Key Takeaways
- • Benjamin Felix has been named president of PWL Capital, a newly created role, while retaining his chief investment officer title, giving him joint leadership with CEO Cameron Passmore over an independent firm managing more than $8 billion for Canadian households.
- • PWL Capital is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based OneDigital, which acquired the firm in early 2025 when it held $5.5 billion in assets under management; the firm has since grown to about 154 people and more than $8 billion, aided by acquisitions of TCM Financial Studio in Regina and EB Wealth in Halifax.
- • Felix and Passmore will make decisions jointly rather than splitting responsibilities, according to Felix speaking to Advisor.ca; Passmore, 60, has no imminent plans to leave but treats succession as a standing priority.
- • Felix's new remit covers strategic growth, client experience, and service expansion, with a major focus on advisor technology, much of it built in-house, including an internal client experience tool and AI-driven analysis of meeting notes.
Summary
PWL Capital has named chief investment officer Benjamin Felix as president, a newly created position that gives him joint charge of the independent wealth management firm alongside chief executive officer Cameron Passmore. Felix retains the CIO post and takes on responsibility for strategic growth, client experience, and service expansion, according to Wealth Professional. The firm manages more than $8 billion for Canadian households.
Felix, based in Ottawa, joined PWL Capital in 2013 and has held nearly every role on the investment side, progressing from investment advisor to associate portfolio manager, portfolio manager, head of research, and chief investment officer. Speaking to Advisor.ca, Felix said the leadership arrangement means the two executives will take decisions jointly, "reporting" included, describing it as "the idea for now." Passmore, who turned 60 this year, has no imminent plans to leave, the publication reported, though succession remains a standing priority.
The firm was bought by Atlanta-based OneDigital in early 2025 and operates as an independent subsidiary. At the time of the acquisition, PWL reported $5.5 billion in assets under management. Since then it has grown to roughly 154 employees and more than $8 billion in AUM, supported by the purchases of TCM Financial Studio in Regina and EB Wealth in Halifax.
A significant share of internal effort has focused on advisor technology, much of it built by PWL itself. The firm named Braden Warwick its first chief product officer in September. One recently released internal client experience tool aggregates financial planning, investment management, and trading records from a data lake into a single view of each client. Felix also described the use of AI tools to analyze past and current meeting notes and transcripts to generate insights and financial planning deliverables. He credited the firm's model of "one team with one philosophy [and] one set of clients" as distinguishing PWL from dealer structures in which advisors run individual businesses.
Felix said he will continue his podcast and YouTube work, stating, "The answer is emphatically no," when asked whether he would scale it back. He has hired a writer and now assigns some Rational Reminder episode topics to PWL advisors who have conducted the underlying research. Felix won the IFSE Institute Award for Financial Literacy Champion at the 2024 Wealth Professional Awards.
Felix, based in Ottawa, joined PWL Capital in 2013 and has held nearly every role on the investment side, progressing from investment advisor to associate portfolio manager, portfolio manager, head of research, and chief investment officer. Speaking to Advisor.ca, Felix said the leadership arrangement means the two executives will take decisions jointly, "reporting" included, describing it as "the idea for now." Passmore, who turned 60 this year, has no imminent plans to leave, the publication reported, though succession remains a standing priority.
The firm was bought by Atlanta-based OneDigital in early 2025 and operates as an independent subsidiary. At the time of the acquisition, PWL reported $5.5 billion in assets under management. Since then it has grown to roughly 154 employees and more than $8 billion in AUM, supported by the purchases of TCM Financial Studio in Regina and EB Wealth in Halifax.
A significant share of internal effort has focused on advisor technology, much of it built by PWL itself. The firm named Braden Warwick its first chief product officer in September. One recently released internal client experience tool aggregates financial planning, investment management, and trading records from a data lake into a single view of each client. Felix also described the use of AI tools to analyze past and current meeting notes and transcripts to generate insights and financial planning deliverables. He credited the firm's model of "one team with one philosophy [and] one set of clients" as distinguishing PWL from dealer structures in which advisors run individual businesses.
Felix said he will continue his podcast and YouTube work, stating, "The answer is emphatically no," when asked whether he would scale it back. He has hired a writer and now assigns some Rational Reminder episode topics to PWL advisors who have conducted the underlying research. Felix won the IFSE Institute Award for Financial Literacy Champion at the 2024 Wealth Professional Awards.
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