Philip Lieberman, JD, MBA, BA, CIM®

Managing Partner & Portfolio Manager

“The essence of investment management is the management of risks, not the management of returns.” – Benjamin Graham

Philip has more than 30 years of experience in the wealth management industry, finance and the capital markets. He manages investment portfolios on a discretionary basis for a significant base of high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families throughout Canada, including their trusts, estates, holding companies and foundations.

Given his deep experience in the investment industry, as well as in corporate, tax, estate and trust law, Philip is first and foremost a manager of risk for his clients. He brings a holistic approach to wealth management and the essential priority and importance of capital preservation, working closely with his clients to create meaningful and robust financial plans. By working closely with his clients’ other professional advisors, including family offices, accountants, corporate, tax and trust lawyers, bankers and philanthropic advisers, Philip helps ensure that risk is well managed to secure his clients’ financial goals and futures.

Prior to joining KJ Harrison, Philip spent 12 years at Scotia Capital, the global corporate and investment banking arm of the Bank of Nova Scotia. Between 2003 and 2008, he was Managing Director and Industry Head, Industrial Products, as well as a member of the Scotia Capital leadership team, with senior managing responsibility over a team of Relationship Managers acting for C-suite executives throughout Corporate Canada. Previously, Philip, who was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1993, practised corporate, securities and mergers & acquisitions law at Meighen Demers LLP (now Norton Rose Fulbright LLP).

Philip is very active in his community and deeply committed to the philanthropic philosophy of “repairing the world”. For over 15 years, Philip sat on the Board of Directors of the National Ballet Company of Canada, most recently serving as Chair of the Pension Committee, and as a member of the Joint Investment Committee and its Endowment Foundation. Philip currently sits on the Israel & Overseas Committee of United Jewish Federation of Toronto. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Beit Halochem Canada.

Philip lives in Toronto with his wife, daughter and son. In his free time, Philip is an avid cyclist, golfer, skier and a voracious reader of historical biographies.

No matter the size of the portfolio or the age of their children, many of our clients are wondering how to raise their kids with the skills and knowledge they need to be financially competent.

Since the first one launched in the early 2000s, special purpose acquisition companies – SPACs, for short – have largely occupied a small niche of the financial world.

Philip Lieberman, Partner & Portfolio Manager at KJ Harrison, draws on over 25 years of experience advising family enterprises to outline his top tips for creating a realistic and workable family business succession plan.