Planting New Trees: Training the Integrated Advisor at Northwood

In 2023, my colleague and one of our founding partners, Tom McCullough, published an article titled ‘The Rise of the Integrated Advisor’.  The concept of the integrated advisor continues to gain traction in the private client space, and it’s one our firm has embraced since day one.  As the Northwood Family Office team continues to grow, we meet with many candidates who are interested in this approach: a more holistic, purpose-driven role that integrates financial expertise with deep, long-term client relationships. Many are happy to find a job in this industry where the emphasis is on helping client families, and there are no sales targets or pressure to add new clients – one of the more common reasons candidates are looking to make a change.  

In this article, I am going to provide an overview of Northwood’s approach to developing the integrated advisor.  The multi-family office industry in Canada is still young and evolving, which means there’s a limited pool of candidates with the ideal experience we look for when hiring. Instead, we like to identify strong talent and invest in their development to refine their skills, education, and experience with the goal of shaping them into an integrated advisor who will serve our clients well, and offer the employee a rewarding long-term career. As this space continues to emerge in Canada, Northwood is committed to being at the forefront and leading the way.

Using the general contractor analogy, you don’t start as an expert contractor. You begin with education, followed by an entry-level position, learn one or multiple trades over time, study the building code, get licensed, develop business acumen, build a network, and only then are you ready to call yourself a ‘general contractor’.  This is a long journey that requires time and experience.  Similarly, at Northwood, we like to take the same approach in developing our team. We ensure they gain the necessary expertise and experience before assuming responsibility for leading client relationships. While this path may take longer than traditional roles in banks or brokerage firms, we believe it’s what truly sets an integrated advisor apart.  

Over the past 22 years, our development program has evolved into what we call “Northwood University”.  This includes formal education and training, internal and external collaboration, licensing, mentorship, and, most importantly, how we structure our teams to service clients effectively and allow our staff to grow into the role of integrated advisors over time.

Team Structure

As in many professions, apprenticing under a more experienced team member is often a great way to learn on the job.  At Northwood, client relationships are typically managed by teams of three or four professionals working collaboratively depending on the needs of the client. The number of clients that each team services is intentionally kept low (our client-to-staff ratio is 3:1), and the team works together to service a common group of clients.  

The following is an example of a common team approach:

Lead Advisor – Oversees the relationship with the client, sets priorities, reviews work, and ensures the quality of deliverables. The lead advisor also provides guidance and feedback to the secondary and tertiary advisors.  

Secondary Advisor –  Manages the day-to-day aspects of the client and supports the development of the tertiary advisor.  Emphasis is on building experience, and refining their client management skills.

Tertiary Advisor – Handles routine tasks to gain foundational knowledge and experience.  Often takes a first pass at projects to develop technical and relationship management skills.

Analyst – This is a back-office role, but plays a vital part in the client relationship, preparing financial reporting packages, responding to queries from bookkeepers, compiling tax documents, etc.  

All three advisors typically attend client meetings together. This collaborative model allows less experienced team members to gain hands-on exposure to relationship management, technical expertise, and project execution. They are encouraged to engage with all aspects of the client file to build experience and confidence. As they grow and earn trust from both clients and colleagues, they take on increasing responsibility.

Formal Education and Designations

When hiring, we often start by seeking candidates with relevant professional designations. Going back to the general contractor analogy, most contractors are tradespeople before developing broader expertise.  Similarly, we often hire investment professionals (CFA, CIM), accounting/tax professionals (CPA), and financial planners (CFP) – the ‘’trades’’ in our field. This can also include professionals from other areas such as insurance, law, and more. These individuals typically bring deep expertise in one area, and we value the unique perspectives they offer. Our goal is to build well-rounded teams with diverse experiences and viewpoints.

As the new hire progresses, they may require additional designations to broaden their capabilities. Northwood supports this through a structured program that encourages ongoing study and professional development.

While many invest in formal education and designations early in their careers, we believe that learning is a lifelong process. Our teams are continuously developing, and we are looking for candidates who share a mindset of curiosity, growth, and continuous improvement.

Internal Collaboration

One of Northwood’s key differentiators from most of our competitors is our non-competitive culture, which is anchored in the principle that all clients are firm clients.  This shared ownership model fosters a culture of collaboration that supports team development and enhances client service.  Our collaborative culture is reflected in the following:

• Weekly internal meetings: Educate the team on unique client situations, share contacts and resources, along with investment and planning education topics.
• Monthly associate roundtables:  Guided by senior leaders, these sessions offer a safe space for associates to hone their skills.  Topics range from presentation techniques to deep dives into core disciplines such as financial planning, investment management, tax and estate planning, risk management, philanthropy, next-generation planning, communication, relationship-building, compliance, and administration.
• Client reference library: We maintain a database of unique client projects that employees can review as a reference point for similar topics, along with a curated library of 1,000+ topical articles to support ongoing learning.  

At the end of the day, our firm culture is centered around client service and not sales targets, which allows us to support one another and deliver the best possible outcomes for our clients.  

External Collaboration

Northwood’s success is not only built on a strong internal culture but also on the collaborative relationships we maintain with external professionals. Because our client service model is non-competitive with our clients' other service providers, we actively seek to build partnerships that enhance the overall client experience.

Emerging advisors engage with other professionals through client work, gaining valuable exposure that helps develop their technical and soft skills. Northwood is also a frequent attendee and presenter at private wealth conferences, which allows us to lead discussions with other external advisors.  We seek to build relationships with experts in their respective fields to find high-quality partners to work with our clients.  We encourage junior advisors to build relationships with next-generation counterparts at other firms, fostering peer-to-peer learning and long-term collaboration.

In addition, we support staff to attend networking events, conferences, and to join professional associations to build a strong network and further their personal development.  

Mentorship and Performance Reviews

We recently launched our first formal mentorship program to provide guidance for team members looking to invest in their careers and gain access to leadership within the firm.

Performance development is supported through semi-annual formal reviews.  This process is designed to reinforce the competencies crucial to being an integrated advisor, and we encourage continuous, real-time feedback to support ongoing learning and development.  

Thought Leadership

At Northwood, there is no shortage of opportunities for team members to engage in family office thought leadership and build their professional brand. Firm-led initiatives include writing newsletter articles, participating on panels, teaching at Northwood’s Family Wealth program, and joining an internal book club, which fosters industry insights and expertise.

These opportunities are designed to help individuals develop their skills, build confidence, and share their knowledge. We believe in collaborative learning and the value of shared insights, regardless of seniority or experience level.

As a firm, we are fortunate to work closely with many great client families and foundations. This gives our staff the opportunity to build an interesting career, where they are constantly learning in a variety of areas and each day brings a new challenge. It takes a large investment of time, and self-learning to become an integrated advisor, but in our minds, it is certainly worth the effort to take this unique approach.  We expect it will gain even more traction in future years as the family office industry in Canada continues to grow and as families continue to see the benefits of the approach.

Northwood continues to grow and we are always looking to connect with individuals who are passionate about the integrated advisor model and eager to build meaningful careers in the family office space.  We believe that great advisors are built through intentional development, collaboration, and a commitment to lifelong learning. If that resonates with you, we’d love to start a conversation.

If you or someone you know are interested in learning more about a career at Northwood as an integrated advisor, please reach out to your Northwood connection or submit a resume through our careers page.