More than one third of investment advisors say a strong firm culture matters. Even though technology and wealth planning resources are always identified as priorities, advisors participating in this year’s Brokerage Report Card told Investment Executive that they care deeply about whether firm leaders respect them.
This is the second consecutive year advisors have reported this. In 2025, 40.2% of advisors prioritized firm culture as an area where firms should invest. This year, 38.2% said the same — in the research, company culture is tied to the ways in which leaders communicate with and listen to advisors, and how firms are strategizing and innovating based on advisors’ needs.
By comparison, the business & skills development and products areas of the research were deemed lower priorities, each chosen by fewer than 5% of the advisors polled in the 2026 Report Card.
The results vary by firm, as not all advisor pools prioritized culture above all else. Advisors with eight firms identified this area as their top choice for where firms should focus. Those firms were, in order of where advisors most cared about culture: Leede Financial (65.7%); Wellington-Altus Private Wealth (61.4%); Odlum Brown (60.7%); ScotiaMcLeod (51.9%); RBC Dominion Securities (46.2%); Edward Jones (Canada) (45.1%); Raymond James (43.8%); and CG Wealth Management (30.5%).
Advisors with the remaining six felt just as or more strongly about their need for innovative technology or wealth management tools.
Still, the overall benchmark importance average for the firm culture group of categories was high. Together, the six culture areas we measured had a collective benchmark result of 8.7 out of 10 when it came to how important they were to advisors personally. The overall benchmark performance average for the same group of categories, which indicates how well advisors felt firms were meeting their needs in the culture area, was also high at 8.8 out of 10.
Where culture moves the needle
The firm with the highest percentage of advisors prioritizing culture was Leede Financial — two-thirds of those polled at the brokerage preferred that their leaders focus on advisor communication and strategy. That was higher than in 2025 when its result was 57.7%.
“Without a strong culture, you don’t feel like you have the support of your colleagues,” said an advisor at Leede Financial. “With a bad culture, it feels toxic and like you’re walking uphill every day. The culture forms the base on which everything else is built.”
Leede Financial’s ratings by advisors in the firm culture group of categories were consistent relative to the previous year, ranging from 8.9 to 9.6.
“We have very little turnover in our advisor group or in our support staff,” said Jim Dale, CEO of Leede Financial. He sees that as a signal of advisor satisfaction, coming from the firm’s efforts to communicate with and seek advisor feedback on its technology, business development and advisor training projects.
“Every advisor runs their business a little bit differently,” Dale said. “Some are more into technology, others [have] more established [client] relationships and do very little marketing.” While there’s variation in the tools advisors need, he noted, having a culture that’s balanced and consistent “is more important to advisors than a lot of firms realize.”
Where advisor sentiment shifted
Separate from the advisor priority results, there were eight firms in this year’s Report Card that saw significant change (of 0.5 or more) in one of more of their firm culture performance ratings.
This was most prominent at TD Wealth Private Investment Advice (PIA), which saw every firm culture rating shift up in 2026 compared with 2025. Its range of firm culture ratings was between 7.6 and 9.4. The greatest increase was for the leadership team (8.1 from 6.2).
For its advisor priority results, those polled were split between whether the firm should invest in firm culture (at 30%) or wealthtech (32%).
Nonetheless, culture can be even more important than pay. One TD Wealth PIA advisor in British Columbia said, “I would take a pay cut just to get the right culture. To me, it’s more important. You have to love going into work.”
Another, with TD Wealth PIA in Ontario, said, “Most grids are fairly close within the bank[-owned brokerages]. I would say the culture [and liking] where you’re working is most important to me.” They appreciated their connection to other TD Bank divisions, and felt their branch manager and compliance support was strong even if it could be tough to get messages all the way up to the top brass.
Leaders with TD Wealth Management called culture-based investments “critical,” in an emailed statement. “We are committed to listening, engaging [with] and responding to advisors,” the bank said. “[We’ll] innovate with technology while never losing touch with the human connection this business is founded on.”
Edward Jones saw the second-most significant change in the firm culture area compared with a year ago. There, however, sentiment dipped compared with 2025 in the five categories affected. This matters for the firm’s advisors, given 45.1% appreciate culture most.
The firm’s ratings by advisors across leadership team, strategic focus, receptiveness to advisor feedback, diversity, equity & inclusion practices and compliance relationship & support ranged from 8.2 to 8.8 for 2026, compared with 8.7 to 9.4 a year ago.
Edward Jones advisors had mixed opinions on how receptive the firm is to their feedback. Some pointed to the firm’s size and U.S. ties as factors.
Those who were satisfied focused on the value of getting respect and recognition. “Everybody is welcome,” said an advisor in Atlantic Canada. “If you’re going to work hard and be a part of this team … you will be supported right back.”
Leaders with Edward Jones responded to these results. “Advisor feedback is fundamental to how we operate as a partnership, and it has directly shaped the technology advancements we are delivering for advisors and their clients,” said Scott Sullivan, principal and Canada business segment leader. “We are committed to making sure our advisors see and feel that impact.”
Jason Lounsbury, a principal with the firm who oversees Canadian products and portfolio management, confirmed advisors get a say in which elements are part of the company’s strategy. For example, advisor pilot groups are used to design and roll out tools. “Their fingerprints are all over both the roadmap and how we launch [tools],” he said.
Niki Prodanović, a principal with Edward Jones who handles Canada client and branch operations, said the firm aims for an environment that’s diverse and “community driven.” The firm offers events and programs that focus on advisors’ well-being, prioritizing inclusivity and accessibility.
Where wealth tools beat culture
Advisors also want firms to focus on wealth management tools (picked by 21.9%) and the technology suite (at 18.8%) — this closely followed the 2025 results.
Roughly one-third of advisors wanted leaders to focus on wealthtech at three firms. At Richardson Wealth, 31.1% of advisors prioritized wealth-planning support, while 35.4% said the same at CIBC Wood Gundy. As noted previously, TD Wealth PIA is in this group.
“If you don’t have the proper tools or support, you can’t help your clients and [that] will affect day-to-day life at the firm,” said a Richardson Wealth advisor in B.C. “The firm does a good job in this area. … They provide proper, full wealth planning [resources] for clients.”
The firm was rated 8.9 out of 10 for its collection of wealth management tools.
“Our first job is taking care of our clients, and [wealth management] tools and products enable us to do that,” said one advisor in Ontario with CIBC Wood Gundy. This firm, too, was rated 8.9 collectively for its wealth tools.
Having access to in-depth wealth planning resources “is what impacts the client experience the most and … [is] where a client is going to [see] the most value,” said a TD Wealth PIA advisor in Ontario. “The greatest area of opportunity [for the brokerage] is to invest in the quality of the services that existing clients receive, as opposed to focusing on just getting new clients.”
TD Wealth PIA was rated 8.6 combined for its wealth management tools. Three categories in this area saw notable year-over-year improvement for the firm.
Julie Gallagher, president and CEO of Richardson Wealth, said clients want more than just a financial plan — they want added guidance around insurance and portfolio management. They need help tackling “difficult and sensitive topics. There’s part of our work [that] is not just about wealth management. It’s about counselling our clients.”
Robert Cancelli, EVP and head of CIBC Wood Gundy, Investment Counsel and Investors Edge, said his firm is prioritizing “financial planning penetration amongst our clients.” The firm’s practice management training includes a piece on “making sure advisors understand the benefits of financial plans and [on] making sure we’re growing [there].”
Cancelli wants to deliver “a great client experience” and bring in new assets, both a result of solid planning by advisors and investments in tools. (Read How brokerage firms are integrating AI.)
Across TD Wealth Management, the bank’s private wealth divisions are focused on serving high-net-worth clients, a segment that “requires broad expertise and personalized attention,” said Leo Pollard, vice-president of investment management practices, private wealth management, in the bank brokerage’s emailed statement. That means “surrounding our advisors with specialists in planning, in tax, in insurance, in private banking,” he added. These experts make themselves available in person or remotely, and many work in offices close to the advisors.
Balancing advisor priorities is all about connecting with your advisor force regularly and assessing how they’d like to be supported. The firms focused on culture and innovation tend to garner greater satisfaction in our Report Card.
Read Tools, resources and support for complex planning rated high again, for more on advisors’ demand for wealth planning tools.