We’ve made significant changes to the 2005 Planners’ Report Card. Perhaps the biggest change is that we asked planners to tell us which survey categories were the most important to them in their planning practices.

We also increased the number of survey categories this year. New categories include support for succession planning and purchase financing.

In total, 402 advisors from 15 dealers gave us two sets of scores — one for performance and one for importance — for 32 categories.

How did we conduct the survey? We started by selecting planning firms and mutual fund dealers that have a national presence and at least 200 licensed reps with a book of business. This year we surveyed at least 20 planners at the smaller firms and more than 40 at the larger ones.

For the most part, we interviewed reps who are registered with the Mutual Fund Dealers Association, but we did speak with few advisors who told us they use the securities side of the business on the Investment Dealers Association of Canada platform.

Our team of researchers began conducting 15-minute telephone interviews in April. All information gathered is confidential and used only to compile the Report Card.

We checked with each company to confirm which services they provide. If a company said a category was not applicable, we disregarded the scores for that category.

After all the numbers were in, individual responses were grouped to determine average scores for each firm in all the categories. The 32 categories were then used to create an average score for the firm.
Bonus points were awarded to firms that scored a first-place position among the 18 most important categories. (Those with an average importance rating of 8.0 or higher.)
The bonus points were added to the average score to create the IE rating, which was used to determine the ranking.

PFSL Investments Canada Ltd. is no stranger to the top spot in our survey, but just because it ranked No. 1 again this year doesn’t mean it’s the best firm for every planner. The 15 firms present a diverse offering of compensation and service
models from which advisors can choose.
It’s up to the individual planner to select which firm best meets his or her needs.

Those advisors planning to make a switch should also take note of each firm’s overall rating, which may be higher or lower than the IE rating. While the IE rating could be hurt by a one low score in a particular category, the overall rating reflects how planners rate their firm as a whole.
IE