Robert A. Dougan, M.A.

For decades, advisor growth in financial services was built on a simple formula: recruit, select, train and develop new advisors. But the Canadian market is changing. An aging advisor population, succession pressure, recruiting challenges and the rise of larger team-based practices are creating something bigger than an advisor shortage — Canada is facing an advisor-capacity challenge.

Market volatility, greater cost transparency and artificial intelligence are reshaping financial advice. The practices best positioned for the future will combine technology with something much harder to automate: trust, judgment, relationships and a deep understanding of people.

Wealth management is running out of advisors, not eventually, now. Demand for human advice is rising, yet the advisor workforce is shrinking. McKinsey projects a 100,000 advisor shortfall in the U.S. by 2034, and Canadian regulators and LIMRA warn of similar talent pressures. This is not a staffing issue, it is a structural constraint on growth.