The Best Wealth Management Firms and Teams in Canada | 5-Star Advisory Teams

The firm combines steering clients objectively with non-traditional psychology. 

“Our core values lean towards independent advice rather than being told what to sell. One of my ultimate goals was to develop a practice where I can share my philosophy,” says senior investment advisor Shafik Hirani. 

“I’m most proud of the recognition that’s gone into our client portfolios, performances, our client servicing model, and how we’ve differentiated ourselves away from the traditional model.” 

Hirani explains how the firms’ message results in:

• 50 to 70 referrals per year
  
   

• average referral of $1,000,000
  
   

Breaking away from industry orthodoxy has been a key part of Hirani’s success in wealth management.

“Traditionally, there’s a lot of errors in financial planning. One is people tend to just look at their current state, but you can’t build a puzzle without a picture of the box,” explains Hirani. “People have this problem psychologically when it comes to money. They call it cognitive dissonance. The whole premise is, how do I connect my current self with my future self?” 

“Our advisors have autonomy. Nobody tells them what to sell, and it’s very entrepreneurial”

Shafik HiraniShafik Hirani’s Private Wealth Management Practice at Aligned Capital Partners

The firm differentiates itself by: 

“They can get an idea of my authenticity and approach. Everybody’s busy, sometimes an email can accomplish a lot, but when it comes to the actual work, we are meeting face to face,” comments Hirani. 

The firm’s advisory team looks at client risk tolerance and then formulates its investment advice. 

Hirani adds, “Going above and beyond for us means projecting thar portfolio, giving a client an idea of what their retirement and what their estate is going to be.” 

The best wealth management teams collaborate with external experts such as: 

Hirani believes what sets his team apart from competitors is they don’t focus on external factors.

“Looking externally means whoever can see further tends to win. Whoever has got a bigger telescope is good at the investing. I don’t subscribe to that,” he says. 

“Of course, you need to be able to see far into the future, you need to really understand macroeconomic policy and how geopolitical tensions correlate with the capital markets. But our approach is to first point the finger at the person in the mirror. What attributes do you have psychologically to get you from point A to B?” 

Pushing this philosophy in his employees has garnered success. 

“Our operations people have been with us years; they understand our philosophy and subscribe to it. I’m passionate about what we do and believe in it,” Hirani says.  

Engendering a family spirit is fundamental to the firm’s success. 

Senior investment advisor Darren Cooper praises founding partners Craig Baun and Michael Pate. 

“We treat our staff like we would treat our family and create this sort of reverberation of care within the team. It doesn’t feel like you’re servicing when you are communicating and interacting with people that you view as almost an extension of your family,” Cooper says. 

“We have five dedicated administration professionals that have been in the industry for many years, the least tenured would be up to 12 years, and the longest would be 30+ years. So, we have an extremely experienced team.” 

 

“The way that we take care of clients is very much like a family”

Darren CooperBaun & Pate Investment Group

That group has been able to grow, most notably at a continuous rapid pace. 

“We’ve maintained trajectory that a lot of people didn’t think was possible once we hit a certain scale and it hasn’t slowed. We’re mindful of our capacity, so we have a minimal portfolio size to respect the responsibility we have to existing clientele,” explains Cooper. 

“We don’t want to overwhelm ourselves and our staff by growing to a point where we can’t service anyone, so that is a consideration.” 

The ever-changing nature of the industry can prove challenging, especially with compliance. 

“Internally, we have built a process in tandem with the compliance team. One thing that I really like about our firm is that there is no animosity with the compliance team,” adds Cooper. “We’re evolving. We’re trying to learn it as the new requirements are better defined in the industry.” 

The best wealth management team has four guiding principles:

• Say what you’re going to do and do what you say.
  
   

• Show up on time.
  
   

• Say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. 
  
   

• Finish what you start.
  
   

With that, we focus on great client service. Without [our clients], we wouldn’t have a business,” says Marni Harvey, senior investment advisor. 

Harvey and business partner Krissy Morrison travel to meet clients. They think nothing of hitting the road and going nearly 120 km to Humboldt or to Yorkton over 330 km away. 

 

“We want to work with like-minded people who have manners, goals, and dreams”

Marni HarveyHarvey Morrison Private Wealth

“We have a lot of clients in Alberta, so we’ll do road trips there, too. To connect with a client, you really have to be in front of them and for the most part, clients are more comfortable in person,” Harvey explains. 

This ideology seems to work as the best wealth management team retains clients and families across multiple generations. 

“We very seldom lose a client. Across the industry on average, they stay with their advisor for seven years. All ours have been with us for much longer than that, and then we bring on their kids. It’s quite a lengthy relationship,” Morrison says. 

The team serves approximately 340 households, but only takes new clients who match their values.  

“It’s important to be of similar mindsets. If we meet somebody and it’s not a fit, we’ll always help them find somebody that is a fit,” Harvey says. “We want to grow year-on-year, but with that, we also recognize that we are a smaller team, so we want to limit how many new households we bring on and make sure that they’re a good fit.” 

The chemistry between Harvey and Morrison is the linchpin to the team’s performance. 

“We work so well together, both of us bringing different things to the table, but still thinking about things similarly, and then bringing our team in on that way of thinking,” adds Morrison. 

Scroll down to get to know Canada’s best wealth management firms and teams of 2024. 

• Abbott Wealth Management
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Allen Private Wealth
  
  Allen Private Wealth Group
• Baun & Pate Investment Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• BGY Wealth Management
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Blair + Adrian Wealth Advisory
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Bluekens Hickey
  
  National Bank Financial Wealth Management
• BPS Wealth Management
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• Castlemark Wealth Management
• Clark Financial Advisory Group
  
  Scotia Wealth Management
• Cresco Wealth Management
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Degelman Pruden Wealth
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• DLD Financial Group
• Elliott Chaulk Private Wealth Management
  
  IG Private Wealth Management
• Enhanced Wealth Management
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Fidusure Financial
• Garofalo and Associates Private Wealth Management
  
  IG Private Wealth Management
• Gold Seal Financial Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• GreyWolf Wealth Management
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Hadjiyanni Financial Group
  
  Investment Planning Counsel
• Hannay Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Kelson Wealth Management
• Khajadourian Wealth
  
  Richardson Wealth
• LLC Private Wealth
  
  CG Wealth
• Luft Financial
  
  iA Private Wealth
• MacDougall Wealth
  
  National Bank Financial Wealth Management
• Nour Private Wealth
• OceanFront Wealth
  
  OceanFront Investment Counsel
• Polson Bourbonniere Derby Wealth Management
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Richard Rampersad
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Shoemaker Plaxton Group Private Wealth Management
  
  IG Private Wealth Management
• Starratt Wealth Management
  
  CG Wealth
• Strategic Private Wealth Counsel
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Stonehaven Family Wealth Partners
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Switzer Financial Services
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Taglieri Group Family Wealth Advisors
  
  Assante Capital Management
• Tetrault Wealth Advisory Group
  
  CG Wealth
• The Kamitakahara Investment Team
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• The Morcom Wealth Management Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Tower Wealth Advisory
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Townsend Team
  
  Lawton Partners
• TriVest Wealth Counsel
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Vo-Dignard Provost Group
  
  National Bank Financial Wealth Management