DREW MCINTOSH, CIM®, Portfolio Manager & Investment Advisor, MSB Wealth Advisory Group, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Calgary, Alberta
- NATALIE NOBLE
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
DREW MCINTOSH
"We built a system that allows us to deliver exceptional service without losing the human connection that matters most."
Talent may be in the blood, but it’s not always necessary to take the same path as those who came before to meet and exceed goals and dreams. “I’m proud to honor my father’s legacy in this industry while taking a modern approach,” says Drew McIntosh, CIM®, Portfolio Manager, and Investment Advisor at MSB Wealth Advisory Group, BMO Nesbitt Burns. “At MSB Wealth Advisory Group, we’ve embraced discretionary portfolio management, holistic planning, and technology to meet the evolving needs of clients,” says Drew. “It’s about combining the values my father instilled – trust, hard work, and client care – with innovative strategies that position us for the future.”
Drew didn’t just find his own career path outside his father’s successful practice, he moved across the country from Stoney Creek, Ont. to Calgary, Alta. in 2006 to do so. “Coming from the East, it’s very different here. Calgary is a combination of big city capability with a real sense of community. Of course, I also love its proximity to the mountains,” says Drew, adding that he and his wife Penny love to hike, ski, and paddleboard every season. “Professionally, Calgary gives me access to some of the sharpest minds in energy, tech, agriculture, and private business. I get to work with multi-generational ranching families, oil and gas executives, tech entrepreneurs who’ve already exited the business, and young professionals building some serious early wealth. That diversity keeps me on my toes, and I can bring value from each sector to the other.”
Drew learned the value of hard work and taking pride in it early on. “I’ve been working and saving money since I was 12. My father sparked my interest and emphasized the importance of investing for the future. As an Advisor, he would take me to breakfasts or lunches where I would sit and listen to portfolio managers. From that, I started to read the business section of the paper and track stock prices for fun,” says Drew, who also learned discipline as a competitive bagpiper from his youth to playing for the Queen of England after the wall fell in Berlin, as well as playing onstage with Paul McCartney up until 2002.
Knowing he wanted to continue the family legacy in wealth management, Drew wrote the CSC in the early 1990s and landed a job at Mackenzie Financial. “It was thrilling. I commuted three hours each day, took the train from Burlington to Toronto, and the subway up to Bloor and Avenue,” he says. “Talking to Advisors on the phone, solving problems, watching the ticker tape scroll across the office screen – it was all exciting. I soaked up everything like a sponge. That experience set the foundation for where I am today.”
It was an interesting time in the world of finance. “I vividly remember the early ’90s’ recession in Ontario. People were being laid off or offered early retirement packages. I saw first-hand how my father’s business grew during that time, and more importantly, how he helped people navigate uncertainty and plan for retirement,” says Drew. “Watching him guide clients through one of the most challenging periods of their lives left a lasting impression. It showed me the impact this work has and planted the seed for me to follow in his footsteps.”
But not directly in his footsteps. Instead, Drew’s father advised him to enter the corporate world versus working for him. “That guidance shaped my career,” says Drew. “It allowed me to work alongside some of the best portfolio managers in the industry and build relationships with Advisors across the country. That insight into different models formed my own vision of how I wanted to run my own practice.”
Moving West was a bold step. It represented opportunity, growth, and the chance to apply everything Drew had learned in the corporate world. “It was exciting – the unknown, the potential, and it felt like the right move,” says Drew. “I worked with Advisors in a consultative role and quickly noticed there was a strong, old school stockbroker culture here, and oil and gas dominated the conversations. That was a stark contrast to Toronto.”
With his institutional investment background, Drew saw an opportunity to differentiate rather than following a transaction-based model. “I envisioned building a family office style practice with a disciplined investment management process and a full suite of services to meet every aspect of a client’s financial life. The timing was right, the industry was evolving, and the global financial crisis became the catalyst for change,” he says.
In 2008, Drew found the home to bring his vision to life with BMO Nesbitt Burns. “The 1994 merger of two leading independent Canadian investment firms, Burns Fry and Nesbitt Thomson, both widely recognized as the premier research houses in the country, that pedigree mattered to me,” says Drew. “As the industry has evolved, it’s clear research and technology are critical for Advisors to remain competitive. Nesbitt Burns continues to demonstrate its commitment to supporting Advisors in these areas.”
He also found the perfect partners. Their collaboration began under the banner of Keene and Associates, evolving into Keene, McManus, and McIntosh Advisory Group. Since Alison Keene’s retirement, the team today is the MSB Wealth Advisory Group.
“Alison was the original partner, and I owe a great deal to her. She was a respected Investment Advisor with decades of hard-won experience. She cut her teeth in the business as a young woman at the Alberta Stock Exchange and built a reputation for grit, client care, and getting results,” says Drew. “I’ll never forget our first meeting in my previous role as a product specialist at Franklin Templeton. She said, ‘I don’t know how you got in here because I don’t meet with product providers. You have 15 minutes.’ That was the start of our relationship.”
Both were aligned in their vision. “Alison believed the industry was changing and that a modern, process-driven practice could still be deeply human,” says Drew. “She also had an eye on her own succession. She told me later, ‘I hired you for trust.’ In this business, trust is earned in conversations, proven in decision making, and maintained through consistency.”
From day one, Drew and his partners had a clear vision of the business they would build and the clients they would serve. “Our foundation was the process in both managing money and in maintaining frequent, meaningful communication with clients throughout the year. That structure allows us to keep growing without ever sacrificing quality,” says Drew. “Together, we’ve built a practice that reflects both the values I grew up with and the modern approach I believe clients need – personalized advice, advanced technology, and a focus on holistic wealth management. Building a sizable discretionary practice before 50 wasn’t luck; it was intention and process.”
Drew credits the team’s ability to practice with discretionary management for their growth and quality service. “Leveraging our discretionary license was a game changer we used even before the global financial crisis. It gave us the ability to make timely decisions, run efficient models, and attract like-minded Advisors so we could scale up,” he says. “With the rise of passive investing, margin compression, and technology-driven standardization, Advisors are under pressure to deliver more value and close the perceived gap between cost and service. We address this in our hands-on portfolio management by combining stock selection with innovative alternative solutions designed to improve tax efficiency, increase cash flow, and reduce volatility. Our approach reduces costs and we pass those savings on to clients through lower fees without sacrificing value.”
That efficiency frees the team up to focus on what matters – establishing deeper client relationships. “More time for meaningful conversations means we help clients beyond investments, whether it’s lending needs, tax and retirement planning, estate and insurance strategies, business succession, or philanthropy. These services wouldn’t be possible at that quality level if we were bogged down managing individual portfolios every day,” says Drew.
Had Alison not taken a chance on him, Drew says his career would be drastically different today. “Her belief, that single word, ‘trust,’ set the course for the practice we’ve built and the way we serve clients today,” he says, adding that with Alison’s retirement, he and Andrew took the lead to build MSB Wealth Advisory Group. “We knew it couldn’t just be about managing money. It had to be about creating something sustainable – a team, and a system that allowed us to deliver exceptional service without losing the human connection that matters most: holistic planning and establishing deeper client relationships,” he says.
They’ve also been forward-thinking in the technology realm. “When 2020 came along, suddenly technology wasn’t optional; it was essential. We had already embraced it fully, using apps like DocuSign, conducting virtual meetings, and using digital tools that made life easier for clients and for us,” says Drew. “We started using Teams to create vlogs and today we have a growing library of videos on topics clients care about. Education and accessibility are important to us.”
The MSB Wealth Advisory Group works with a broad range of clients, but Drew says the common thread is that they value advice and have a desire to invest in it. “It’s a reflection of being based in Calgary but our reach extends from coast to coast,” he says. “We serve individuals from diverse backgrounds and careers, farmers and ranchers, police officers and teachers, engineers and geologists, drillers and doctors, and small business owners of all kinds. They all share a common reality – at some point they will retire and eventually their wealth will transition to the next generation.”
The best relationships are rooted in trust. “Trust begins with truly understanding our clients. It’s more than knowing their financial goals, it’s understanding their priorities, values, and aspirations. The only way to achieve that is through frequent, consistent conversations,” says Drew. “You can’t just meet with somebody once a year and get to know them well enough to connect at that level. We offer our perspective after hearing about their concerns, plans, and goals. Often what we’re saying gives them peace of mind. Those conversations, that human connection, is what keeps me energized and passionate about what I do every day.”
What’s next for Drew? “Looking ahead, I plan to continue doing what I love for many years,” he says, adding that Calgary’s the place to achieve all his goals. “There’s a Western spirit here. It’s a world-class lifestyle with no pretension and a client base that’s building long-term wealth often tied to industries that matter globally. I come into work every day excited. Clients here want an Advisor who’s knowledgeable and technically strong, but also someone that they’re comfortable grabbing a coffee or a beer with. That suits me just perfectly.
Natalie Noble’s love of writing stems from her passion for hearing and sharing people’s stories. Over the years, she has written for various business, real estate, and agriculture publications. At the heart of her work is a desire to continuously learn and connect.
Drew McIntosh CIM, BBA
Senior Portfolio Manager, Senior Investment Advisor
MSB Wealth Advisory BMO Nesbitt Burns
Calgary Westmount Branch 100
4954 Richard Road SW
Calgary AB T3E 6L1
403 - 296 - 2792