As financial advisors in Canada help their clients plan for retirement, a huge proportion of advisors themselves are also closing in on their golden years. In preparation for this major demographic shift, the industry has become focused on grooming a new generation of advisors to replace those who are set to begin retiring in large numbers.

“We’re seeing the community of financial planners continue to age,” says Cary List, president and CEO of the Financial Planning Standards Council in Toronto. “It’s definitely a concern.”

The average age of a financial advisor in Canada has been gradually increasing in recent years, rising to 47.6 in 2011, Investment Executive’s research shows. As older advisors begin to retire, there are growing worries that there won’t be enough qualified new ones to replace them.

Statistics from the FPSC – the organization that administers the certified financial planner designation in Canada – suggest that the industry has good reason to be concerned. The number of CFP professionals in Canada is currently declining, List says, as the number of people who retire each year has outpaced the number of new professionals earning their CFP designation.

“We’re actually seeing a modest net decline, year over year, in certified financial planner professionals,” says List. “The [enrollment] numbers are not nearly enough to sustain the demand, and to sustain the levels that exist today.”

Financial services firms are well aware of this conundrum, which exists across the entire advisory business. As they consider the impact it will have on their workforce, they’re placing a new emphasis on recruiting and training younger advisors.

“We have some processes and systems in place, from a recruiting perspective and from a talent development perspective, but we know we need to do more,” says Jason Round, head of financial planning support at RBC Financial Planning in Toronto. “We’re going to really make it a big emphasis over the next couple years.”

BMO Nesbitt Burns also recognizes the need to bring new talent on board.

“Right now we are putting an extra emphasis on succession planning within our branches,” says Elizabeth Hermant Mayer, recruitment partner, investment advisors, BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto. “We are actively recruiting.”

Although there may not be quite as many advisors entering the industry as there are advisors retiring, there appears to be plenty of interest in the career stream. Round notes that many new college and university programs have emerged in recent years that focus specifically on financial planning.

“There’s more and more of these programs that are available, and they wouldn’t be there if there wasn’t the interest in taking up that type of career,” he says. “We certainly hear anecdotally that more people are interested.”

Indeed, George Brown College is seeing lots of interest in this field of study, according to Terry McCullough, professor and co-ordinator of the college’s financial services programs. Currently, George Brown has capacity for approximately 160 students in its financial planning programs each year, and it has a waiting list of individuals hoping to enroll.

In response to the widespread interest the programs are attracting – and growing demand for new talent in the industry – McCullough expects the college to double capacity of the programs over the next five years.

“The industry wants qualified people,” he says. “So we want to make sure we have the best candidates available.”

As more people pursue the field, List is optimistic that the declining trend in CFP professionals will reverse.

“We see that changing,” he says, “but it will probably be three to five years before the number of new people coming in is enough to replace the number of people leaving.”


This is the first in a three-part series on young advisors. Tomorrow: How to get your start in the industry.