Nominated by investors, 35 teams are named in the list
Wealth Professional has named 35 wealth management firms and teams as its 5-Star Advisory Teams for 2026, the fifth edition of the annual recognition, selected through a national investor nomination process.
The award recognizes multi-advisor teams that move beyond investment selection to deliver holistic, proactive service across every market condition.
According to Lindsey Tropea, a partner in the wealth and asset management advisory practice at EY Canada, the past year turned client engagement into a differentiator.
"The teams that stand out are the ones that engage proactively and consistently, not just reactively when markets move," Tropea says. "Clients are looking for reassurance, context, and guidance through uncertainty."
EY's Global Wealth Research found that 52 percent of investors globally contacted their advisor to discuss market events over the period, while 44 percent increased the number of planning meetings they held.
To build the list, WP asked investors across Canada to nominate their advisory teams and describe the service offerings that set them apart.
Teams were defined as those with three or more advisors, and the WP editorial team reviewed every nomination before narrowing the field to the final 35, weighing each team's contribution to its clients and the wider financial services industry.
Here are two of the standout teams recognized this year.
BGY Wealth Management, the Québec-based team operating under iA Private Wealth, built its practice on a staffing model that runs against the industry norm.
Rather than measuring success by sales volume or referral targets, the 38-person firm assigns multiple professionals to every qualifying household, usually pairing a portfolio manager with an accountant or tax-planning specialist.
"Every portfolio manager or advisor has fewer clients than the industry standard, so we can devote more time to each client and deliver a level of service and precision that is well above average," says portfolio manager and partner David Poliquin.
The team serves entrepreneurs, high-income earners, and medical professionals, most of whom hold corporate structures, holdings, and trusts.
BGY is recognized for its use of flow-through shares and tax-efficient strategies, and it ties no part of employee compensation to sales or referrals.
More than 300 of its clients work in finance themselves, which shapes how the team communicates.
As Poliquin puts it, the firm excels at explaining complex strategies clearly so clients can make informed decisions while keeping confidence in the discretionary process.
Stenner Wealth Partners+ of CG Wealth Management, based in British Columbia, has spent 25 years refining downside protection for a small roster of ultra-high-net-worth clients.
Senior portfolio manager Thane Stenner leads a 13-person team serving 53 households, each requiring a minimum of $10m in liquid assets or $25m in net worth, under an all-serve-all model in which no client is assigned to a single advisor.
"Wealthy investors want to be wealthy once, not twice. They want to stay wealthy. You protect capital in bad times, and they remember it," Stenner says.
The team treats disruption as a chance to act rather than a threat to endure.
"Volatility creates opportunity," Stenner says. "You can either wilt away or you can lean into it and try to do something about it."
Proactive contact is built into the model, with clients hearing from the team between 24 and 60 times a year without having to reach out first.
The selectivity is deliberate too: the team takes on roughly eight new clients out of more than 100 introductions a year, a choice Stenner frames as protecting service quality rather than chasing growth.
BGY and Stenner are just two of the 35 teams recognized this year.
To see every honouree, along with the report's methodology and its analysis of the trends reshaping Canadian wealth management, view the full 5-Star Advisory Teams 2026 list here.
