Six key steps Canadian wealth advisors should take now

Canadian clients are more satisfied with their primary wealth management providers than their global counterparts. That foundation is an opportunity to build on — especially in the face of macroeconomic, geopolitical, technological and market volatility. Advisors who get proactive, stay close to clients and think holistically about evolving products and services can transform existing trust into enduring momentum.
 

In Canada, wealth management clients are more likely than their global counterparts to be satisfied with available ranges of products and services. They’re also clearer on their overall financial health, and happier with advisor input, compared to clients in other parts of the world. This is according to the 2025 EY Global Wealth Research Report, which surveyed 3,600 financial services clients across 30 global markets, including nearly 500 Canadian respondents.
 

The numbers tell a positive story. Still, eight months of sustained turbulence could already be chipping away at those results:
 

• Big-picture macroeconomic challenges, from trade and tariff uncertainty to continued inflation, are driving heightened anxiety. When the survey was carried out in December 2024, some 53% of Canadian investors had already contacted their advisor to discuss the impact of market events on their portfolio; 34% were beginning to exercise more control over their investments. 

• Families are facing the largest generational wealth transfer in modern history. In Canada, an estimated $1 trillion is expected to shift through intragenerational transfers — for example, to a surviving spouse — or intergenerational transfers — such as from parents to children — over the next 5 to 10 years. Although Canadian advisors rank ahead of global averages in terms of preparing families for that shift, some 45% of investors here still feel unprepared for it. 

• Client expectations are changing in a world of emerging and evolving products and services. Although Canadian investors lag those in other countries in their expectations about AI, they remain increasingly interested in, and accepting of, its use in the wealth management space. These expectations are also expanding to cover a broader spectrum of product and service offerings, including alternative investments and digital assets more broadly. That’s especially true among the wealthiest investors, who are already accustomed to bespoke, personalized service.  

Taken together, these influences are reshaping investor expectations and making it increasingly important for wealth management firms — and professional advisors on the front lines of client service — to rethink how they work with their clients in Canada.
 

Granted, this moment is complex. But it’s also ripe with opportunity. What should advisors keep in mind to meet clients where they are, foster loyalty and create momentum for the future?
 

1. Double down on proactivity to stay ahead of evolving client expectations.

Wealth managers should focus on the core factors underpinning existing positive client sentiment to stave off risk and reinforce relationships.  
 
For example, almost half of Canadian investors say their needs are more complex than they were two years ago. A further 65% say market volatility leaves them feeling unprepared or unsure about meeting financial goals.  
 
Advisors can bridge those gaps by building up proactive communications, offering practical solutions and focusing on reassurance. This should also extend to pricing models: in the last two years, Canadian preferences for fixed fees rose from 21% to 28%; performance-based fee preferences climbed from 17% to 30%. That means one-size-fits-all pricing models are no longer enough to reinforce client satisfaction and drive positive sentiment.  
 
How wealth management service providers can take action:

• Dig into client satisfaction drivers to better understand what makes specific clients tick.
• Prioritize and personalize client conversations intended to guide people through investing complexities and macroeconomic pressures. 
• Optimize existing pricing models to align with relevant client cluster expectations, reinforce transparency and avoid hidden fees.

2. Get to the heart of why clients leave; adapt to prevent attrition.

More and more Canadian investors now use multiple wealth management service providers. Some 22% say they’re planning to increase the number of providers they tap into over the next three years — and they’re looking to switch a larger portion of their portfolio compared to previous years.  
 
Of those who said they’re looking to switch providers, one in four intends to move more than half of their portfolios. Many factors are influencing those decisions. For example, 46% of Canadian investors pegged lower fees as one of the top five drivers for switching wealth management providers.  
 
Clients are also looking for a broader range of investment products and services, as well as better performance and returns. These behavioural trends reflect an uptick in fragmentation and a departure from the kind of consolidation that’s become common over the last 10 years. This dynamic means that to build long-term value, wealth managers must strengthen existing relationships and establish new ones in an environment where assets under management may decrease as clients reallocate portfolios across multiple providers.   
 
How wealth management service providers can take action:

• Integrate client experiences to offer comprehensive wealth management services with a unified, big-picture approach.
• Expand product and service offerings to meet client demand for a wider array of options through a one-stop-shop approach.
• Review current fee arrangements and optimize for client preferences.

3. Refresh product offerings to strategically align with evolving client expectations.

Product offerings have become dramatically more important to investors over the last two years. Some 50% of Canadian clients have flagged products as key components in their decision-making.  
 
Wealthier clients in particular say breadth and depth of product choice is a critical driver when choosing a service provider. People across every wealth segment are also making concerted efforts to explore a broader range of investments than in the past — from real estate and private equity to digital assets like decentralized finance and tokenized assets.  
 
That said, among the 21% of Canadian clients interested but not yet invested in alternatives like these, only 9% say they’ve discussed these options with their advisor. That’s compared to 15% globally. That’s a big opportunity for advisors.  
 
How wealth management service providers can take action by:

• Expand alternative product choice to open more Canadian investors up to new possibilities.
• Educate and empower advisors to speak to alternative investments with clients, and effectively incorporate these offerings into client portfolios.
• Encourage advisors to initiate conversations about a wider range of product offerings, sharing information, insights and learnings that help clients make informed decisions with confidence.

4. Understanding client clusters and individual needs to tailor client experiences. 

Client-centric service is better service — and Canadian investors agree. Some 40% of wealth management clients in Canada say service delivery is a key factor in whether they’ll jump ship to another provider. They’re looking for a wider range of service offerings than in the past, and for a trusted advisor who can engage much more deeply with them in light of market volatility and political instability.  
 
Taking a holistic approach to client service by tailoring an integrated suite of services to individual clients and clusters can help advisors meet that demand.  
 
How wealth management service providers can take action:

• Capitalize on white space within the industry to offer seamless, end-to-end service across a wider range of disciplines and areas.
• Consider which ancillary services clients are looking for and building capability strategically — think health/elder care, private philanthropic, multigenerational planning and family governance advisory services.
• Prioritize service gaps that could make it easier for clients to bring more of their business your way — for example, tax advice dovetails well with generational wealth transfer service offerings. 

5. Foster client relationships before, during and after wealth transfers. 

At 72%, a promising number of Canadian investors are very or somewhat likely to use the same wealth advisor as the grantor of their inheritance. That’s potential worth cultivating. Doing so requires you to proactively engage with families, broaden relationships beyond the primary investor and build trust through open and honest communications that begin long before the actual transfer of wealth occurs.  
 
How wealth management service providers can take action:

• Get back to “kitchen table” basics and initiate fundamental, personal and direct conversations with stakeholders early in the process.
• Realign wealth planning strategies before inheritors decide to withdraw funds by proactively presenting products and services and demonstrate the value you can bring.
• Offer specialized wealth advice geared to a client’s financial goals, age, gender and geographic region to help them make the most of these transitions, especially if inheritors plan to allocate assets differently than their predecessors. 

6. Develop and deploy AI while prioritizing transparency, confidence and humans in the loop.

Canadian investors are increasingly interested in AI. But they must trust it before they’ll accept it as part of the wealth management client experience. In most cases, the level of trust comes down to the specific use case.  
 
For example, 51% of all global survey respondents have doubts about AI’s use of personal data — a concern that’s even more prevalent among women clients. In fact, 64% of Canadian women reported they’re worried about data and privacy in the use of AI.  
 
There’s a clear desire to keep humans in the picture, and success will depend on how well wealth management firms address concerns broadly while empowering advisors to use AI specifically.  
 
For instance, investors are more trusting of AI use in administrative tasks, like reporting and monitoring, than they are of financial planning without help from a human advisor. Much of that concern comes back to data safety and privacy. Even so, almost half of Canadian clients are willing to share personal information with AI in exchange for more personalized services or insightful recommendations. That’s worth exploring.  
 
How wealth management service providers can take action:

• Make smart investments in data, technology, talent and client communications to move transformation forward in the AI era.
• Lay the groundwork for robust, ethical data frameworks and governance that inspire client confidence.

Provide internal learning and education so advisors build confidence in responsible AI capabilities and can communicate effectively with clients to explain its use.