Breaking ranks

Investment Executive kicked off this year’s Report Card series on Wednesday, with the release of its Brokerage Report Card 2026. Katie Keir, the team’s research manager, deployed seven interviewers who spoke with 663 investment advisors across 14 investment dealer firms and brokerages.

The full Report Card program also includes the Dealers’ Report Card, due in September (on full-service and mutual fund dealers and firms), the Report Card on Banks in October (on the Big Six’s retail planner divisions) and the Advisors’ Report Card in November (a year-end summary report). Stay tuned.

Together, these studies deliver a peek inside organizations that advisors may consider joining, and they give industry participants a granular look at the state of the industry based on advisor feedback and executive commentary. All in, the program covers more than 30 organizations and interviews close to 1,500 advisors.

There is a fine, but important, methodology note that bears repeating here. The Report Card series does not rank organizations.

Its results are based on interviews with advisors who work for the firm they’re delivering feedback on. They shoot pretty straight, and the interviewers press them if their answers feel incomplete. But while they collect genuine insights into how those firms operate, the Report Cards do not rank organizations based on the findings. It would be irresponsible to do so.

The Report Cards summarize advisor perceptions on a range of industry priorities. Do they receive the support they need from their organization? Is the culture healthy? Are they able to provide clients with products that meet their unique needs?

After that information has been collected, the team engages firm executives to get their reaction to the findings. That second step is just as important as the first. The end product is Investment Executive’s best effort at capturing a balanced view on each organization’s strategy and their advisors’ perspective on how it’s working.

Keir applies a level of detail orientation to her team’s work that I admire and rely on heavily. Since taking the helm in 2019, she’s demonstrated a conscientious dedication to the Report Card series that has a lot to do with why it is so widely read.

But the program wouldn’t be possible without its partners. These studies depend on the organizations it covers. Their participation requires considerable work — something all of us appreciate.

Kevin Press

Industry

Kevin Press is editorial director of Advisor.ca. Reach him at kevin@newcom.ca.