personal and
financial circumstances, investment
knowledge, investment objectives and
time horizon, risk profile (collectively,
Know Your Client information).
Portfolio Management Fee:
Following the selection of your Sub-
Advisor(s), trading in your account will
be carried out on a discretionary basis in
accordance with recommendations
provided by your chosen Sub-Advisor(s).
No U.S. mutual funds may be purchased
or sold within the A+ Program or the
Access Program.
Your A+ Account Fee will be calculated
based on the daily market value of the
assets in your A+ Account, including any
accrued dividends and/or interest, will be
accrued daily and charged in the
currency or currencies selected by you.
You will compensate us monthly or
quarterly in arrears for the A+ Account
Fee. The amount charged for the A+
Account Fee will appear on your account
statements.
The Portfolio Management Fee to
operate your account will be established
at account opening between you and
your Investment Advisor or Investment
Counsellor. The maximum Portfolio
Management Fee payable to us is 2.75%.
We have the right to increase the
Portfolio Management Fee upon 60 days’
prior written notice to you.
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 4
Compensation to Investment
Managers:
Manager will execute securities
transactions directly through an
unaffiliated broker-dealer.
• any fees or commissions for trades
executed outside of RBC DS or for
trades executed by us with respect to
securities transferred into your Access
Account at your request;
The Compensation to Investment
Manager(s) will be determined based on
the fee schedule established with each
investment manager. The Compensation
to Investment Manager component of the
Access Account Fee will be paid to the
investment manager from us will typically
range between 0.18%-0.65% depending
on the type of investment strategy and
the total amount of assets in the program
allocated to the investment manager.
For investment funds that may be
transferred into your account, there may
be ongoing fees applicable at the
investment level that will reduce the
value of such investment, particularly the
management expense ratio and trailing
commissions. If you held trailing paying
series of such transferred in investments
outside of RBC PC USA, you would not be
subject to the Access Account Fee or the
A+ Account Fee.
• other fees and charges that you are
responsible for including, without
limitation Administrative Fees,
as contemplated in the CAA (Fee,
Commissions and Charges) under
the sub-sections entitled “Additional
Commissions”, “Foreign Exchange”
and “Physical Precious Metals,”
commissions, fees, taxes or charges
applicable in connection with a trade
on a non-Canadian stock exchange,
or such fees required by a regulatory
authority.
In addition to the above fees, certain
other charges unrelated to the advisory
and brokerage services, including fees
and expenses relating to the operation of
the account such as administrative fees,
may apply, in accordance with the terms
of the CAA.
4.3.2.3. Additional Information about
the Access Account Fee/A+ Account
Fee
The Access Account Fee and A+ Account
Fee includes:
If a new investment manager is selected,
your total Access Account Fee (Portfolio
Management Fee plus the Compensation
to Investment Manager(s)) may increase
or decrease based on the investment
manager selected. However, only the
investment manager portion of the
Access Account Fee may increase. Upon
request, the Compensation to Investment
Manager(s) for your account holding can
be provided.
• Services provided by the Investment
In some cases, the Access Account Fee
and the A+ Account Fee are negotiable
based on factors such as account size
and types of securities purchased.
Calculation of Access Account Fee:
Manager(s) for the Access Program or
Sub-Advisor(s) for the A+ Program with
regard to your portfolio;
• Services provided by RBC Global
Advisory Research Group for its
research, ongoing monitoring and due
diligence support. Please refer to item
6.1 for further information;
Your Access Account Fee will be
calculated based on the daily market
value of the assets in your Access
Account, including any accrued dividends
and/or interest, will be accrued daily and
charged in the currency of your Access
Account. You will compensate us
monthly or quarterly in arrears for the
Access Account Fee. The amount
charged for the Access Account Fee will
appear on your account statements.
Depending on the size of a client’s
account, the frequency of trading and
type of securities purchased, the A+
Program/Access Program may cost a
client more or less than the cost of
purchasing such services separately.
However, many clients would not have
access to the individual Investment
Managers or Sub-Advisors without using
the A+ or Access programs due to those
Investment Managers’ and Sub-Advisors’
standard investment minimums.
Your Access Account Fee includes:
Interest on cash balances and spread
foreign currency transactions
• fees for trade execution services and,
if applicable, compensation to an
Investment Manager(s);
• services provided by RBC DS as
custodian for your account, including
all transactions cleared through RBC
DS.
The Access Account Fee does not
include:
• fees that may be embedded in
certain products, which are not paid
to us (such fees may include, but
are not limited to, fees embedded in
investment funds);
• The cost of securities transactions
where we, or our affiliates, act as
your agent for buying, selling and
generally dealing in securities for
you using various broker-dealers.
Refer to section 9.4 for further
details. However, in the event that an
Investment Manager in the Access
Program executes trades directly
through an unaffiliated broker- dealer
in order to get best execution, the cost
of execution is not included in the fee
paid by you and will be included in the
net price of the particular transaction
and charged to your account. By
accepting the CAA you acknowledge
that the fee does not include any
fees or commissions payable to third
parties when the Investment Manager
executes trades directly through an
unaffiliated broker- dealer. We believe
that it is rare that an Investment
RBC DS, as custodian, may earn interest
or revenue on the cash balances in your
account and may retain excess amounts
that we earn over the amount of interest
we pay to you, if any. Interest rates are
adjusted from time to time depending on
various factors, including but not limited
to, market analysis, Bank of Canada and
other bellwether rates, and/or cash
rates. In addition, RBC DS, as custodian,
may earn spread-based revenue
(“spread”) when there are foreign
currency transactions in your account.
Foreign currency transaction spread
rates are calculated with reference to a
5 | Wrap fee brochure
documented in an investment policy
statement, which forms the blueprint for
the design and creation of a client’s
portfolio. The Investment Counsellor
then builds the client’s portfolio. No U.S.
registered mutual funds can be
purchased or sold within a PIM account.
4.4.2 Fees
Counsellors to meet standards of
business and personal conduct, integrity
and professionalism, including
adherence to the RBC Code of Conduct.
In addition, our compensation is not
solely based on revenue generation, but
other factors such as risk management
practices and adherence to regulatory
compliance rules.
Regulatory Transaction Fee
As consideration for rendering
discretionary investment management
services under PIM, we receive a fee,
payable monthly or quarterly, in arrears,
based on a percentage of the client
assets under management at the annual
rate set out in our account forms (the
“PIM Account Fee”). The calculation of
fees excludes any assets held in an A+
account or Access account. Fees in
respect of such accounts are charged in
accordance with the A+ Account Fee or
Access Account Fee, as outlined in
section 4.3.2 above.
number of factors, including market
terms and conditions as well as the
amount, date and type of foreign
currency transaction. Rates are disclosed
on your client account statement and
available on our website. In performing
foreign currency transactions, RBC DS
acts as agent or principal. Foreign
exchange transactions are carried out
before or on the day of settlement of your
Foreign Trade. A different day may be
used for foreign exchange transactions
related to: (a) mutual fund transactions;
(b) transactions that you and RBC PC USA
agree on to be effected by RBC DS; and
(c) to effect other transactions such as
trading corrections. We mitigate any
conflict with respect to earning interest
or spread by ensuring that any interest
rates or foreign currency spread rates are
disclosed to you on your account
statement(s) and available on our
website: www.rbcwealthmanagement.
com/en-ca/dominion-securities/
cash-and-margin-rates.
The PIM Account Fee is no more than
2.75% per annum and includes the
services described in this section.
Compensation
Fees are calculated and charged in either
Canadian and/or U.S. dollars, subject to
specific arrangements made with the
client.
You will be charged a fee for certain
transactions to reimburse RBC PC USA
for US Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) assessments charged
to RBC PC USA pursuant to Section 31 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The
fee is charged on certain sale
transactions on US exchanges, including
the sale of a stock, call or put option,
exercise of a call or put option or the
assignment of a short call or short put
option. The fee charged to you is based
on the rate set by the SEC, rounded up to
the next whole penny. The amount
collected may exceed the amount
assessed by the SEC, and RBC PC USA
retains the difference up to the next
whole penny. This fee is subject to
change. The current rate can be found on
the SEC website at sec.gov, or can be
obtained from your Investment
Counsellor/Associate Investment
Counsellor or Investment Advisor.
Our Investment Advisors and Investment
Counsellors who recommended the A+
Program or the Access Program to you
and provide ongoing investment advice
in respect of your account receive
compensation as a result of your
participation in the A+ Program or Access
Program.
4.4 Private Investment Management
Program (“PIM”)
4.4.1 Services
The fee paid by a client includes our
management fees, RBC DS custodial fees
(if applicable), and the cost of securities
transactions where we, or our affiliates,
act as your agent for buying, selling or
generally dealing in securities for you,
using various broker-dealers, Refer to
section 9.4 for further details.
PIM is a program for individuals who
wish to have their investments managed
on a fully discretionary basis directly by
one of our Investment Counsellors.
For investment funds that may be
transferred into your account, there may
be ongoing fees applicable at the
investment level that will reduce the
value of such investment, particularly the
management expense ratio and trailing
commissions. If you held trailing paying
series of such transferred in investments
outside of RBC PC USA, you would not be
subject to the PIM Account Fee.
We compensate and recognize our
Investment Advisors and Investment
Counsellors who recommend the A+
Program or the Access Program to you
based on client account balances and
revenue generation in these Programs.
This may be perceived as incentivizing
an Investment Adviser or Investment
Counsellor to seek more client business
in these Programs rather than
recommend other PC USA programs
(such as PIM, or programs offered by
affiliates and for which Investment
Advisors and Investment Counsellors
may not receive compensation) and
recommend certain products in order to
receive more compensation and
recognition. We mitigate this conflict by
reviewing the appropriateness of
recommendations at account opening
and on an ongoing basis and we require
all Investment Advisors and Investment
In addition to the above fees, certain
other charges unrelated to the advisory
and brokerage services, including fees
and expenses relating to the operation of
the account such as administrative fees,
may apply, in accordance with the terms
of the CAA.
An Investment Counsellor builds a
client’s portfolio by selecting individual
securities and may also recommend
models provided by the A+ Program and
the Access Program. In addition, the
Investment Counsellor monitors and
adjusts a client’s portfolio based on
market conditions and on the client’s
individual investment objectives. The
process of building a portfolio begins
with the Investment Counsellor
assessing a client’s investment
objectives, risk profile, financial goals
and through considering Know Your
Client information. This assessment is
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 6
In some cases, the PIM Account Fee is
negotiable and varies based on factors
such as account size types or securities
purchased.
solely based on revenue generation, but
other factors such as risk management
practices and adherence to regulatory
compliance rules.
4.4.4 Regulatory Transaction Fee
Depending on the size of a client’s
account, the frequency of trading and
types of securities purchased the PIM
program may cost a client more or less
than the cost of purchasing such
securities and services separately.
number of factors, including market
terms and conditions as well as the
amount, date and type of foreign
currency transaction. rates are disclosed
on your client account statement and
available on our website. In performing
foreign currency transactions, RBC DS
acts as agent or principal. Foreign
exchange transactions are carried out on
or before settlement day of your Foreign
Trade. A different day may be used for
foreign exchange transactions related to:
(a) mutual fund transactions; (b)
transactions that you and RBC PC USA
agree on to be effected by RBC DS;
and(c) to effect other transactions such
as trading corrections.
In addition to the fee calculated as a
percentage of your assets under
management, RBC PC USA and/or our
related companies and affiliates may
earn revenues in other ways. For
example: revenue that our affiliate and
your custodian, RBC DS, earns on
uninvested cash over the amount of
interest paid to you on such balances,
transaction spreads (for example,
foreign exchange and bonds), new issue
commissions, and trailer fees.
Early Termination Fee
We mitigate any conflict with respect to
earning interest or spread by ensuring
that any interest rates or foreign
currency spread rates are disclosed to
you on your account statement(s) and
available on our website:
www.rbcwealthmanagement.com/
en-ca/dominion-securities/cash-and-
margin-rates.
4.4.3 Compensation
You will be charged a fee for certain
transactions to reimburse RBC PC USA
for US Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) assessments charged
to RBC PC USA pursuant to Section 31 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The
fee is charged on certain sale
transactions on US exchanges, including
the sale of a stock, call or put option,
exercise of a call or put option or the
assignment of a short call or short put
option. The fee charged to you is based
on the rate set by the SEC, rounded up to
the next whole penny. The amount
collected may exceed the amount
assessed by the SEC, and RBC PC USA
retains the difference up to the next
whole penny. This fee is subject to
change. The current rate can be found on
the SEC website at sec.gov, or can be
obtained from your Investment
Counsellor/Associate Investment
Counsellor or Investment Advisor.
Due to the significant time and effort
involved in initially setting up a PIM
portfolio for a client, we may charge an
early termination fee if the client
terminates its PIM investment
management relationship with us within
twelve months of opening an account.
The early termination fee equals an
amount up to the aggregate fee that
would have otherwise been paid to us
with respect to such account during the
first twelve months of the relationship,
less the amount of any fees already paid
by the client.
Interest on cash balances and spread
foreign currency transactions
The Investment Counsellor who
recommended the PIM Program to you
and manages your account receives
compensation as a result of your
participation in the program. We
compensate and recognize our
Investment Counsellors who recommend
the PIM Program to you based on client
account balances and revenue
generation in this Program. This may be
perceived as incentivizing an Investment
Counsellor to seek more client business
in this Programs rather than recommend
other PC USA programs (such as
programs offered by affiliates and for
which Investment Counsellors will not
receive compensation) and recommend
certain products in order to receive more
compensation and recognition.
RBC DS, as custodian, may earn interest
or revenue on the cash balances in your
account and may retain excess amounts
that we earn over the amount of interest
we pay to you, if any. Interest rates are
adjusted from time to time depending on
various factors, including but not limited
to, market analysis, Bank of Canada and
other bellwether rates, and/or cash
rates. In addition, RBC DS, as custodian,
may earn spread-based revenue
(“spread”) when there are foreign
currency transactions in your account.
Foreign currency transaction spread
rates are calculated with reference to a
We mitigate this conflict by reviewing the
appropriateness of recommendations at
account opening and on an ongoing
basis and we require all Investment
Counsellors to meet standards of
business and personal conduct, integrity
and professionalism, including
adherence to the RBC Code of Conduct.
In addition, our compensation is not
7 | Wrap fee brochure
Item 5 – Account requirements
and types of clients
This section provides a description of requirements to open an account and the types of
clients to whom we typically provide investment advice.
Our clients are typically individuals, their
families and personal holding companies,
and trusts.
generally U.S. $250,000. The minimum
investment with an individual Investment
Manager is typically U.S.
investable per Investment Manager or
Sub- Advisor, as applicable, to satisfy the
underlying asset, geographic and style
allocations.
5.1 A+ Program and Access Program
5.2 PIM Program
Generally, the minimum account size to
open an A+ account is equivalent to CDN
$100,000, but could be lower subject to
total investments with PC USA. For the
Access Program, the initial investment is
Generally, the minimum account size to
open a PIM account is equivalent to CDN
$100,000, but could be lower subject to
total investments with PC USA.
$100,000. However, the minimum
threshold to achieve a diversified
portfolio that matches the client’s
investment objectives and risk profile
may be higher. The actual investment
amount will be dependent on the
portfolio models and the minimum
Item 6 – Investment manager and
sub-advisor selection and evaluation
This section provides a description of our process for selecting, evaluating and providing
performance reporting of Investment Managers in the Access Program and Sub-Advisors in the
A+ Program. It also provides certain information about our PIM Program and a description of
some of the risks of which you should be aware and of our proxy voting practices.
• $25 million of product assets under
6.1 A+ Program and Access Program
professionals, investment approach and
historical performance.
management
• Three years of portfolio management
tenure
6.1.1 Selection of investment managers
and sub- advisors and analysis by the
investment committee
• Reasonable management fees and
expenses
Investment Managers and Sub-Advisors
meeting the above criteria are then
subjected to a more rigorous evaluation
focused on four broad categories:
RBC Global Advisory Research Group
recommends fixed income and equity
Investment Managers and Sub-Advisors
for both the Access Program and the A+
Program based on research, as
described below.
• Firm and Product
• Investment Approach
• Investment Professionals
• Performance
The Committee consists of at least four
investment professionals from one or
more of our affiliates. To be approved,
each Investment Manager and Sub-
Advisor must pass a thorough review by
the Committee that includes a detailed
discussion of facts and informed
opinions derived from a comprehensive
due diligence and evaluation process.
Our analysts employ well-defined
research, evaluation, and reporting
activities when assessing each category.
The process typically begins with the
following minimum screening criteria:
• Three years of operating and
performance histories
• $100 million of firm assets under
Objectively understanding the quality
and effectiveness of an Investment
Manager and Sub-Advisor or particular
portfolio strategy requires in-depth
From these recommendations, the
Investment Committee (the
“Committee”) has selected a range of
Investment Managers for the Access
Program and a range of Sub-Advisors
for the A+ Program to which client assets
can be allocated. In selecting the
Investment Managers and Sub-Advisors,
consideration is given to, among other
things, firm and product, investment
management
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 8
6.1.3 Performance of investment
managers and sub-advisors
Sub-Advisors in the A+ Program and
affiliates of RBC PC USA.
Recommending affiliate Sub-Advisors may
be perceived as a conflict of interest. We
manage this by ensuring that Investment
Counsellors and Investment Advisors are
required to recommend Sub-Advisors to
you based on an understanding of your
needs, and not to meet business targets,
in accordance with the RBC Code of
Conduct. In addition, we conduct due
diligence and ongoing monitoring of
services being provided in a similar
manner as if the RBC companies and
affiliates were not related persons.
examination of performance, including a
detailed analysis of the sources of
returns. Not all Investment Managers
and Sub-Advisors should be compared
to one another, nor are all products
directly comparable. Information
learned in performance reviews is used
to build expectations about each
Investment Manager’s and Sub-Advisor’s
capabilities and the potential return
behaviour of different portfolio
strategies during various market
environments. Analyzing performance
within the context of these
predetermined expectations is a major
philosophical underpinning of our
approach to Investment Manager and
Sub-Advisor research.
6.1.6 Performance based fees and side
by side management
6.1.2 Review and replacement of
investment managers and sub-advisors
Performance information on the
Investment Managers and Sub-Advisors is
calculated by the respective Investment
Managers and Sub-Advisors. We calculate
your individual account performance and
periodically compare it to performance
reported by the Investment Manager or
Sub-Advisor, as applicable. This review is
designed to determine whether an
Investment Manager’s or Sub-Advisor’s
reported performance data is consistent
with the actual experience of our clients.
We do not review the performance data
provided by the individual Investment
Managers or Sub-Advisors to ensure they
are calculated on a uniform and
consistent basis; review the
appropriateness of the methodology used
to calculate performance or audit the
mathematical accuracy of the calculation
or compliance with any standards an
Investment Manager or Sub-Advisor has
stated it follows.
We do not accept performance-based
fees, that is, fees based on a share of
capital gains on or capital appreciation of
the assets of a client account. As
mentioned in Item 4 above, our
investment advisory fees are based on the
month-end market value of your portfolio.
6.1.7 Risk of loss
6.1.4 Structuring a client’s portfolio of
investment managers in the Access
Program or sub-advisors in the A+
Program
In the Access Program either an
Investment Advisor or Investment
Counsellor recommends a mix of
Investment Managers to the client based
on the client’s stated investment
objectives.
There are a number of sources of risk to
which a typical portfolio could be exposed
depending on the investments. These risks
could result in unexpected losses of
capital, reduce the generation of income,
or decrease the probability of you
achieving your goals for the portfolio. By
investing in securities, you should be
prepared to bear the risk of losses.
In the A+ Program either an Investment
Advisor or Investment Counsellor
recommends a mix of Sub-Advisors to the
client based on the client’s stated
investment objectives.
Ongoing due diligence of Investment
Managers and Sub-Advisors is
performed via on-site visits, conference
calls, and in-house meetings to confirm
the factors that contributed to the past
successes of each model are still
meaningfully intact. In addition, due
diligence is conducted to ensure that
Investment Managers and Sub-Advisors
align with client-specific investment
objectives, as applicable. A watch list is
maintained, which provides a means to
communicate developments of potential
concern. The termination of an
Investment Manager or Sub-Advisor
may be recommended if the original
thesis is materially and permanently
impaired. This is most commonly the
result of fundamental developments
that are determined to be detrimental to
the potential longer-term success of the
Investment Manager’s or Sub-advisors
underlying investment strategy.
To the degree that a client has placed
restrictions on an account, we take this
into consideration when determining
which Investment Managers or Sub-
Advisors, as applicable, to select. If
necessary, specific client-restrictions will
be noted on the account.
6.1.5 Related persons
Some risks may be mitigated through
diversification: constructing your portfolio
so there is not a significant exposure to
any single investment or group of
investments that may be impacted in a
similar manner as a result of a particular
risk event. For some of the risks outlined
below, there may be additional techniques
that can be employed to further mitigate
risk. There is no guarantee of performance
for any investment strategy implemented.
Past performance with respect to other
accounts does not predict your account’s
future performance.
The following is an overview and
description of some of the risks of which
you should be aware:
Investment performance is routinely
monitored to ensure it conforms to the
basic expectations about each model
and any client specific investment
objectives. Quarterly, the Committee will
assess the performance and quality of
the Investment Managers and Sub-
Advisors selected. In the absence of a
material cause for concern that would
lead to more frequent evaluation, a
more formal due diligence is generally
conducted annually.
None of the Investment Managers in the
Access Program are affiliates of ours.
However, RBC Global Asset Management
Inc. and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. are
9 | Wrap fee brochure
• Market Risk – This is the risk that a
• Equity Securities Risk – Equity securities
are affected by stock market
movements. In addition, equity securities
of certain companies, or companies
within a particular industry sector, may
fluctuate differently than the overall
stock market because of changes in the
outlook for those individual companies
or the particular industry.
environment that was not anticipated
which could result in losses and/or
volatility to a portfolio. Such events
include acts of God, pandemics,
government restrictions, stock exchange
or market rulings, suspension of trading,
unusual market activity, wars, strikes, or
interruptions of communications,
internet or data processing services.
• Liquidity Risk – Investing in less liquid
change in the economy and the market
as a whole will affect the price of
individual securities in ways that were
not anticipated. While a change in the
broader market is based on the
underlying securities, not all individual
securities are affected in the same way
or to the same degree. Unexpected
volatility or illiquidity could impair
profitability or result in losses.
Unless specifically indicated in your
investment policy statement, our
approach to investment management is to
maintain well diversified portfolios that
seek to minimize the impact each of these
risks might have on your overall portfolio.
In addition, we may selectively employ
currency hedging to further attempt to
reduce the impact of this specific risk.
securities may result in the difficulty or
even inability to sell in a timely manner,
as well as potentially a negative impact
on price received, if you need the money
in the short term. For example, legal
restrictions, the nature of the investment
itself, settlement terms, or a shortage of
buyers. Generally, investments with
lower liquidity tend to have more
dramatic price changes and may subject
the investor to losses or additional costs.
• Regulatory Risk – Securities regulators
can impose limitations on trading
activity, which may prevent a profit or
increase losses to your portfolio.
• Interest Rate Risk – This is the risk that a
change in interest rates will impact the
returns on interest rate-sensitive
investments, such as bonds and
mortgage-related securities and debt.
Generally, rising interest rates result in a
decline in asset prices. The values of
applicable investments may change in
response to movements in interest
rates. If interest rates rise, the values of
debt securities will generally fall and
vice versa. In general, the longer the
average maturity or duration of an
investment portfolio, the greater the
sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
• Concentration Risk – A high
• Political/Geographic Risk – This is the
The discussion above is general in nature
and is not intended to apply in respect of
your specific portfolio or personal
circumstances, either of which may give
rise to additional risks not set out above.
Your risk profile is considered along with
your investment objectives and time
horizon when constructing your portfolio.
Please consult your Investment Advisor or
Investment Counsellor, as applicable, for
more information.
risk that policies or instability in a region
or nation will impact performance.
concentration of assets in a single or
small number of issuers may reduce
diversification and liquidity within a
portfolio and increase its volatility.
• Purchasing Power or Inflation Risk –
6.1.8 Borrowing to invest
• Cyber Security Risk – Investment
You should note the specific risks inherent
in borrowing money to invest.
The risk that investments will return less
than the rate of inflation and therefore
your portfolio will not maintain its
purchasing power.
• Currency/Foreign Exchange Risk – This
risk exists for any investment made in
an international market where
payments or principal are exposed to
another currency. In addition, the value
of securities denominated in a foreign
currency will be affected by changes in
foreign currency rates or the imposition
of foreign exchange controls.
• Credit or Company Specific Risk – This
Using borrowed money to finance the
investments to be made in your account
involves greater risk than investments
using cash resources only. If you borrow
money to purchase securities, your
responsibility to repay the loan and pay
interest as required by its terms remains
the same, even if the value of the securities
purchased declines. An investment
strategy that uses borrowed money could
result in far greater losses than an
investment strategy that does not use
borrowed money. There may also be tax
consequences to you if assets in your
account must be sold in order to meet any
obligations to repay the borrowed money
or any interest owing.
advisers have become potentially more
susceptible to operational risks through
breaches in cyber security with the
increased prevalence in the use of
technology for business purposes. A
breach in cyber security refers to both
intentional and unintentional events
that may cause us and/or the portfolios
to lose proprietary information or other
information subject to privacy laws,
suffer data corruption, or lose
operational capacity. Cyber security
breaches may involve unauthorized
access to our digital information
systems (e.g. through “hacking” or
malicious software coding), but may
also result from outside attacks such as
denial-of-service attacks (i.e. efforts to
make network services unavailable to
intended users.
6.1.9 Voting client securities
encompasses risks generally associated
with individual companies, the possibility
that issuers of securities may encounter
significant challenges and/or default on
the payment of interest or principal on
the securities when due, which would
cause a portfolio to incur losses.
Unless otherwise instructed by you in
writing, you explicitly authorize us to vote
matters on your behalf relating to the
• Sector/Industry Risk – This encompasses
risks associated with a particular sector
or industry (e.g. technology).
• External risks beyond our control – The
risk that external events beyond our
control will result in various unintended
circumstances such as a market
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 10
securities you could lose some or all of
your investment and you should be
prepared to bear the risk of such losses.
Counsellors, who are responsible for
building a client’s portfolio by selecting
individual securities and may also
recommend models in the A+ Program and
Access Program based on investment
objectives set out in the client’s
investment policy statement and internal
investment management guidelines and
portfolio guidance.
securities and/or the issuers of the
securities held in your account, including
securities of related and connected
issuers, and take any action on your
behalf that we deem appropriate for a
corporate action, including any take-over
bid, tender offer or corporate
reorganization. This may give the
perception that we are favouring the
issuers with whom we have a relationship
or are related or connected to us. At our
discretion, we will not exercise voting
authority where the cost of voting would
be significant, or the benefit to you would
be insignificant.
Clients can in some circumstances impose
reasonable restrictions on management
of their accounts, including by restricting
particular securities and types of
investments, provided RBC PC USA
accepts those restrictions.
Some risks may be mitigated through
diversification: constructing your portfolio
so there is not a significant exposure to
any single investment or group of
investments impacted in a similar manner
as a result of a particular risk event. For
some of the risks outlined below, there
may be additional techniques that can be
employed to further mitigate risk. There is
no guarantee that you will meet your
investment goals or that any investment
strategy we recommend will perform as
anticipated.
6.2.2 Methods of analysis and
Investment Strategies
The following is an overview and
description of some of the risks of which
you should be aware:
• Market Risk – This is the risk that a
In making decisions for a client, an
Investment Counsellor may use charting,
fundamental, technical or cyclical
methods of analysis and portfolio
guidance. Strategies include long-term
and short-term purchases and may also
involve active trading (i.e., securities
bought and sold within 30 days).
change in the economy and the market
as a whole will affect the price of
individual securities in ways that were
not anticipated. While a change in the
broader market is based on the
underlying securities, not all individual
securities are affected in the same way
or to the same degree. Unexpected
volatility or illiquidity could impair
profitability or result in losses.
In addition to the ongoing management
and review undertaken by the
Investment Counsellor, quarterly
reviews of each PIM client’s portfolio
are conducted by one of our Portfolio
Risk Advisors to ensure that the client’s
investment objectives are being
diligently pursued. Any issues raised
during a review are documented and
followed-up with the client’s Investment
Counsellor.
We mitigate this risk by ensuring we vote
matters consistent with the proxy voting
guidelines established by a third-party
service provider and adopted by us (the
“Guidelines”). The Guidelines will be
implemented without our involvement if
we have a conflict of interest in the
outcome of a vote. While we generally
cannot deviate from the Guidelines, you
may provide us with written instructions to
do so and we will carry out such
instructions on a best efforts basis. Upon
request, we will provide you with a copy of
our proxy voting policies and procedures.
The Guidelines generally do not apply to
voting relating to securities of private
corporations, preferred shares, and
debentures. In any case where we have a
conflict of interest in the outcome of a
vote, we will not influence or otherwise
interfere with our service provider’s proxy
voting recommendations. Should you wish
to obtain information of voting records or
provide specific voting instructions, you
may contact your Investment Advisor or
Investment Counsellor.
6.2.3 Performance based fees and side
by side management
We will with sufficient written notice and
on a best efforts basis act on your request
to vote a proxy.
• Interest Rate Risk – This is the risk that a
change in interest rates will impact the
returns on interest rate-sensitive
investments, such as bonds and
mortgage- related securities and debt.
Generally, rising interest rates result in a
decline in asset prices. The values of
applicable investments may change in
response to movements in interest
rates. If interest rates rise, the values of
debt securities will generally fall and
vice versa. In general, the longer the
average maturity or duration of an
investment portfolio, the greater the
sensitivity to changes in interest rates.
Where economically feasible, we will file
applicable class action settlement claims
on behalf of your existing accounts.
We do not accept performance-based
fees, that is, fees based on a share of
capital gains on or capital appreciation of
the assets of a client account. As
mentioned in Item 4 above, our
investment advisory fees are based on the
month-end market value of your portfolio.
• Political/Geographic Risk – This is the
6.2 PIM Program
6.2.4 Risk of Loss
risk that policies or instability in a region
or nation will impact performance
• Purchasing Power or Inflation Risk
6.2.1 Advisory services, constructing and
managing your portfolio
– This is the risk that investments will
return less than the rate of inflation and
therefore your portfolio will not
maintain its purchasing power.
As outlined in the beginning of the
brochure, in the PIM Program, a client’s
portfolio is managed on a discretionary
basis by one of our Investment
There are a number of sources of risk to
which a typical portfolio may be exposed.
These risks could result in unexpected
losses of capital, reduce the generation of
income, or decrease the probability of you
achieving your goals. You should be aware
and understand that by investing in
11 | Wrap fee brochure
• Currency/Foreign Exchange Risk – This
• Cyber Security Risk – Investment
6.2.5 Borrowing to invest
risk exists for any investment made in an
international market where payments or
principal are exposed to another
currency. In addition, the value of
securities denominated in a foreign
currency will be affected by changes in
foreign currency rates or the imposition
of foreign exchange controls.
• Credit or Company Specific Risk – This
encompasses risks generally associated
with individual companies, the possibility
that issuers of securities may encounter
significant challenges and/or default on
the payment of interest or principal on
the securities when due, which would
cause a portfolio to incur losses.
• Sector/Industry Risk – This
You should note the specific risks
inherent in borrowing money to invest.
Using borrowed money to finance the
investments to be made in your account
involves greater risk than investments
using cash resources only. If you borrow
money to purchase securities, your
responsibility to repay the loan and pay
interest as required by its terms remains
the same, even if the value of the
securities purchased declines. An
investment strategy that uses borrowed
money could result in far greater losses
than an investment strategy that does
not use borrowed money. There may also
be tax consequences to you if assets in
your account must be sold in order to
meet any obligations to repay the
borrowed money or any interest owing.
advisers have become potentially more
susceptible to operational risks through
breaches in cyber security with the
increased prevalence in the use of
technology for business purposes. A
breach in cyber security refers to both
intentional and unintentional events
that may cause us and/or the portfolios
to lose proprietary information or other
information subject to privacy laws,
suffer data corruption, or lose
operational capacity. Cyber security
breaches may involve unauthorized
access to our digital information
systems (e.g. through “hacking” or
malicious software coding), but may
also result from outside attacks such as
denial-of-service attacks (i.e. efforts to
make network services unavailable to
intended users.
encompasses risks associated with a
particular sector or industry (e.g.
technology).
6.2.6 Voting Client Securities
• Equity Securities Risk – Equity securities
are affected by stock market
movements. In addition, equity
securities of certain companies, or
companies within a particular industry
sector, may fluctuate differently than
the overall stock market because of
changes in the outlook for those
individual companies or the particular
industry.
• External risks beyond our control – The
risk that external events beyond our
control will result in various unintended
circumstances such as a market
environment that was not anticipated
which could result in losses and/or
volatility to a portfolio. Such events
include acts of God, pandemics,
government restrictions, stock exchange
or market rulings, suspension of trading,
unusual market activity, wars, strikes, or
interruptions of communications,
internet or data processing services.
• Liquidity Risk – Investing in less liquid
Unless otherwise instructed by you in
writing, you explicitly authorize us to vote
matters on your behalf relating to the
securities and/or the issuers of the
securities held in your account, including
securities of related and connected
issuers, and may take any action on your
behalf that we deem a corporate action,
including any take-over bid, tender offer or
corporate reorganization, involving the
securities and/or the issuers of the
securities held in your account. This may
give the perception that we are favouring
the issuers with whom we have a
relationship or are related or connected to
us. At our discretion, we will not exercise
voting authority where the cost of voting
would be significant, or the benefit to you
would be insignificant.
Unless specifically indicated in your
investment policy statement, our
approach to investment management is
to maintain well diversified portfolios that
seek to reduce the possible impact each
of these risks may have on your overall
portfolio. In addition, we may employ
currency hedging to further attempt to
reduce the impact of currency risk to the
portfolio.
securities may result in the difficulty or
even inability to sell in a timely manner,
as well as potentially a negative impact
on price received, if you need the
money in your in the short term. For
example, legal restrictions, the nature
of the investment itself, settlement
terms, or a shortage of buyers.
Generally, investments with lower
liquidity tend to have more dramatic
price changes and may subject the
investor to losses or additional costs.
• Capital Markets Risk – Securities
regulators can impose limitations on
trading activity, which may prevent a
profit or increase losses to your
portfolio.
• Concentration Risk – A high
The discussion above is general in nature
and is not intended to apply in respect of
your specific portfolio or personal
circumstances, either of which may give
rise to additional risks not set out above.
Your risk profile is considered along with
your investment objectives and time
horizon when constructing your portfolio.
Please consult your Investment
Counsellor for more information.
We mitigate this risk by ensuring we vote
matters consistent with the proxy voting
guidelines established by a third-party
service provider and adopted by us (the
“Guidelines”). The Guidelines will be
implemented without our involvement if
we have a conflict of interest in the
outcome of a vote. In unique client
circumstances an Investment Counsellor
or Investment Advisor may override the
Guidelines if it is deemed to be in your best
interest. You may provide us with written
instructions to override the Guidelines and
we will carry out such instructions on a
best efforts basis.
concentration of assets in a single or
small number of issuers reduces
diversification and liquidity within a
portfolio and may increase its volatility.
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 12
Where economically feasible, we will file
applicable class action settlement
claims on behalf of our existing client
accounts.
Upon request, we will provide you with a
copy of our proxy voting policies and
procedures. The Guidelines generally do
not apply to voting relating to securities of
private corporations, preferred shares,
and debentures. In any case where we
have a conflict of interest in the outcome
of a vote, we will not influence or otherwise
interfere with our service provider’s proxy
voting recommendations. A copy of the
proxy voting policy will be provided to you
upon request. Should you wish to obtain
information of voting records or provide
specific voting instructions, you may
contact your Investment Counsellor. We
will with sufficient written notice and on a
best efforts basis act on your request to
vote a proxy.
Item 7 – Client information
provided to investment
managers and sub-advisors
For clients in the Access Program, this section describes client information
communicated to the Investment Managers selected for that client. This
section is not applicable to clients invested in the A+ Program since client
information for that program is not shared with Sub-Advisors.
• Name and Address
7.1 Access Program
• Investment Objectives and Risk Profile
(Know Your Client information)
We keep your personal information
confidential and will only share
information as required or permitted by
law or as agreed to in writing.
In respect of the Access Program, we
provide the following information to the
respective Investment Manager(s)
selected for each client:
• Financial positions held, account
balances and daily transactions
related to the client’s separate
managed account
Item 8 – Client contact with investment
managers and sub-advisors
This section explains the restrictions, if any, placed on your ability to
contact and consult with your Investment Managers or Sub-Advisors.
8.1 A+ Program and Access Program
applicable, in your portfolio, please
contact your Investment Advisor or
Investment Counsellor, as applicable.
8.2 PIM Program
managing your accounts and will
schedule regular meetings with you to
review your portfolio and investment
objectives and is also available upon
your request.
Your Investment Counsellor is
responsible for constructing and
Generally, clients will not have any direct
contact with Investment Managers in the
Access Program and Sub-Advisors in the
A+ Program. If you have any questions
about your account or the Investment
Manager(s) or Sub-Advisor(s), as
13 | Wrap fee brochure
Item 9 – Additional information
– A+ Program, Access Program
and PIM Program
This section discloses additional information that is material to your
evaluation of our advisory business or the integrity of our management.
9.1 Disciplinary information
portfolio manager, as applicable, would
exercise in comparable circumstances.
• Entities registered under applicable
U.K. securities legislation: Bluebay
Asset Management LLP and RBC Global
Asset Management (UK) Limited.
In providing discretionary investment
management services, RBC PC USA is
responsible for:
Registered investment advisers are
required to disclose legal or disciplinary
events that would be material to your
evaluation of our advisory business or
the integrity of our management.
• the advice that it receives from
• Entity registered under applicable
Australian and Cayman Islands
securities legislations: RBC Capital
Markets, LLC
affiliates, and
• losses you incur that arise out of
RBC PC USA and our management
personnel have no reportable
disciplinary event to disclose.
the failure of an affiliate to meet the
applicable standard of care.
• Entity registered under applicable
Cayman Islands, Bahamian and
Barbadian securities legislation: RBC
Dominion Securities Global Limited.
9.2 Other financial industry activities
and affiliations
• Entity registered under applicable
Guernsey and Jersey securities
legislation: Royal Bank of Canada
(Channel Islands) Limited.
As indicated under Item 4, RBC PC USA is
an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of
RBC. In addition to RBC PC USA, the
following companies are affiliates of RBC:
• Entities registered under applicable
U.S. securities legislation:
• Bluebay Asset Management LLP
In addition, RBC PC USA is an affiliate of
The Royal Trust Company, Royal Trust
Corporation of Canada, and RBC Wealth
Management Financial Services Inc., which
are wholly owned subsidiaries of RBC.
• RBC Capital Markets, LLC
• RBC Global Asset Management
Material relationships and
arrangements with related persons
(U.S.) Inc.
• RBC Global Asset Management
(UK) Limited
• Entities registered under applicable
Canadian securities legislation:
Our affiliates sponsor or manage
Canadian investment funds that may be
transferred into our clients’ portfolios
and model portfolios that we may select
for our clients. RBC PC USA will pay a fee
to an affiliated sub-advisor for managing
a model portfolio and an investment
fund transferred into RBC PC USA. An
Investment Counsellor’s/Investment
Advisor’s decision to select/recommend
a specific model portfolio for a client
must not be influenced by any factors
other than the best interest of that client
and must be consistent with the
investment objectives, guidelines,
restrictions and other applicable
provisions of the client’s investment
policy statement and CAA.
• Bluebay Asset Management LLP
• Phillips, Hager & North Investment
Funds Ltd.
• RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
• RBC Global Asset Management Inc.
(“RBC GAM”)
RBC PC USA obtains portfolio
management, trade execution, product
and manager selection, and other
services for your account from affiliated
portfolio managers, RBC GAM, and
affiliated dealers, RBC DS and RBC DS
Global. In providing portfolio
management and trade execution
services, these affiliates are
contractually and ethically bound to
carry out their duties honestly and in
good faith, and in the best interests of
clients. They are also bound to exercise
the degree of care, diligence and skill
that a reasonably prudent person or
RBC PC USA obtains from RBC and its
subsidiaries, management,
administrative, back office, referral or
other services in connection with its
ongoing business. For instance, RBC DS
is the custodian for your account.
Further, certain directors and officers of
RBC PC USA are also directors and
officers of one or more of the registrants
listed above. Investment Counsellors and
• RBC Phillips, Hager & North
Investment Counsel Inc.
(“RBC PH&N IC”)
RBC Private Counsel (USA) | 14
related issuer to RBC PC USA. It is
expected that RBC, or an affiliate, has a
controlling influence in the investment
funds to which it provides seed capital
from time to time.
our Investment Advisors or Investment
Counsellors will not consider the larger
market of comparable third-party
products or whether they would be
better, worse or equal in meeting your
investment needs and objectives.
•
An issuer is “connected” to us if, due
to indebtedness or other
relationships, a reasonable
prospective purchaser of securities of
the connected issuer might question
our independence from the issuer.
Recommending RBC proprietary
products instead of third-party
products, or securities of related or
connected issuers instead of securities
of independent issuers, may be
perceived as being more in RBC’s
interest than in yours.
We will ensure that any dealings in
securities or investment products of
related or connected issuers in your
account will comply with the investment
objectives, guidelines, restrictions and
other applicable provisions of your CAA
and investment policy statement.
Investment Advisors with RBC PC USA
are also registered with another related
registrant and provide services to clients
of that registrant. These relationships
are subject to legislative and regulatory
restrictions on dealings between related
registrants and/or individuals that are
dually registered with registrants. These
restrictions are intended to minimize the
potential for conflicts of interest
resulting from these relationships. RBC
PC USA has also adopted internal
policies and procedures that
supplement these restrictions, including
policies on privacy and confidentiality
of information, broker allocation and fair
allocation of investment opportunities.
Information concerning related advisors
can be found on Schedule D of Form ADV
Part 1 for each of RBC PC USA’s
registered advisory affiliates.
To address this conflict, our Investment
Counsellors and Investment Advisors
are required to recommend products
and services to you based on an
understanding of your needs, and not to
meet business targets, in accordance
with the RBC Code of Conduct. We offer
you access to a wide range of securities,
both from issuers who are related or
connected to us, and issuers who are
not. We do not pay our Investment
Counsellors or Investment Advisors
more if they recommend RBC products.
The relationships with related
companies are subject to legislative and
regulatory restrictions on dealings
between related registrants and/or
individuals that are dually registered
with registrants. These restrictions are
intended to minimize the potential for
conflicts of interest resulting from these
relationships.
All RBC products in your account must
comply with your investment objectives,
guidelines and restrictions in
accordance with your Client Account
Agreement.
9.4 Related and connected issuers
RBC PC USA has also adopted internal
policies and procedures that supplement
these restrictions, including policies on
privacy and confidentiality of
information, broker allocation and best
execution.
Recommending that you buy or sell
securities or investment products in
which we or a related person has some
financial interest creates a conflict
between our and our affiliates’ financial
interest and your interest in buying or
selling a particular security or investment
product. We have a fiduciary obligation
to put the interest of our clients ahead of
our own and our affiliates’ interest, and
have adopted policies and procedures
that help identify and manage potential
conflicts of interest arising from
recommending and investing clients in
related and connected issuers. We do not
pay our Investment Counsellors or
Investment Advisors more if they
recommend securities that we, or our
affiliates own, and we will always
disclose when we are trading as principal
with respect to any transaction.
Sometimes we trade in or advise clients
about securities and investment
products (i.e. guaranteed investment
certifications, high interest savings
accounts) of issuers to which we or
certain other parties related to us, is
related or connected:
9.5 Trading in your account
•
The underwriting and investment
banking activities of our Participating
Affiliate, RBC DS, are operated on a
separate and distinct basis from the
discretionary investment business of
RBC PC USA pursuant to Information
Barriers and Privacy Policies adopted
by the members of the RBC.
An issuer of securities is “related” to
us if, through the ownership of, or
direction or control over voting
securities,
9.3 RBC Proprietary Products
• we control that issuer,
• that issuer controls us, or
• the same third party controls both
the issuer and us.
We, our affiliates, or a third party will
act as your agent for buying, selling and
generally dealing in securities for you.
Securities transactions for your account
will be effected using various broker-
dealers, as determined by RBC PC USA
from time to time, consistent with the
duty to seek best execution for our
clients. Purchases and sales of all
securities for your account, except for
certain fixed income securities, are
executed by non-affiliated brokers.
RBC is a reporting issuer under
applicable securities laws and is a
We may recommend or invest your
portfolio in RBC proprietary products to
you, such as guaranteed investment
certificates. For RBC cashable
guaranteed investment certificates, and
RBC guaranteed investment certificates
with a term of less than one year, the
suitability determination conducted by
15 | Wrap fee brochure
be filled through the inventory of our
affiliate, RBC DS.
be employed by, participate in, or
accept compensation from any other
person, outside the scope of their
relationship with us, without our prior
approval.
Cross-trades of the same security held
in a portfolio and/or by us are
prohibited.
9.7 Personal trading
9.6 Code of Ethics
Employees must conduct their personal
trading responsibly and in such a manner
that does not, (i) take advantage of
material information about a listed
issuer that has not been disclosed to the
public or, (ii) place their own interests
ahead of the interests of clients.
We have adopted a Code of Ethics,
which is comprised of the RBC Code of
Conduct and policies pertaining to
Personal Trading, Privacy, Gifts and
Entertainment, Conflicts of Interest &
Outside Activities and Insider Trading.
Upon request, we will provide you with a
copy of our Code of Ethics.
To prevent potential conflicts of
interest, we monitor and control
personal trading by employees who
have access to information about actual
and proposed trades for client
portfolios. Trade orders on behalf of
clients will have priority in normal order
flow and will rank ahead of any
employee trading.
However, an affiliated broker may end
up on the other side of the transaction,
as agent or principal, as a result of the
automated systems of the Canadian
marketplaces which match trades on an
automated basis and neither we, nor
our affiliates, have any knowledge or
control over which orders are matched.
Purchases and sales of fixed income
may be made by our affiliate RBC DS
acting as a principal (i.e. buy securities
from you or sell securities to you for or
from its own account), in which case
RBC DS will charge you its customary
institutional rate mark-up on the
security. With respect to securities
transactions affected through RBC DS
acting as your agent, you authorize the
aggregation of contemporaneous
purchase or sell orders for the same
securities with orders of other
customers in accordance with
applicable legal and regulatory
guidelines. We mitigate this conflict by
ensuring that we disclose when we act
as principal on any transaction.
We prohibit improper use of confidential
information, or of any inside information
not publicly disclosed, for personal gain
or for the benefit of another person.
9.8 Account review procedures and
client reporting
9.8.1 A+ Program and Access Program
In connection with seeking to achieve
best execution, our policy is that
primary consideration will be given to
obtaining the best possible results
(including applicable costs) for clients
and efficient execution of each
transaction.
Our Compliance Manual requires that in
advising clients with respect to
securities of parties related to us: (i) we
will deal fairly, honestly and in good
faith with our clients; (ii) we will
maintain operational and decision-
making autonomy; and (iii) investment
decisions will be made on the basis of
the business judgment of the
responsible Investment Counsellor and
Investment Advisors uninfluenced by
considerations other than the best
interests of clients. We may purchase
securities of persons related to us for
client accounts. Any such transactions
will adhere to all applicable laws and
regulations and our Compliance Manual.
The Branch Managers together with
Trade Surveillance review your
accounts on a daily and periodic basis
to assess know your client, trade
suitability and risk profile.
Receipt of gifts or entertainment from
clients, third parties or other employees
may be perceived as potentially
influencing an Investment Counsellor’s
or Advisor’s decisions or independence.
Access Program
The Investment Managers selected for
your Access portfolio are responsible
for the ongoing monitoring and
rebalancing of individual securities held
in each of your Access accounts.
We allocate investment opportunities to
clients based on factors such as
whether or not they are suitable for a
client’s stated investment objectives.
This may be perceived as favouring one
client or group over another when
allocating limited opportunities. We
have established policies and
procedures to mitigate this perceived
conflict. These policies ensure that the
allocation of investment opportunities
amongst accounts is fair and equitable
for all clients based on their investment
objectives.
Principal trades and cross-trades
Our employees may have approved
outside activities for which they may
receive compensation. This may include
acting as a director externally or for an
RBC subsidiary or affiliate. Participation
in external activities could be viewed as
potentially giving advisors access to
material non-public information for use
in their personal or professional
financial dealings. We mitigate this risk
through strict adherence to policies and
procedures limiting gifts and
entertainment to help maintain
employee independence. Generally, we
prohibit individuals registered with us to
If your investment objectives and/or risk
profile were to change materially, you
must inform your Investment Advisor or
Investment Counsellor, as applicable,
and we will send you a revised
investment policy statement to document
these changes. If required, your Access
portfolio will be rebalanced accordingly.
Principal trades are prohibited except
for Fixed Income in certain exceptional
circumstances. For example, if
purchasing new issue Guaranteed
Investment Certificates, the order may
16 | Wrap fee brochure
A+ Program
9.8.2 PIM Program
You may have been referred to RBC PC
USA by our affiliates, Royal Bank or RBC
Royal Mutual Funds Inc. (“RMFI”),
because of your need for investment
management products or services. An
employee of RBC and/or RMFI, specifically
an Investment and Retirement Planner
(“IRP”), Financial Planner (“FP”) or Private
Banker may have referred you to RBC PC
USA because of your need for services we
can provide you.
In the A+ Program, the RBC DS Overlay
Portfolio Manager conducts quarterly
reviews of your portfolio against your
stated investment objectives, as set out
in your investment policy statement. If
your portfolio requires rebalancing with
respect to allocation across selected
Sub-Advisors/investment vehicles or
individual securities as a result of a
market drift or recommendation by one
of your Sub-Advisors, the RBC DS
Overlay Portfolio Manager will
implement those changes accordingly.
If you have been referred to us by an
IRP, FP or Private Banker, RBC PC USA
will pay RBC a referral fee of 25% of the
actual first year revenue in connection
with your account.
If your investment objectives and/or risk
profile were to change materially you
must inform your Investment Advisor or
Investment Counsellor, as applicable and
we will send you a revised investment
policy statement to document these
changes. If required, your A+ portfolio will
be rebalanced accordingly.
Investment Counsellors are responsible for
reviewing portfolios under their
management on an ongoing basis. The
Branch Manager supervising your
Investment Counsellor, conducts various
daily and monthly trade reviews to ensure
investments made in your portfolio(s) are
suitable. Portfolio Risk Advisors (“PRAs”) in
the Portfolio Risk Group review portfolios
and follow up with the Investment
Counsellors to ensure any identified action
items are addressed. In addition, the PRAs
review, on a periodic basis, all portfolios
against the investment policy statement
and internal investment management
guidelines. Variables considered in the
review process: asset mix, income need,
diversification, security quality and
performance. In addition, from time to
time, Branch Manager and other senior
management may also be involved in the
above-mentioned reviews of your portfolio.
RBC and RMFI may share a portion of
any referral fee that it receives from us
with individual representatives of RBC
and RMFI, including the individual who
referred you to us. The payment of any
referral fee will not increase the fees you
pay to us for your RBC PC USA account.
RBC or RMFI will disclose the existence
of the referral arrangement with you at
the time of the referral.
To keep you fully apprised of how your
portfolios are being managed, we
provide a comprehensive portfolio and
performance reporting package.
Referral arrangements will be in
compliance with Rule 206 (4)-1 under
the Advisers Act. This Rule permits an
investment adviser that is registered
under the Advisers Act to pay “cash”
fees, directly or indirectly, to a “solicitor”
with respect to “solicitation activities”.
9.10 Financial information
We will provide you with a quarterly
written statement that will list at a
minimum, the market value of your
investments, performance and asset mix
of your portfolio. We will also provide you
with an account based performance
report and a charges and compensation
report annually. In addition, your
custodian, RBC DS, will provide you with a
custodial statement at least quarterly and
monthly if there has been activity in your
portfolio and it will list your holdings, the
market value of your investments as at the
end of the period and transaction activity
in your portfolio during the period. If you
have retained a custodian other than RBC
DS, your chosen custodian must provide
you with separate reporting, on a
quarterly basis, at a minimum.
We are not required to include a balance
sheet in this brochure because we do
not require or solicit prepayment of
more than $1,200 in fees per client, six
months or more in advance.
We will provide you with a quarterly
written statement that will list at a
minimum, the market value of your
investments, performance and asset mix
of your portfolio. We will also provide
you with an account based performance
report and a charges and compensation
report, annually. In addition, your
custodian, RBC DS, will provide you with
a custodial statement at least quarterly
and monthly if there has been activity in
your portfolio and it will list your
holdings, the market value of your
investments as at the end of the period
and transaction activity in your portfolio
during the period.
9.9 Client referrals and other
compensation
We do not have any financial conditions
that are reasonably likely to impair our
ability to meet our contractual
commitments to clients. In addition we
have not been the subject of a bankruptcy
proceeding during the past 10 years.
Upon request, clients will be provided
with individual Investment Manager or
Sub-Advisor results, as applicable,
reported separately in the currency of
the model portfolio provided by that
Investment Manager or Sub-Advisor.
This section provides information on the
arrangements if we engage in
arrangements to receive economic
benefits from non-clients for providing
investment advice or other advisories to
our clients or to compensate any person
who is not our supervised person for
client referrals.
If you have any questions about
the information contained in
this brochure, or any other
questions about your account,
your Investment Counsellor/
Investment Advisor would be
pleased to assist you.
RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Inc.*, RBC Dominion Securities Global Limited and Royal Bank of Canada are separate legal entities
that are affiliated. RBC Private Counsel (USA) Inc., RBC Dominion Securities Global Limited and RBC Dominion Securities Inc. are member companies of RBC
Wealth Management, a business segment of Royal Bank of Canada. *Member-Canadian Investor Protection Fund. ® / ™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada.
(01/2026)
Used under license. © 2026. All rights reserved. 26_5498_002