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Wealth Professional recognizes Canada’s best wealth management firms devising innovative and creative ways to provide returns for their clients.
Woodgate Financial senior partner, Jason Pereira, lists a series of challenges that the top-performing firms must meet:
Do you have a defined value proposition targeting a cohort of Canadians that can deliver value?
Do you have the knowledge base and systems to deliver in a repeatable way?
Are you executing and legitimately delivering in multiple ways for clients?
He also underlines the need to understand compliance and utilize technology appropriately.
“Top-level advisors should be embracing positive change and getting ahead of compliance trends because they typically come out with the best practices that ensure things are done in a professional manner,” says Pereira. “Technology is important because we all need it, but technology is not going to fix a problem. It’s there to support a strategy, and it’s more important that processes and strategies are put in place, then technology can help enable all of that at scale.”
Fellow industry expert Vipool Desai, president of Ara Compliance Support, highlights trust as the difference marker.
“There’s a lot of folks who are very competent in providing financial planning and investment advice for good money managers. The real barrier in this industry is trust and being able to earn the clients’ trust and to have open communication with them.”
The firm is not resting on its laurels and is powering forward.
It acts as if it were a publicly traded company and has deep governance roots, which equip it to grow and deal with increased demands.
CEO Shaun Hauser shares, “Our board doesn’t like surprises and as an executive committee, we don't like surprises. We choose to overcommunicate and that has proven to be very beneficial, as the management team gains a lot of wisdom from the board. And in turn, the board is lock in step with the management team.”
Innovation is a mainstay that Wellington-Altus has executed successfully and it continues to be a growth driver. The firm’s Enterprise Data Analytics Platform is built on the Amazon Web Services Cloud, enabling the integration and creation of innovative advisor tools that incorporate AI and machine learning with integrated solutions.
Some of the high-tech tools the firm leverages include:
Advisor and Compliance Connect: A digital solution that streamlines, digitizes, and automates onboarding for advisors and clients while optimizing compliance monitoring.
Wellington Access: A proprietary app that gives advisors accurate and real-time data and insights on their practice.
Partnerships with best-in-class fintechs: These include Envestnet, a leading provider of data-driven intelligent systems for wealth management; Conquest, which leverages AI to support wealth planning; and CapIntel, which improves fund analysis for advisors to optimize client portfolios.
WA Labs: This in-house innovation hub sustains a competitive advantage. Its team of data architects and technology analysts is dedicated to building applications that drive productivity and create efficiencies for advisors.
Modern Foundation/Secure Platform: Internal and external resources are actively employed for security, stability, and scalability, including SSO capabilities with two-factor authentication, mandatory training and education, and secure cloud storage.
Uppermost in Wellington-Altus' tech strategy is ensuring it creates efficiencies.
“We don't believe any digital investment will replace the care factor. We have yet to find evidence of this. We’d love it if we could, but it can’t, not in our opinion,” explains Hauser. “So, we focus our investments around saving advisors time, which is the most precious thing that we can give back to them. It has proven to be a fantastic investment and has afforded us the ability to be on the leading edge of what we can offer advisors in Canada.”
Wellington-Altus has grown from $2 billion to over $30 billion in assets under administration, with 50+ offices and 800+ employees nationwide in just over seven years. Since January 2023, the firm has welcomed 17 new advisor teams, with a robust pipeline for 2024 and beyond.
“Our advisors are shareholders; they have a say in the firm’s future, and collectively, we prioritize our clients’ best interests,” explains Hauser.
Wellington-Altus makes use of DocuSign, but has trained its advisors to use it to its full capability to deliver fast service.
“Once we receive the documents and a package is completed, we don’t want hands to touch it. We want it electronically to go right through to our custodian of record, open an account, and to be ready for funding,” says Hauser. “We can do that in under 60 minutes and compared to the competition in Canada, they would probably count their units of measure in days or weeks.”
Their growth strategy focuses on advisors with book sizes in the top five percent, attracted and retained by the partnership model, technology-driven capabilities, and entrepreneurial culture.
Testimonials from those who have joined speak to this.
Tasha Schwieg, investment advisor, says, “I am proud to have partnered with Wellington-Altus. There is an incredible culture, sense of belonging, and an advisor-focused approach here that enables us to be truly client-centric.”
And senior investment advisor and portfolio manager Jason Weinstein adds, “The people are what truly brought us to Wellington-Altus. The ultimate test of a successful organization is how fast they jump into action when a situation arises, and if we need help, there’s always a team member just a video chat away.”
Underlining the firm’s momentum and ambition, Hauser comments, “It’s reasonable to assume that we hit $50 billion at the end of our fiscal 2026 year and knock on wood, it won't stop after that.”
Creating a positive environment is also a priority through ideas such as:
Culture Committee nurturing a safe and inclusive workplace, along with champion teams that participate in local communities and donate money toward charitable initiatives.
HUGS (Helping Underprivileged Groups) program allows members to execute initiatives that make a difference through financial and volunteer contributions.
Women of Wellington, an ERG that ensures women at the firm and industry have the opportunity to thrive.
Being at the vanguard of the industry is the firm’s calling card.
AimStar became one of the first dually registered firms post-merger of IIROC and MFDA in 2023.
“Dual registration facilitates a smoother transition for advisors seeking to elevate client portfolios from mutual fund-only to encompass full securities solutions. This framework enables us to deliver personalized and highly specialized advice, tailored precisely to our clients’ unique circumstances,” says Tony Yuan, VP and director. “The motivation behind this launch was to enhance regulatory clarity and flexibility, thereby fostering an environment where advisors can thrive and clients can access the highest caliber of financial advice and services.”
The dual registration status attracts more industry professionals such as portfolio managers, investment advisors, and mutual fund representatives.
“We are creating opportunities for the advisors to thrive and for clients to access the highest caliber of financial advice and services,” adds Yuan.
Other features AimStar deploys include:
AI-Powered Chatbot Assistant: Trained in wealth planning principles and AimStar's offerings, the chatbot provides 24-hour assistance, improving client onboarding experiences and ensuring access to essential information anytime for enhanced client support.
Wealth Planning Asset Allocation Process: This revolutionary initiative to diversify asset allocation strategies resulted in increased cash equivalent allocation, providing stability and liquidity amid a high-interest-rate environment. Additionally, there are expanded offerings to include alternative asset classes such as private equity and digital assets, enhancing portfolio resilience and long-term returns for clients.
To drive continued success and deliver for clients, AimStar utilises three foundational pillars.
1. Comprehensive Investment Strategies
diversified wealth management approach by incorporating alternative assets and personalized financial planning tools
implemented a faster due diligence process for alternative investments, utilizing quantitative methodologies and fundamental analysis
2. Regulatory Excellence
dual registration status post-merger of IIROC and MFDA, showcasing proactive regulatory compliance
collaborated closely with regulators to ensure clear and consistent regulations tailored to each registration category, fostering advisor success
3. Client-Centric Innovation
AI-powered chatbot (50 percent of clients have utilised it and it led to a 100 percent increase in web traffic)
empowered clients make informed financial decisions, demonstrating AimStar’s commitment to delivering exceptional service
Yuan adds, “We are committed to innovation, offering a wide range of alternative assets and comprehensive financial planning tools to meet diverse client needs and goals.”
Another key focus for AimStar is bringing in new talent.
“We target new advisors who aspire to transition from mutual fund to full securities, especially those in the phase of continuous progress and increasing their book size,” comments Yuan. “We seek candidates who possess not only high skills and knowledge in finance and wealth management, but also a strong commitment to ethical conduct and professional excellence.”
When determining the 5-Star winning firms of 2024, the scope went beyond pure technical ability.
A significant part of that is the environment of the business, its atmosphere and ethos, which is a difference marker in defining the leading wealth management firms.
Desai of Ara Compliance Support says, “The top performers should have an advisory consultative culture as opposed to a sales culture. There is more emphasis on building long-term relationships, perhaps foregoing short-term gain. A perfect example is collecting referral fees or selling products that the advisor is not comfortable with or doesn’t know very well.”
He adds, “That kind of mercenary approach doesn’t work for the best advisors. They should be on the client’s side and be a protector for the client.”
Sharing an insight into the internal culture at Wellington-Altus, Hauser says, “We work hard at providing a leading-edge digital stack and neat features that advisors can capitalize on. Advisors will remember us for being a culture that’s electric and fun, and brings out the best of them as both individuals and professionals.”
This is echoed by Woodgate Financial’s Pereira.
“You should absolutely care about your clients and treat them the way you treat your staff internally.”
This type of mindset and culture has a direct impact on how the firm conducts business.
Pereira explains, “You need an open culture that is going to collaborate, that is going to go the extra mile and beyond, and that is going to be encouraged and rewarded to do that. This framing is important because it enables firms to meet their end goal, which is to better the client’s life.”
Scroll down to see the best wealth management firms of 2024.
To find the 5-Star Wealth Management Firms (previously 5-Star Brokerages) of 2024, Wealth Professional solicited applications from firms across Canada. The WP team invited applicants to explain how they were excelling in key areas like culture, compliance, training, and technology. To be eligible, each firm had to be a full-service brokerage with a minimum of three locations.
Winners were judged by the substance of their nominations, based on specific examples of outcomes that were achieved in the last 12 months and the relevant data to support their claims. The WP team carefully reviewed each nomination, examining how each firm had made a meaningful and tangible difference in the financial services industry.