Best Wealth Management Teams in Canada | 5-Star Advisory Teams 2023

 

Thompson adds that often advisors need to “reassure or validate” that changes are not needed to a client’s wealth plan. However, there are times change is required. 

“I find the most effective advisors do that with humility, humanity, and empathy and in a way that is extremely accessible but not passive. They want to do it in a way that brings the client and their family along,” she says.  

 

Experience counts

Based in Edmonton, the Angus Watt Advisory Group is dedicated to becoming the No. 1 financial planning team in Canada. The team consists of four certified financial planners, including a chartered accountant with an MBA and a professional with a Qualified Associate Financial Planner designation. They focus on the “whole life picture”: financial planning, investment strategies, and risk management (insurance).  

J. Angus Watt, founding partner and senior wealth advisor with National Bank Financial Wealth, says, “Our goal is to provide our clients with their financial comfort. We’re there to protect their assets.” 

The team’s competitive differentiators include: 

• living core values of trust, clarity, and heart  
  
   

• maintaining transparency regarding client strategies 
  
   

• caring about clients’ families 
  
   
• knowing that wealth is far more than money 
  
   
• continually evolving with the times 
  
   

The team’s clients include presidents and CEOs of large corporations, entrepreneurs, farmers, professional and everyday people.  

“We’re really good at what we do,” explains Watt. “We’ve gone through market turmoil, and we’ve got a ton of experience.” 

Showcasing their pedigree, the Angus Watt Advisory Group has also been recognized as: 

Even with that, the firm isn’t standing still. As the business and regulatory environment has changed, Watt’s team has taken appropriate steps. 

“Things like DocuSign have saved us hours and hours,” he says. “From a regulatory standpoint, the notes we have to take now are much more comprehensive on everything we do. So, we’re becoming more bureaucratic, and I have no problem with it – it just takes more time and therefore, we have to be more process-driven.” 

 

 

Long-term thinking gives an edge 

Based in British Columbia, 5-Star winner Abbott Wealth Management provides comprehensive wealth management, tax and estate planning, business succession planning, and personal physical and mental health management services, among others.  

“The greatest value we add to our clients is our ability to help them when times are more questionable and give them confidence about their future. Our job is to calm that storm. 

“It’s our job to keep a cool hand on the rudder. Without our ability to act as counselors, I think a lot of people would have a lot less success in their retirement and overall life plan,” says Mark Bertoli, partner-owner of Abbott Wealth Management.  

“When COVID hit, the world locked down and the markets were dropping 10% a day. One of our top clients called me and asked, ‘Does this change your investment discipline?’ And I said, ‘Heck, no.’” 

This approach is lauded by Deloitte’s Thompson. She explains, “A great advisor has a plan and on a regular basis they’re assessing that plan, but they shouldn’t be widely diverging from that based on any one thing that happens.” 

Abbot’s client base tends to be business owners and sophisticated investors aged over 45.  

“Our first meeting is a lot about an alignment of values,” says Bertoli. “We’re having this meeting because this is going to be a multi-decade relationship if done right. And we tend to end up with complicated clients – business owners, multigenerational families – where there’s dynamics at play, and we can bring value because we have a team around us.” 

Their competitive differentiators include: 

• sending clients videos during volatile times  
  
   

• offering a formulated onboarding process with video correspondence, gifts, phone calls, emails and off-site meetings 
  
   

• weekly and monthly segments on the local Midday News on relevant topics
  
   

• cards, gifts, flowers and baked pies for clients’ birthdays, anniversaries and holidays 
  
   

• continuous communication through bi-weekly newsletters
  
   

Taylor Bertoli, a client services administrator with Abbott, says, “So long as we’ve built that foundation for our clients, the relationship, the investment discipline, the implicit trust, then we have a foundation to move forward with. We land the plane the same every time, regardless of [whether] it’s snow or hail or a sunny day.” 

In addition to the 2023 Wealth Professional 5-Star Advisory Teams award, Abbot Wealth Management has won: 

• the 2023 Franklin Templeton Advisory Team of the Year award 
  
   

• the 2022 Wealth Professional 5-Star Advisory Team award 
  
   

• numerous international Investment Planning Counsel awards 

 

 

Diligently delivering for clients earns loyalty 

Also based in Alberta, Cresco Wealth Management at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth offers “second-to-none services,” financial and estate planning, behavioural finance coaching, portfolio management and financial literacy education.  

“The Canadian wealth management space is already highly competitive, with numerous players including large banks, independent financial advisors, and asset management firms,” says Peter Kollias, the firm’s senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager. 

This has driven Cresco to keep refining its offerings, especially during the recent economic upheaval. 

 

“This competition has led to a wide range of products and services being offered to the clients,” Kollias explains. “However, with a volatile investing environment across all asset classes, wealth managers had to further elevate their offering with a higher level of customer service, greater communication, and a re-education of back to basics in handling a volatile investment environment.” 

Cresco’s competitive differentiators include: 

• white-glove service for addressing clients’ needs and requests 
  
   

• a proactive approach to client relationships 
  
   

• determination to learn the tiny details crucial for customizing service
  
   

The Cresco team’s clients are advocates for the business, as evidenced by a high referral rate.  

“We believe our long-term strategies provide us with an edge in a marketplace that has a pervasive dependence on short-term news for decision-making,” says Kollias. “We need to stay disciplined, selective, and diversified in our offering.” 

Looking to the future, Kollias expects the firm to develop by: 

• following a trend toward more independent brokerage financial advisors, like in the US 
  
   

• adapting to technological advancements to drive better service quality
  
   

• offering more all-encompassing wealth management services
  
   

All the best wealth management firms in Canada should expect the unexpected.  

“We’re living history, surprise after surprise,” explains business guru Jim Collins. “And just when we think we’ve had all the big surprises for a while, along comes another one. If the first two decades of the 21st century have taught us anything, it’s that uncertainty is chronic, instability is permanent, disruption is common, and we can neither predict nor govern events.” 

 

 

• Abbott Wealth Management
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Allen Private Wealth
  
  Allen Private Wealth Group
• Angus Watt Advisory Group
  
  National Bank Financial
• Bakish Wealth
  
  Richardson Wealth
• BGY, Services financiers intégrés
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Blue Oceans Private Wealth
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Bridgeport Asset Management
• Burton Team of Investment Planning Counsel
  
  Investment Planning Counsel
• Clark Financial Advisory Group
  
  Scotia Wealth Management
• Cresco Wealth Management
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Degelman Pruden Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Fairway Wealth Management
  
  National Bank Financial
• Fox Group
  
  IG Private Wealth Management
• Fundamental Wealth
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Generations Financial Solutions
  
  CI Assante Wealth Management
• George Sakkas – Lambert, Klimis, Sakkas & Marsh
  
  ScotiaMcLeod
• Gilman Deters Private Wealth
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Green Private Wealth
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• GreyWolf Wealth Management Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Himmelman & Associates Financial Advisors
  
  Manulife Securities
• Kelson Financial
  
  Manulife Securities
• Khajadourian Wealth Management
  
  Richardson Wealth
• Luft Financial
  
  iA Private Wealth
• McGill Wealth Management
  
  Manulife Securities
• Miller & Associates Wealth Management
  
  Monarch Wealth Corporation
• MLD Wealth Management
  
  CG Wealth Management
• MP Wealth Advisory
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• NPW Team
  
  Nour Private Wealth
• Oakwater Private Wealth Counsel
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Orser Neuhaus & Associates
  
  Echelon Wealth Partners
• Perron & Partners
  
  Cumberland Private Wealth
• Polson Bourbonniere Derby Wealth Management
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Popowich Karmali Advisory Group
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• PWM Private Wealth Counsel
  
  iA Private Wealth
• RapportWealth
  
  Rapport Credit Union
• Richie Feindel Wealth Management
  
  Richardson Wealth
• RiverRock Private Wealth Partners
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Rosedale Family Office
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Spire Advisors
  
  CI Assante Wealth Management
• Stenner Wealth Partners+
  
  CG Wealth Management
• Stonehaven Family Wealth Partners
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• Strategic Private Wealth Counsel
  
  Harbourfront Wealth Management
• Tetrault Wealth Advisory Group
  
  CG Wealth Management
• The CM Group
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• The Kamitakahara Investment Team
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• The Maggio Group
  
  Scotia Wealth Management
• The McClelland Financial Group
  
  CI Assante Wealth Management
• The Morcom Wealth Management Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• The Schmidt Investment Group
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• The Wong Group
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth
• The Wooding Group
  
  CIBC Wood Gundy
• Tonge McChlery & Associates
  
  IG Private Wealth Management
• Tucker Willson Group
  
  Scotia Wealth Management
• TWM Group
  
  iA Private Wealth
• Vo-Dignard Provost Group
  
  National Bank Financial
• West Oak Family Office
  
  Wellington-Altus Private Wealth

 

Insights

 

To identify the 5-Star Advisory Teams for 2023, Wealth Professional asked investors across Canada to nominate their advisory teams and describe the key service offerings that set these teams apart and what value they provide to their clientele. For the purpose of this report, teams were classified as those consisting of three or more advisors.   

To narrow down the list to the final 57 5-Star Advisory Teams, WP reviewed all nominations, examining how each advisory team had made a meaningful contribution to their clients and the financial services industry.  

The 5-Star Advisory Teams report is proudly supported by the Canadian Association of Alternative Strategies & Assets (CAASA). 

 

About the supporting association

CAASA is Canada’s largest association representing the alternative investment industry with more than 370 members nationwide — including alternative investment managers, pension plans, foundations, endowments, family offices, and service providers. Its membership and activities span all alternatives from hedge funds and venture capital to real estate and cryptocurrencies.   

Founded in 2018, CAASA’s mission is to bring Canada to the world and the world to Canada by promoting information sharing, networking, and collaborative initiatives between its members and the industry at large.