Winner: RBC WM – North American base wins award & global operation recognised
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Wealth Management (WM) serves affluent and ultra / high net worth individuals (U/HNWIs) from its key operational hubs in Canada, the US, British Isles and Asia, garnering it a Highly Commended nod in the Outstanding Global Private Bank: Global category from the judges at the Private Banker International (PBI) Global Wealth Awards 2022, and a Winner trophy in the Outstanding Global Private Bank: North America category. It was also Highly Commended for providing the Most Innovative Digital Offering.
RBC WM provides a full suite of banking, investment, trust, and other wealth management solutions to affluent, HNW and UHNW investors. RBC WM also includes its asset management arm RBC Global Asset Management (GAM), which provides investment products and services to institutional and individual clients directly and via RBC and third-party distributors.
As of Q2 2022, RBC WM has over C$1.3 trillion (US$989.76bn) of Assets under Administration (AUA) and C$950 billion (US$723.29bn) of Assets under Management (AuM), plus over 5,500 financial consultants, advisors, private bankers, and trust officers in its network, which has delivered revenue of C$13.3 billion (US$10.13bn) in FY2021, up 9.6% from a year earlier.
As Canada’s largest financial institution, with 89,000+ employees serving more than 17 million clients when you include the retail bank which provides an effective WM funnel, it is natural that its ‘home’ North American business is particularly strong. RBC GAM alone is:
The largest Canada-based asset manager, with C$560.8 billion (US$426.97bn) in client AuM globally.
A top performing investment firm, with approximately 78% of AuM outperforming the benchmark on a 3-year basis.
In possession of a balanced investor asset mix, comprising of 53% retail and 47% institutional client assets.
Largest retail fund company in Canada: with 16.1% of the all-in market share, which expands to 32.1% if only bank-affiliated fund companies are included
The RBC Dominion Securities Inc (DS) full-service brokerage business is the Canadian market leader, with approximately 26% market share and C$445 billion (US$338.80bn) in AUA from over 300,000 households.
The RBC Private Banking (PB) business is also a Canadian market leader, possessing the number one position amongst the Big 5 Canadian banks for:
#1 Revenue market share
#1 Deposit balance market share
#1 Loan balance market share
RBC WM Services (WMS) is a group of 200+ highly accredited wealth planning professionals consisting of will & estate consultants, financial planning specialists and business owner planning specialists. WMS professionals support advisors in RBC WM across Canada by providing strategies, advice and solutions to address the often complex planning needs of HNW and UHNW clients, including their families and businesses. WMS is the largest team of wealth planning professionals in Canada.
In the US, the bank’s wealth management (USWM) unit is the seventh largest full-service wealth advisory firm in the country as measured by its number of advisors (2,100) in 178 branches across 42 States, serving 340,000 households. It’s the sixth largest by AUA, reaching US$542bn in 2021.
City National Bank (CNB) is the US private and commercial bank serving U/HNWIs and commercial clients. It offers a broad range of lending, deposit, cash management, international banking, equipment financing, wealth management and other products and services. CNB has opened new offices in New York, D.C., and other East Coast locations to drive growth in the important US marketplace and is targeting the entertainment ecosystem and productivity and efficiency gains via expanded digital capabilities to help it expand further. The Capital Markets team can help here too.
Commendation: Digital offering
RBC WM has made significant investments in its digital and data capabilities in recent years, winning it a further Highly Commended certificate in the Most Innovative Digital Offering category at the PBI Global Wealth Awards 2022. Its client and advisor-facing digital tools, such as a Meeting Scheduler that integrates with calendars to ease and automate the booking of virtual, in-person or phone meetings, were particularly noteworthy. The Scheduler automated 13,000 meetings last year, cutting admin tasks and time. RBC WM has also launched:
Redesigned corporate websites: focusing on accessibility and mobile-first design that provides a consistent brand experience while addressing regional needs and goals.
Improved CX & WHO: The Wealth Management Online portal has been enhanced to provide a better customer experience (CX) as part of a wider company-wide digital overhaul. Clients can now securely and more easily view their entire portfolio in one place and access research, analysis, transfer funds, collaborate with an advisor, and so on.
Digitally enabled AOS: Account Opening and Servicing capabilities have been enhanced for clients and advisors that need on-boarding.
Artie: free online executor tools to help existing and potential executors who are looking for education, guidance and support in the estate settlement process.