Investor Type Dealt With: Institutional

Benjamin Picotte Lefebvre, M.A., CIM®, RIAC®, is a wealth manager and practice owner within Groupe Picotte Lefebvre at Desjardins Securities. He works with families, entrepreneurs, professionals and organizations facing financial decisions that require structure, discipline and a long-term view.

As a wealth manager, Benjamin represents a new generation of advisors. His approach connects the real economy, financial markets, structural trends and each client’s specific objectives. Trained in economics, public and international affairs, and business administration, he was the only economics intern at the U.S. Embassy in Canada in 2018, during the NAFTA renegotiations that led to the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), known in the United States as the USMCA. This experience reinforced a simple conviction: before making a portfolio decision, one must understand what is changing in the real world. One must also distinguish what the market already perceives from what it may still be underestimating. For Benjamin, markets reflect deeper forces, even when they appear noisy or disorderly. His role is to help clients step back, understand where they stand within that context, and make decisions with greater clarity, calm and confidence.

This way of reading markets is anchored in both family and professional continuity. Benjamin is part of a multigenerational team established in Québec since 1993, with deep roots in its community. This continuity shapes the way he approaches wealth, with a family-oriented, durable and holistic perspective. Investments are not considered in isolation. They are part of a broader trajectory of structured decisions, trust and long-term coherence. His work combines financial market expertise, disciplined portfolio management and a human understanding of the personal, professional, family and legacy considerations that shape important financial decisions.

His investment philosophy is grounded in discipline, structure and a probabilistic reading of markets. Rather than trying to predict the future with certainty, Benjamin analyzes the scenarios, cycles and constraints that influence portfolio decisions. Portfolios are built around a clear core-satellite architecture, combining a solid index-based core, calibrated exposures and high-conviction positions when the risk, context and potential justify a firm decision. Rebalancing follows tested drift rules, with the objective of preserving portfolio coherence over time, reducing unnecessary activity and helping clients remain aligned with the strategy through changing market conditions.

Responsible investment fits naturally into this structured reading of risk and quality. Benjamin uses environmental, social and governance factors, or ESG, as a multi-level analytical framework. ESG helps him better understand major economic transformations, including the energy transition, resource optimization, operational efficiency and the evolution of business models. It also helps account for the economic, regulatory, operational and geopolitical constraints that shape the decisions of companies, governments and markets. This analysis can help identify businesses that may be positioned to turn those constraints into economic advantages, particularly by enabling their clients to do more with less.
In short, for Benjamin, ESG adds a level of quality to investment analysis. It contributes to assessing the resilience of a business model, the durability of a position and the genuine alignment between investments, objectives and client values. Responsible investment is therefore not a compromise. It is a more complete way to assess long-term risk and quality.

Beyond portfolio construction, Benjamin supports his clients through comprehensive wealth management. He takes into account the financial, real estate, family and community dimensions that shape their overall situation. In collaboration with his team and the appropriate professionals, he is involved in portfolio management, financial planning, retirement planning, taxation, estate planning, philanthropy and risk management. His role is to act as a trusted reference point in the decisions that matter. He helps each client step back, clarify their issues, coordinate the right expertise and structure their choices with discipline. Through this approach, Benjamin helps clients make decisions that support the evolution of their wealth over time, in line with their objectives, values, responsibilities and desired trajectory.