Some wealthy clients are deciding that time, health and meaning outrank pure financial growth.Oleh_Slobodeniuk/iStockPhoto / Getty Images
Wealth management often revolves around a simple goal: accumulate more. But some affluent Canadians are challenging that formula, asking their advisors a different question – how much is enough?
Rather than chasing higher incomes or larger portfolios, some high-net-worth clients are simplifying their lives: cutting work hours, downsizing homes, selling luxury goods or redirecting wealth toward family and philanthropy.
The shift reflects a broader reassessment of priorities, in which time, health and meaning outrank pure financial growth.
“We are seeing clients move away from the stereotype that success means climbing the corporate ladder and accumulating more material wealth,” says Tina Tehranchian, senior wealth advisor at CI Assante Wealth Management Ltd. in Toronto.
“Many want to emphasize quality of life over the quantity of wealth they can accumulate.”
Ms. Tehranchian has several clients in their 40s who reduced their workload once they realized they had already achieved financial stability.
One consultant she works with would set an annual income target and stop working once she reached it, taking months off at a time.
While the client enjoyed the breaks, the pattern made it difficult to maintain a steady pipeline of business, so she refined the strategy.
“Last year she achieved her income goal by working only about 20 hours a week,” Ms. Tehranchian says. “This year, she wants to see if she can reduce that to 15 hours while earning the same amount.”
Another of Ms. Tehranchian’s clients reduced her workload to spend more time with her young children. The decision required scaling back expensive family vacations and sticking to a stricter household budget. Still, the family considers the compromise worthwhile.
Clients who simplify their lives often feel less stress and much more grounded,” Ms. Tehranchian says. “Accumulating wealth for the sake of having a bigger net worth simply isn’t a priority for them.”
The pandemic effect
Some advisors trace this mindset shift to the COVID-19 pandemic. When spending opportunities disappeared during lockdowns, some wealthy households began questioning whether consumption improved their lives.
Oliver Ruivo, an independent certified financial planner in Mississauga, says the pandemic pause prompted clients to rethink what their wealth could accomplish.
“With limited ability to travel and spend money, clients began to view their wealth not as a tool to buy more things, but as a tool to have a greater impact on others,” he says.
One couple he advises had accumulated a large collection of luxury watches and designer handbags before the pandemic. After a close friend died from a genetic illness, their perspective changed. Instead of continuing to collect, they sold several items and used the funds to start a charitable foundation in their friend’s memory.
“They felt the foundation would create a much greater impact than those items sitting in their closet,” Mr. Ruivo says.
For younger high-income professionals, the desire for “less” sometimes comes even before accumulating significant wealth.
Wendy Brookhouse, founder and chief strategist at Black Star Wealth in Halifax, says she’s noticed the trend among newly practicing physicians.
Many leave residency with the ability to earn between $300,000 and $500,000 annually, but resist expanding their lifestyles too quickly.
“They want a clear path to pay down their student loans and avoid obligations that would force them to work constantly,” Ms. Brookhouse says.
For these clients, success is increasingly measured by experiences and time spent with friends and family rather than possessions. Avoiding lifestyle creep also prevents debt from anchoring them to demanding work schedules.
“If you need less, you can make do with less,” Ms. Brookhouse says.
The search for simplicity often becomes even more pronounced later in life. Kenneth Doll, principal and senior financial planner at Calgary-based Kenneth Martin Doll Financial Planner, says many retirees naturally shift their focus from accumulation to simplification.
“Retirement is a time of reflection,” he says. “People begin to ask how they want to live the next stage of their lives.”
That reflection often leads to practical changes. Some retirees downsize homes once children move out, while others sell second vehicles or reduce luxury purchases tied to their professional identity.
“People start asking themselves, ‘Do I really need another Rolex, BMW or house?’” Mr. Doll says. “Often, the answer is no.”
Instead, retirees prioritize experiences such as travel or spending time with grandchildren.
Identifying what is ‘enough’
Ultimately, advisors say helping clients identify what’s “enough” requires understanding values as much as spreadsheets.
Ms. Tehranchian says meaningful financial planning begins with identifying what matters most to clients – whether that’s family time, community involvement, or personal independence.
“Values drive many of our decisions and attitudes toward money,” she says. “When those values are clear, designing a financial plan that supports them becomes much easier.”
The result, advisors say, is often a sense of relief. Clients who stop chasing ever-higher numbers discover they already have what they were working toward all along: freedom.
And in an age defined by abundance, that realization may be the most precious form of wealth.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that Oliver Ruivo no longer works for Wise Riddell Financial Group at Aligned Capital Partners Inc. That information was included due to an editing error.