The wealth management industry has entered a new era – one defined not by cookie-cutter solutions, but by client-centricity.
The financial advisory landscape in Canada is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by demographic shifts, rising client expectations, and an increasingly competitive market. As we move deeper into 2025, advisors will increasingly need to evaluate whether their platform enables them to deliver optimal outcomes for clients. These changes present both challenges and significant opportunities for forward-thinking advisors.
Core elements of all modern wealth firms, such as investment management, financial planning technology, and insurance solutions, are now table stakes. The challenge is no longer about having the basics – it’s about how a firm brings these capabilities together to provide meaningful value to clients. Increasingly, elite investment advisors are seeking well-designed platforms that seamlessly integrate human expertise, technology, and reporting, offering both high-tech capabilities and personalized support.
In recent years, several trends have reshaped the wealth management landscape, prompting many large advisory teams to reconsider the limitations of traditional institutions.
The high-net-worth population is expanding, and as wealth grows, so does the complexity of managing it. At the same time, a generational wealth transfer of unprecedented scale is underway, creating challenges in areas like tax planning, estate structuring, and protecting family legacies. Clients are increasingly seeking either a single, trusted advisor to provide comprehensive guidance and safeguard their wealth for future generations, or a specialist with deep expertise in a specific sector, such as technology, mining, healthcare, or sustainability.
While Canadian advisors are beginning to respond to these trends, their U.S. counterparts have already taken the lead. Elite advisory teams in the United States are employing strategies such as enhanced financial planning capabilities, stronger team management practices, systematized prospecting efforts, brand-focused approaches, and enterprise-like operational efficiency. These strategies are delivering tangible results, with elite U.S. advisors growing their businesses at 17.5% annually compared to 7% for the average advisor. They also secure three times as many referrals and generate 40% more growth from new clients.
These strategies are delivering tangible results, with elite U.S. advisors growing their businesses at 17.5% annually compared to 7% for the average advisor.
— Matthew Cicci | Head, Private Client Group
These shifts are driving the growing appeal of boutique firms like Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management. Sophisticated advisors are increasingly asking themselves critical questions as they evaluate their wealth management organization:
- Does my firm provide technology that enhances the client experience and helps me run my practice efficiently?
- Does my firm invest in industry-leading wealth and estate planning specialists who can work alongside me to build strategic business and tax plans, succession plans, and philanthropic strategies?
- Is my organization providing innovative and novel marketing support to ensure my practice stands out?
- Has my firm invested in keeping operations and clearing in-house to maintain control of the client experience?
- Am I aligned with my firm’s leadership in mindset and approach, and can I pick up the phone to discuss key issues with them—knowing that action will follow?
Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management is becoming the platform of choice for advisors seeking a better way to meet their clients’ evolving needs.
We’re proud to have created a unique space in the wealth management industry by combining the scale and resources of larger institutions with the personalized service of a boutique firm.
Unlike traditional firms constrained by bureaucracy or smaller firms limited in their ability to invest, we offer a unique balance of agility and scale. Advisors are empowered to confidently deliver personalized solutions, backed by the tools and infrastructure needed to help their clients achieve financial security and success.
At Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, we remain steadfast in our commitment to putting clients at the centre of everything we do. By equipping our advisors with the resources and technology they need, we ensure they can go above and beyond to protect their clients’ wealth and provide the high-quality service they deserve.
