The staff lounge at the McClelland Financial Group's new office in Markham, Ont., which the team moved into earlier this year.Supplied
Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Globe Advisor is looking back at how the wealth management industry responded and how it has changed. Read the first article in our series here.
From physical layout to the way teams collaborate, wealth management offices have changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic five years ago, as advisors incorporate new technology and working styles.
For the McClelland Financial Group, part of Assante Capital Management Ltd., the gradual return to the office post-pandemic came with modifications to its space in a three-floor heritage building in Thornhill, Ont.
But even after installing Zoom booths to accommodate virtual client meetings and reconfiguring the office for more collaboration, founder and senior financial advisor Rob McClelland and his team found the space no longer fit.
Earlier this year, the team moved to a newly designed office on the top floor of a Markham, Ont. tower that doubles its square footage, allowing not just for expansion but for new ways of doing business.
The biggest change, Mr. McClelland says, was the need to accommodate Zoom meetings.
“The design of the regular meeting room, with the big-screen TV and the little camera on top – just didn’t make for a great meeting,” he says.
With a significant percentage of client meetings still taking place remotely and more participants on the calls, the new office features two “Zoom rooms” that can accommodate two advisors each, allow for a more personal meeting for the client and enable more professional screen-sharing. There are also two one-person Zoom booths.
The McClelland Financial Group's two Zoom booths.Supplied
Before the pandemic, Mr. McClelland says about 65 per cent of client meetings took place in the office, but that’s dropped to about 35 per cent. The firm is trying to move it closer to 40 or 50 per cent.
The redesign also provided a chance to expand on a concept first implemented in the firm’s previous space: moving away from individual advisor offices.
Back in person five days a week since the beginning of 2024, advisors now work together in a larger space, fostering greater collaboration and mentorship.
Mr. McClelland says the return to the office allows the team to separate work from home more easily. With one-quarter of the team under the age of 25, younger employees need to be able to ask questions in person and see what more experienced team members are doing, he says.
“I realized I might lose a few people when I said we’re back to the office, but we didn’t lose anyone,” he says.
The five new in-person meeting rooms were built with the aim to bring more clients back into the office, but they’re also tailored to different needs. For example, a less formal “cottage” room and a larger office are designed to accommodate intergenerational family meetings.
“The team loves it. It’s quiet, we all have space, we have new technology,” Mr. McClelland says. “Everything’s 2025 as opposed to 2005.”
Similarly, Raymond James Ltd.’s Family Legacy Advisory Group’s new office in Saskatoon – which it moved into in February – is not only brighter and more modern than the previous space, but also configured for the meeting and collaboration style that clients and teams are looking for post-pandemic, says Mike Armstrong, senior wealth advisor and portfolio manager. His team is also back in the office five days a week, and there was “very little pushback.”
To provide clients with more personalized service, the new location has different meeting options, from a larger boardroom to offices with comfortable chairs and couches. The office is also more tech-enabled than the previous space, moving from projecting meetings from a laptop to seamless login via an iPad, a quality camera and speaker system, and large screens for more professional video meetings.
The boardroom at Family Legacy Advisory Group’s new office in Saskatoon.Supplied
“A lot of the older, existing offices just weren’t set up to do a virtual meeting before COVID,” Mr. Armstrong says, adding that about two-thirds of client meetings take place in person. (Before 2020, all meetings were in person.) “You might have a conference call, but you certainly weren’t using video the same way.”
At the same time, he says, there’s more emphasis on in-office privacy than five years ago.
“Soundproofing and making sure there’s glazing on the glass so that a client sitting in the waiting room can’t see something that’s presented up on the in the meeting room – those are all issues we’re working through right now,” Mr. Armstrong adds.
For Ryan Archambault, investment advisor and portfolio manager with the Gold Seal Financial Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth in Kelowna, B.C., the post-pandemic office is about welcoming clients into an inviting space but also allowing advisors to host virtual meetings effectively and extend their brand presence beyond a physical location.
Mr. Archambault not only relocated from Vancouver and switched firms during the pandemic but also moved into a new office on the 23rd floor of Kelowna’s Landmark 7 tower in 2023. Where tech was once a supplement to an advisor’s core work, it’s at the centre of the new office, he says.
The reception at the Gold Seal Financial Group at Wellington-Altus Private Wealth's new office in Kelowna, B.C.Supplied
For example, a boardroom equipped with microphones, wall speakers and multiple camera setups enables advisors to hold meetings with the client’s entire wealth management team, including lawyers and accountants.
“We needed to have the capability to connect everybody very efficiently and be the spot of choice between all of our professionals as to where that happens,” Mr. Archambault says.
Although about three-quarters of client meetings took place in person before the pandemic, only about one-quarter now do, he says.
“I still ensure that I have at least one in-person meeting a year with each of my clients, but virtual meetings have proven much more convenient for interim items and planning discussions,” he says.
Mr. Archambault is in the office three or four days a week and has continued to invest in his home office space. “Our employees have similar flexibility, and we co-ordinate to ensure we’re regularly together in person, which is still the norm for important items and strategic planning.”
The new space is also set up for content creation, as online branding has become more important. The office features broadcasting and media production equipment as the team produces content for newsletters and LinkedIn posts, and is revisiting its YouTube approach to expand its reach.
“Production value is now an important part that used to be carried by the prestige or furniture of an office,” Mr. Archambault says.