Steadyhand

What Steadyhand does

Steadyhand Investment Funds Inc. is a Vancouver-based Canadian investment management company founded in 2006 that offers a focused lineup of eight mutual funds covering major asset classes: money market (Savings), fixed income (Income), balanced (Founders), and equity (Builders, Equity, Global Equity, Small-Cap Equity, Global Small-Cap Equity). Funds are sub-advised by external specialist portfolio managers—Fiera Capital (North American equities), Aristotle Capital Management (Global Equity), Galibier Capital/Guardian Capital LP (Small-Cap), TimesSquare Capital Management (Global Small-Cap), and Connor, Clark & Lunn (Income)—while Steadyhand focuses on fund packaging, client service, personalized advice, and a Strategic Asset Mix portfolio construction process. The company is a member of CIRO and holds assets under custody at CIBC Mellon Trust Company.

The firm targets mass-affluent Canadian retail investors with portfolios of $10,000 to $10 million (average ~$300,000) and ages 18 to 90+ (average mid-50s), primarily mid-life professionals migrating from banks and brokerages. Revenue is generated entirely through recurring management fees bundled into an all-in structure of 0.40% to 1.97% (average client fee ~1.15%, about half of bank pricing), with no transaction, administrative, or exit fees; fee reductions scale with AUM and tenure and are delivered as special distributions of fund units. Distribution is direct via website and phone-based Investor Specialists, supplemented by select discount brokerages and advisory firms—although Steadyhand's policy of not paying trailing commissions limits third-party shelf space. Steadyhand is licensed in five provinces (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario) with explicit restrictions from the US, Quebec, and Atlantic/Northern Canada.

On June 10, 2025, Steadyhand was acquired by Purpose Unlimited Inc., a Toronto-based independent Canadian financial services firm, increasing Purpose's assets under platform to over $30 billion. Steadyhand continues to operate as a brand within Purpose Unlimited under CEO Neil Jensen and Chair Tom Bradley (co-founder), following the departure of long-tenured CIO Salman Ahmed. The firm operates with a lean staff of 11-50 employees and has begun adopting AI tools for internal research, client support, and meeting transcription, with all investment decisions subject to human oversight.

Name

Steadyhand

Legal name

Steadyhand Investment Funds Inc.

Website

https://steadyhand.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Steadyhand is a Canadian investment manager offering eight low-fee mutual funds via external specialist advisors. It serves mass-affluent investors in five provinces with personalized advice bundled into all-in fees averaging 1.15%, about half of bank pricing. Acquired by Purpose Unlimited in June 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mutual Fund Management

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Open-End Investment Funds (525910), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282), Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211)

akta.pro primary industry

Target-Risk / Risk-Managed Allocation Funds (FSAAAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Fixed Income Mutual Funds (FSAAAEAB)

Keywords

• Mutual fund management
• Investment management services
• Portfolio advisory
• Wealth management
• Financial planning advice

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Mutual Fund Management Fees: Steadyhand generates revenue through management fees charged on investment funds under management. Fees range from 0.40% to 1.97% all-in. The most popular fund (Founders Fund) has a fee of 1.37%, with average client fee around 1.15%. No transaction fees, administrative fees, or exit fees are charged. Fee reductions are offered based on asset size and client tenure, delivered as special distributions of additional fund units.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Steadyhand sells a focused lineup of eight low-fee mutual funds covering savings, income, balanced, and equity strategies to Canadian individual investors, with personalized investment advice and portfolio construction bundled into all-in fund fees. Funds are managed by external specialist portfolio advisors, and clients are supported by phone-based Investor Specialists with a $10,000 minimum investment.

Product overview

Steadyhand is a Canadian investment management company offering a lineup of eight low-fee mutual funds covering the major asset classes: money market (Savings Fund), fixed income (Income Fund), balanced (Founders Fund), and equity (Builders Fund, Equity Fund, Global Equity Fund, Small-Cap Equity Fund, and Global Small-Cap Equity Fund). The firm provides personalized investment advice, portfolio construction services, and ongoing client communication as part of its all-in fee structure. The funds are managed by external portfolio advisors including Fiera Capital, Aristotle Capital Management, Galibier/Guardian Capital LP, TimesSquare Capital Management, and Connor, Clark & Lunn. Steadyhand was acquired by Purpose Unlimited in June 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Steadyhand Savings Fund A money market mutual fund providing a place to park cash with stable returns, designed as Steadyhand's most conservative fund option for individual Canadian investors.
• Steadyhand Income Fund A fixed income mutual fund providing a steady source of income through bonds and income-generating securities, managed by external portfolio advisor Connor, Clark & Lunn for individual investors seeking yield.
• Steadyhand Founders Fund A balanced mutual fund combining stocks and bonds for moderate growth with built-in diversification; Steadyhand's most popular fund with a 1.37% all-in fee, designed for investors seeking a single diversified core holding.
• Steadyhand Builders Fund An all-equity mutual fund serving as a one-stop solution for growth-oriented investors seeking aggressive long-term capital appreciation.
• Steadyhand Equity Fund A North American-focused equity mutual fund investing primarily in Canadian and U.S. stocks to grow wealth, managed by external portfolio advisor Fiera Capital.
• Steadyhand Global Equity Fund A global equity mutual fund with the scope to invest anywhere in the world, managed by external portfolio advisor Aristotle Capital Management (formerly Velanne Asset Management), focused on quality growth businesses.
• Steadyhand Small-Cap Equity Fund An equity mutual fund focused on small and mid-cap companies in Canada and the U.S. with high growth potential, managed by the Galibier investment team at Guardian Capital LP.
• Steadyhand Global Small-Cap Equity Fund A global equity mutual fund investing in small companies worldwide with significant growth potential, managed by external portfolio advisor TimesSquare Capital Management.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fees are about half of what clients pay at a bank
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Fiera CapitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal portfolio advisor managing the Steadyhand Equity Fund. Focuses on North American equities. Fiera Capital operates their own funds and has higher minimum investment requirements than Steadyhand.
• Aristotle Capital Management / Velanne Asset ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal portfolio advisor managing the Steadyhand Global Equity Fund. Anne Gudefin founded Velanne Asset Management and manages global equities with focus on quality growth businesses.
• Galibier Capital Management / Guardian Capital LPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal portfolio advisor managing the Steadyhand Small-Cap Equity Fund. Lead Portfolio Manager Joe Sirdevan has over 30 years of experience. Galibier joined Guardian Capital LP following a 2025 business combination.
• TimesSquare Capital ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal portfolio advisor managing the Steadyhand Global Small-Cap Equity Fund. New York-based investment boutique founded in 2000, specializing in small and mid-cap equities with significant employee ownership.
• Connor, Clark & Lunn (CC&L)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerExternal portfolio advisor managing the Steadyhand Income Fund. Well known for expertise in managing bonds and income equities, adding value for clients for over 25 years.
• CIBC Mellon Trust CompanycoreOthersThird-party custodian holding the assets (stocks, bonds, cash) of Steadyhand funds. Assets are segregated from Steadyhand and cannot be accessed for business purposes other than fulfilling investment objectives.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wealthsimple: Toronto-based digital wealth manager offering low-fee managed portfolios and ETFs to Canadian retail investors. Wealthsimple competes directly with Steadyhand for the same mass-affluent, fee-conscious investor segment but leads with a digital-first, robo-advisor-led model.
• Mawer Investment Management: Calgary-based independent Canadian investment manager offering low-fee pooled funds and separately managed accounts. Mawer is widely cited alongside Steadyhand as a low-fee, transparency-focused alternative to bank-owned mutual funds in Canada, with a comparable founder-led, client-aligned model.

Emerging players

• Vanguard Investments Canada: Canadian subsidiary of Vanguard, primarily offering low-cost index ETFs and select mutual funds. While Vanguard's passive-first approach is philosophically different, it competes with Steadyhand for the same fee-conscious Canadian investor segment.
• Questwealth Portfolios (Questrade): Low-cost robo-advisor product offered by Questrade, one of Canada's largest independent brokerages. Competes with Steadyhand for fee-sensitive self-directed investors but with a fully automated, lower-touch service model.
• Tangerine Investment Funds: Scotiabank subsidiary offering low-cost index-based mutual funds. Targets a similar mass-market, fee-conscious segment as Steadyhand but with a passive, digital-first approach and broader geographic reach through Scotiabank's branch network.

Broad incumbents

• RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM): Asset management arm of RBC, one of Canada's largest fund manufacturers. RBC GAM offers extensive fund lineup and proprietary advisor distribution that competes with Steadyhand's offerings, particularly in the balanced and equity categories.
• CI Global Asset Management: One of Canada's largest mutual fund managers with a broad multi-asset lineup. CI competes in many of the same asset classes as Steadyhand but at a much larger scale, with broader distribution through advisor channels and typically higher MERs.
• Phillips, Hager & North (RBC GAM): Vancouver-based investment manager (now part of RBC GAM) with a long-standing reputation for conservative balanced funds. Historically a direct competitor to Steadyhand in British Columbia's mass-affluent market before being folded into RBC's broader platform.
• Fidelity Canada: Canadian arm of Fidelity Investments offering a wide lineup of mutual funds and ETFs. Competes with Steadyhand across active equity and balanced fund categories with a broader product shelf and brand recognition.
• BMO Global Asset Management: Asset management division of BMO Financial Group. Offers actively managed mutual funds across similar asset classes to Steadyhand, with broad bank-distribution reach and typically higher fees.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/steadyhandfunds
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/steadyhandfunds
• Facebookfacebook.com/steadyhandfunds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/steadyhand-investment-funds

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Steadyhand