BUILDING OUR TEAM FOR THE LONG TERM
As another year comes to a close, I wanted to fill you in on what is happening at Baskin Wealth Management. Most of you know that it is my plan to retire in mid-2027, when I will reach the age of 75 (and as I write this I can scarcely believe that I am that old!). I have been working in the financial services industry since 1980, and 47 years seems like enough.
Ever since Barry Schwartz joined me as my first equity partner 25 years ago, in 2000, it has been my goal to broaden the ownership of the firm. We want to serve our clients over generations, and this requires us to take a long view. Turning employees into owners serves our clients by ensuring that we will have continuity of management, that our investment philosophy will remain consistent, and that as some partners retire, clients will have other familiar faces upon whom they can rely. Scott Mazi has now been a partner for about 20 years, and Rob McDonald for over 7 years.
In 2021, in the middle of the COVID pandemic, we extended ownership to five of our middle managers. In early 2026, three more middle managers will become owners. Following that transaction, most of our department heads and Portfolio Managers will be partners. I want you to know that this is a step that is not taken lightly by the firm, nor by the employees. Each of them is investing serious money to buy a stake in the company; they are expressing their confidence in our future in the most tangible way possible. At the same time, Baskin Wealth Management is declaring its confidence in each of these employees, reaffirming our belief that they will be the hands and minds that guide us in the decades to come.
I am profoundly aware that over 1,200 families across Canada (and beyond – we have clients in 7 other countries) have put their trust in our integrity and ability. We never forget this, and we are all united in our goal to justify that trust. During 2025, as in past years, over 98% of our client families reasserted that trust and maintained their relationships with us.
As I write this I am reading a gripping book about the Great Depression, fittingly entitled “1929”, written by Andrew Ross Sorkin. I am continually struck by how little has changed in almost 100 years. Financial markets are an unruly and unpredictable blend of numbers and emotions. Sentiment and reasoned analysis frequently move in opposite directions. That’s what makes a market. We saw much of this in the turbulent year that is now drawing to a close. What will 2026 bring? Nobody knows, of course. In 1928 one of the hottest stocks in America was RCA (Radio Corporation of America), as households everywhere listened in to create the first mass media phenomenon. Its stock price reached an unsustainable level and was one of the victims of the great crash in October, 1929. Will something similar happen to the AI darlings of today? As they used to say on the radio in the 1920’s, stay tuned. All we know for sure is that we will be surprised by the markets.
On behalf of all of us at Baskin Wealth Management I want to wish each of you a happy, healthy and fulfilling 2026.
Webinar
Conviction in Quality – December 11, 2025
Blog
Why donating securities beats donating cash – Benjamin Klein – December 4, 2025
Podcast
Filling up on Couche-Tard – December 2, 2025
Netflix’s HBO drama – December 17, 2025
Looking back at 2025 – December 30, 2025
Media Appearances
Ernest Wong on BNN Bloomberg’s Investor Outlook – December 3, 2025
Ernest Wong on BNN Bloomberg’s Morning Markets – December 3, 2025
Barry on In the Money podcast – December 9, 2025
Benjamin Klein on BNN Bloomberg’s The Open – December 9, 2025
Benjamin Klein on BNN Bloomberg’s Investor Outlook – December 9, 2025
Barry Schwartz on BNN Bloomberg’s The Street – December 19, 2025
Ernest Wong on BNN Bloomberg’s The Street – December 30, 2025