FACT: Investing stress felt by business owners & operators is largely due to the volatility of the stock markets when compared to the stability of their own personal businesses. And, the grind from tax rates on business, passive income & capital gains.

OPPORTUNITY: Investing stress is significantly reduced when investment portfolios include investments into established private companies. This is because these are the kinds of businesses owners understand and relate to because their value is based on fundamentals such as competent management, strong balance sheets, supply and demand, NOT speculation, emotion and computer driven algorithmic trading.

Furthermore, when combined with tax-advantageous corporate structures to protect income and assets, the result is peace-of-mind and strategic revenue creation from a combination of investment revenues and tax savings.

Reflecting on the challenges of COVID, there are a number of companies which have proven to be resilient and present very good investment opportunities. In many cases, the management and employees were able to pivot to protect their businesses, or capitalize on opportunities which presented themselves as a result of COVID. Interestingly, many private companies have less bureaucracy which makes them more nimble and capable to be fluid while adjusting their businesses to adapt to market changes.

Moving forward, most of the companies available through Rainmaker are fundamentally stronger than they were prior to COVID. In fact, some are performing very well. Should there be additional COVID challenges, management of these companies feel confident they will use the previous experiences so the businesses remain active and profitable for investors.

Rainmaker has a simple, repeatable process:

1. Know Your Client (KYC): Each investor has a unique financial and lifestyle situation. When investing, it is best to match you with suitable investments which match and compliment your financial situation and lifestyle. As an investor, you should begin by evaluating your situation and goals. At some point prior to purchasing your investment(s), you will share this information with your advisor so they can assist you with investment suitability.
2. Evaluate investment options: Determine which investments resonate with you. By using the Rainmaker website, you will be able to review investments based on a built-in filtering and search mechanism to source investments which match you.
3. Select investments: On the Rainmaker website, it only takes a few clicks to submit an Investment Reservation Request for any investment which appears to be a good match for you.
4. Confirm suitability: As part of the order process, a web-based or in-person meeting with your advisor will be arranged to have a "Know Your Client" (KYC) conversation. This will assist you with confirming if your investment choice(s) is/are suitable for you.
5. Complete FINTRAC Requirements: Securities regulations requires us to verify the identity of all clients according to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Regulations (PCMLTFR) and associated Regulations.
6. Execute purchase documents: The purchase documents will be prepared in electronic format so you can execute them electronically. We keep this step very clean and easy to follow.
7. Compliance reviews: The Compliance department of the EMD review your KYC and relevant documents to determine if your intended investment complies with the regulations set out by the respective provincial securities regulator. If so, they approve the trade.
8. Payment: Payment can be completed through various means; certified cheque, EFT, bank draft, wire transfer, etc. The specific bank details are provided in the offering documents and your advisor will assist you during this process.
9. Close: Most issuers complete one close per month, if not, more frequently. As soon as your investment is included in a close, you will receive a welcome package including your purchase documents and details regarding your income distributions. Regular communication and updates will also come from the issuer.

Sentinel Financial Management has been in business for over 40 years and conducts the due diligence on each investment before and during the time which any investment is available to invest into.

Sentinel's due diligence process is conducted by a specialized and disciplined selection committee. The selection of the investments is based on a thorough and independent product review. It begins with a preliminary assessment of the following areas:

1. Background checks on the issuer
   
2. Assessment of the issuer’s track record
3. Verification of claims in offering documents (including marketing material)
4. Various economic and financial stress tests
5. Review of risk factors disclosed in the offering documents

If the results are satisfactory, the process continues to a full due diligence analysis which includes, but is not limited to:

1. The issuer’s corporate structure and governance
   
2. Review of all financial documents
3. Market assessment
4. Competitive analysis
5. Interviews with the management team and key employees
6. Technology and/or operations assessments

When you make your investment, you provide a void cheque for your bank account. The distributions are made directly to that bank account.

If the investment is made with your RRSP or TFSA, the distributions are made to your registered account.

Rainmaker provides high quality services to attract investors and make their investing decisions easier. For the services provided by Rainmaker, clients do not pay fees. Nor do clients pay Rainmaker any annual management fees (MER) for assets under management (AUM).

When you purchases an investment, a selling compensation is paid by the issuer of the investment. This commission is split between Rainmaker and the dealer, Sentinel Financial Management Corp.

The selling compensation is considered to be a part of the operating costs for the issuer. The respective investment documents for each investment will disclose the selling compensation and frequency.

• Investments presented by Rainmaker are from an advisor committed to long-term trust-based relationships
  
• Each investment is managed by seasoned owners who have skin-in-the-game. Their money is invested beside your money
  
• Unless stated otherwise, the companies are cash-flowing to provide you and your family with dependable income
  
• Transparent so you are always informed with updates and audited statements
  

Each of the investments is a security, registered with Canadian Securities Regulators. As such, for each investment, you are purchasing shares of a specific business entity and will receive share ownership documents indicating your ownership and the quantity of units which you own.

Yes, most of the investments are eligible for investors to purchase with funds in their registered accounts.

Rainmaker Investment Advisory is a trade name owned by Sean Blix who is a registrant with Sentinel Financial Management Corp, an Exempt Market Dealer. All parties are registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators. Information relating to Sentinel can be found at sentinelgroup.ca

Yes. In addition to investment suitability, we can utilize our proprietary tools to assist clients with their investment planning.

Sentinel Financial Management Corp is a registered Exempt Market Dealer (EMD). As per securities regulations in Canada, anyone selling private capital investments must maintain their registration as an Exempt Market Dealing Representative (DR) with an EMD. Although EMDs primarily facilitate oversight during the investment purchase stage, determining which EMD to align with is a decision Sean Blix has taken very seriously. Why?

1. Not all investments are created equal; some investments have certain aspects as well as management which may be able to reduce risk exposure. An EMD which has a reputable management team tends to attract higher-quality investments and higher quality advisors.
   
2. The majority of Rainmaker's clients have significant net worth, income and business assets. As such, it is important to align with an EMD which offers robust financial services which can assist Rainmaker to service clients beyond private investment offerings.
   
3. Not losing money is as important as making money. Thus, it is vital to align with an EMD which has an experienced due diligence team to consistently execute a due diligence process on each investment prior to it ever being approved for clients to purchase.
   
4. A key strategy for mitigating possible losses is developing a diversified portfolio. An EMD with experienced management is more likely to be able to consistently provide a diversified portfolio of investments to choose from. Furthermore, experienced management is likely to be able to attract investment opportunities a few times which are exclusive or unique to their EMD. This gives Rainmaker clients the extra opportunity to further diversify their portfolios.

The timeline for an investment is typically around 5 years, however, each investment has its own terms. Some are 1 year and there are others which are longer. It is important to understand that you are investing directly into a business. As such, your funds are being used to capitalize on an opportunity. If you were to take your money back early, the business would suddenly be hindered from achieving success and this negatively affects all the other investors.

Because these investments often provide limited or no liquidity, it is common for private investments to be considered high risk. It is not a reflection on the management, or the business, or the fundamentals. A business can have a management team with a successful track record, a very profitable business structure and a solid balance sheet, however there may be limited cash available for investors wanting to redeem their investments early. This means that if you found yourself in a position where you needed your invested money back, it may not be possible until the business has the available cash on-hand or the business has a liquidity event. Be sure to have cash on hand or liquid investments within your portfolio in the event you suddenly need cash.

Rainmaker Investment Advisory does not transact public market securities, however, we recognize there can be reasons for clients to allocate a portion of their portfolios within the public markets. For this reason we are aligned with select private asset portfolio management firms and we work as a team to provide clients with the best professional collaborative management of all their financial needs. Services include financial planning, estates, trusts, asset protection and tax management.

These private asset portfolio management firms require investible assets of at least $1,000,000. Depending on circumstances, there can be some flexibility. For each individual client, the portfolio allocation within the public market is based on the parameters of the Investment Policy Statement agreed upon with the client. The public market assets are comprised of a well-diversified, income-producing portfolio of blue chip, dividend-paying equities and investment grade government and corporate bonds.

Private companies often structure their investment opportunities with terms around 5 years in length. This is a respectable amount of time for them to use the funds and execute their plans to maximize returns. During this time, the management of the company focuses on executing their business plans to achieve success.

Private investments have varying degrees of offering documents such as an Offering Memorandum (OM) or Term Sheet. Whenever making an investment, the investor should examine the offering documents which will disclose the following:

1. A history of the company and a description of the operations
2. A description of the company's business and investment plans
3. A description of the intended use of proceeds
4. Information about the company’s management and its principal shareholders
5. A summary of major risk factors affecting the company
6. A description of the legal rights of investors if the  document contains misrepresentation
7. A listing of the assets the company holds
8. A listing of the debt the company holds
9. A listing of other securities that have already been issued
10. Audited Financial Statements

Essentially the Exempt Market, as it is referred to in Canada, is a section of the private capital markets which allows individuals and their personal corporations to invest into private companies. You can learn more at the Ontario Securities Commission's (OSC) website, Please note that although the link refers to Ontario, the bulk of the information is relevant to residents in all provinces.

In the Exempt Market there are 4 primary participant groups which are active throughout the entire lifecycle of every investment transaction:

1. Issuer:  The company raising funds so it can execute a plan. The issuer uses the investment funds as disclosed in their offering documents. In addition, the issuer maintains regular communication with its investors and provides annual audits.
2. Exempt Market Dealers (EMD):  All private investments must be purchased through a registered EMD. The EMD is responsible for conducting a thorough approval process on any investment it transacts. Additionally, an EMD is active throughout each purchase because the EMD must ensure all investor purchases comply with provincial securities regulations.
3. Dealing representatives (DR):  All private investments must be sold by a registered DR. The DR will only sell investments to an investor once appropriate suitability has been established. DRs can only sell investments that are approved by their respective EMD; this relationship is on record with the securities regulators.
4. Investors:  A person or company purchasing investments.