January 30, 2026

Transitioning Your Account with Confidence
How Burkett helps new clients move from cash to a thoughtfully invested portfolio on their terms.

• Your situation comes first: Every account transition starts with understanding you, not fitting you into a model.
• There’s more than one right way to invest cash: Speed, pacing, and patience each have a place, depending on your unique situation.
• Flexibility is the advantage: Burkett adapts portfolio implementation to your needs, preferences, and constraints.

A thoughtful start matters

Transitioning a wealth management account is more than paperwork and transfers. It’s a pivotal moment, often involving new liquidity, a change in advisors, or a shift in long-term goals. At Burkett, we see a successful onboarding and implementation as the foundation of the entire relationship.

Our approach is deliberately personal. Before we talk about portfolios or markets, we seek to understand your unique situation: your objectives, time horizon, risk tolerance, tax considerations, family and corporate structures, and any constraints that matter to you. This ensures that decisions made at the start align with where you want to go, not just where markets happen to be.

How Burkett’s Know Your Client process works

Our Know Your Client (KYC) process is not a formality, it’s a conversation. We gather financial and personal information, review existing investments, and identify opportunities or gaps that may exist. This includes understanding:

• How your capital was accumulated and how it may be used
• Your comfort with market volatility and drawdowns
• Liquidity needs, tax sensitivities, and account structures
• Preferences around concentration, diversification, and implementation

As part of this discussion, we consider merits and considerations associated with each to ensure that we guide decision-making to align to your long-term objectives. The agreed upon plan informs preparation of an Investment Policy Statement that reflects your circumstances and serves as a practical decision-making framework. This process allows us to tailor strategies with care and ensures portfolio decisions remain consistent and appropriate over time.

Turning cash into a portfolio: three common approaches

One of the most common questions new clients ask is: Over what timeline should I deploy my initial cash? There is no universal answer but below are three common approaches we discuss with clients:

1. Immediate investment

Some clients prefer to invest available cash promptly to align their portfolio with long-term market exposure. This approach is preferred by some because markets tend to reward long-term participation. It also reduces the risk of missing periods of strong returns and quickly brings the portfolio in line with its strategic allocation. For example, a family trust with a multi-decade time horizon and no near-term liquidity needs may prioritize getting capital invested efficiently and allowing compounding to do the work over time.

With this approach, it’s important to consider that short-term market volatility can impact early results, and it requires comfort with near-term fluctuations. Mistiming the initial investment relative to an unforeseen negative period in markets is a risk and most clients that follow the immediate investment approach were previously fully invested with another advisor, as opposed to starting from all cash.

2. Incremental investment over time

Other clients prefer to phase investments into the market, spreading purchases over weeks or months.This approach helps manage emotional risk during uncertain markets, reduces sensitivity to short-term market timing, and provides a structured, disciplined path forward. For example, an individual investor transitioning after a business sale may value a more gradual approach while becoming comfortable with a new portfolio and market exposure.

With this approach, it’s important to consider that cash may earn less while waiting to be invested and markets can rise during the investment period. This is the most common approach for clients who were previously uninvested. Oftentimes, even when making investments over time, lower risk components of the portfolio (ie. bonds) may be invested at the outset to get more of the portfolio working.

3. Holding cash until opportunities arise

In other cases, clients intentionally hold higher cash balances because they desire flexibility or near-term liquidity, are waiting for specific opportunities or changes in circumstances, or could be managing tax timing or corporate cash needs. For example, a corporate account anticipating an acquisition or capital expenditure may prioritize optionality over immediate investment.

With this approach, it’s important to consider that cash can lose purchasing power over time and markets may move before opportunities present themselves. Being opportunistic with initial investment timing is the riskiest approach, as short-term fluctuations in markets are inherently difficult to predict.

How market history informs these decisions

In considering these three approaches, clients often ask whether there is a “best” way to move from cash into the market. While no historical analysis can predict future outcomes, market history can help frame the trade-offs involved.

To better understand these choices, we reviewed rolling 12-month returns of the S&P/TSX Total Return Index dating back to 1960. Over that period, markets were positive on a rolling 12-month basis roughly three-quarters of the time. In other words, most of the time, investing sooner rather than later would have produced a better outcome than waiting six or twelve months to deploy capital.

While this statistic suggests this is the best approach because it works the majority of the time, it carries with it significant risk that makes the question more difficult. In the minority of cases when upfront investment performs worse, there are instances where it performs dramatically worse. In the most extreme historical example, a rolling 12-month decline approached 43%, and in some cases, it took up to two years for markets to recover to prior levels.

For an investor who has not yet built confidence in a new portfolio or advisor relationship, experiencing a sharp early decline, even if temporary, can exceed their tolerance and undermine long-term discipline.

Phasing investments over time can meaningfully reduce this risk. Historically, investing half initially and later investing a second half could be preferred. While doing so would have lowered the worst-case drawdown by a corresponding half, it forgoes the likely outcome of positive returns. For example, the strongest 12-month period in the data saw gains of roughly 92%, and delaying part of the investment would have meant foregoing a portion of that upside.

The core trade-off is not about predicting markets, but about comfort with uncertainty:
Are you willing to accept the possibility of a 43% draw down to ensure you fully participate in a 92% increase? Or do you prefer a smoother path, even if it means leaving some returns on the table?

Different clients answer that question differently, which is why there is no single correct approach.

The third approach, holding cash while waiting for opportunities, sits outside this historical comparison. Market data suggests that, on average, remaining uninvested carries an opportunity cost, as markets have tended to rise more often than fall, as stated above. This can quickly become an emotional burden to decide the “right” entry point. However, this approach is not for clients looking to optimize expected returns; it’s about preserving flexibility. Clients who anticipate near-term liquidity needs, are managing tax timing, or are waiting for specific opportunities may reasonably accept the risk of missing market gains in exchange for optionality and control. In these cases, the decision is driven less by market history and more by the client’s broader financial circumstances and objectives.

Experience, flexibility and judgment

What matters most is not which approach is chosen, but that the approach fits the client. Burkett has the experience to advise clients across all three scenarios and the flexibility to implement portfolios accordingly. We are not constrained to cookie-cutter models or rigid timelines. Portfolios can be implemented thoughtfully, adjusted as circumstances evolve, and aligned with client preferences.

Our investment process is supported by deep research, disciplined risk management, and ongoing oversight, but always grounded in the client’s perspective. That balance is what allows us to deliver tailored, practical wealth management solutions.

The bottom line

There are many ways to transition and implement an investment account. The right approach depends on your goals, constraints, and comfort level, not a one-size-fits-all rule. At Burkett, we take the time to understand those differences and build strategies around them.

If you’re considering a transition or sitting on cash and unsure of the best next step, we invite you to connect with us. A conversation grounded by quality data and information is the best place to start.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Investment strategies involve risk, including the risk of loss. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investment decisions should be made based on individual circumstances and in consultation with a registered advisor. The historical data referenced is for illustrative purposes only, to help frame potential trade-offs between different implementation approaches, and should not be interpreted as predictive or prescriptive.