From all indications, financial advisors have turned the corner on the market turmoil of 2008-09, gaining bigger books of business and even fatter paycheques, according to the results of Investment Executive's 2011 Report Card series. But, although business seems to be on the rebound, advisors readying for a takeoff may find themselves held back by the renewed volatility in financial markets.

Coincidentally, some results in this year's Report Card series reflect the same volatility as the current global economy. That's because advisor satisfaction levels with their firms have varied widely this year.

"There's a disconnect from the top about what's going on and what direction we're going in the future," says an advisor in Alberta with Vancouver-based Canaccord Financial Ltd., echoing the concerns of many colleagues, who rated that firm significantly lower — by half a point or more — in several Report Card categories than in 2010.

Chart: Top Performers
 

In contrast, other advisors had more faith in their firms and were happy to back them up with strong ratings. Such was the case with Toronto-based Assante Wealth Management (Canada) Ltd. , which saw its ratings increase by half a point or more in 13 categories. "I've been very pleased," says an Assante advisor in Atlantic Canada. "They say something, work on it and get it done."

In order to gauge advisors' sense of their firms, IE researchers Sanam Islam, Iris Leung, Olivia Li, Ayah Victoria McKhail, Yumi Otagaki and Laura Urmoneit surveyed a total of 1,820 advisors at 44 firms from the beginning of January through to the end of June. Their findings were published in a series of four special reports: the Brokerage Report Card, the Dealers' Report Card, the Report Card on Banks and Credit Unions and the Insurance Advisors' Report Card.

Advisors who participated in the surveys were chosen at random, guaranteed anonymity and made their feelings known. They were asked to rate their firms' performance in various categories, as well as how important those categories were to their businesses, on a scale of zero to 10, with zero meaning "poor" or "unimportant" and 10 meaning "excellent" or "critically important." The performance and importance scores were then averaged for each category, for both the firms and the Report Cards.

The results reveal that there are certain categories advisors will always hold close to their hearts — and no matter what the economy looks like or where markets are heading, the importance placed on these categories never wavers.

"Firm's stability," "firm's ethics" and "freedom to make product choices for clients" consistently receive the top importance ratings. In addition, the high overall performance ratings for these categories this year suggests that firms, on the whole, are delivering in these areas and meeting their advisors' expectations.

"I like the fact that I never have to defend the name," says an advisor in At-lan-tic Canada with Toronto-based RBC Dominion Securities Inc. , referring to the firm's stability. "It's very powerful."

And an advisor in Ontario with Win-nipeg-based Wellington West Capital Inc. cites "freedom" as the most positive aspect of working at that brokerage firm: "Being able to operate, in the sense of having my own business and having the freedom to choose the type of research I'd like. It's a progressive firm, but it's about personalized service and relationships."

Another category that advisors rated highly in importance is "firm's delivery on promises." Yet, unlike the other categories rated highest in importance, performance ratings for this category diverged sharply for individual firms. In fact, many firms saw their ratings improve or decrease significantly, with firms' restructurings being the driving force behind such changes.

Specifically, mergers and acquisitions made an impression on those who had to work through the integration — even if it began years earlier. For one firm in particular, Richmond Hill, Ont.-based Global Maxfin Investments Inc. , efforts to smooth out a rocky start earned an approving boost in ratings from its advisors.

"When [Professional Investment Ser-vices (Canada) Inc. ] joined Global Maxfin, there were some complaints about compliance," says a Global Maxfin advisor in Manitoba with PIS. "But they seem to be back on track now."

Almost two years ago, Global Maxfin acquired Calgary-based PIS, a dealer that had a history of compliance-related problems, and frustrated advisors were caught in the middle. However, they have noted improved communication with management since the acquisition, which caused the firm's rating for the delivery on promises category to jump to 6.8 from 6.0 last year.