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Wealth Professional’s fifth annual Top 50 Leading Women in Wealth list celebrates a collection of elite performers who have earned the respect of peers and clients.
The biggest feather in their caps is how they have all, in different ways, navigated the market volatility over the last 12 months and avoided impulsive reactions, steering their clients and portfolios through expert advice and precise decision-making.
This group of the top female financial advisors and professionals in Canada is behind a range of innovative and cutting-edge initiatives that include:
starting a liquid alternative fund designed to provide investors with enhanced downside protection
completing the Family Enterprise Advisor (FEA) program, a designation held by fewer than 600 professionals nationwide
introducing the Fortified Portfolio, an evolution from the Canadian traditional 60/40 portfolio to a modern 40/30/30, incorporating 30 percent alternatives
operating as one of the few female presidents of a wealth management company and leading a team with over $3 billion in AUM
creating an eight-week financial literacy program for Black seniors in partnership with the Black Business Association of British Columbia
The Top 50 Leading Women in Wealth were selected after their nominators were asked to provide details of their nominee’s achievements and initiatives over the past 12 months, including specific examples of their professional accomplishments and contributions.
Kathryn Sager, senior vice president at Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management, believes the leading women in wealth share a powerful blend of tenacity and ambition, which drives them to excel.
“They pair this determination with deep empathy for their clients, taking the time to understand each person’s needs, goals, and challenges. Their genuine interest in market dynamics and the broader economy keeps them informed and adaptable,” she says. “Perhaps most importantly, they have the rare ability to translate complex financial concepts into clear, relatable language that empowers clients to make confident, informed decisions about their wealth.”
Fellow industry insider Glory Gray, owner and wealth advisor at Glory Gray Wealth Solutions, agrees that the importance of connecting with female advisors is only going to increase in the coming years.
She explains, “Let’s not forget: most wealth in Canada is expected to be controlled by women in the coming decades. So, if the industry doesn’t reflect the people it’s serving, that’s a big disconnect. Women in leadership help ensure that the systems and advice being given actually align with the lives of the people using them.”
“Everybody has their talents and their strengths. I really try and focus on putting my team members in places where they can thrive, and everyone contributes. We’ve been really effective that way.”
In the past year, Webster Gill has dealt with the trends of innovation and personalization in the mutual fund industry.
Part of that has been the products SEI has introduced to manage market volatility, along with educating and trying to address the needs of advisors and clients.
“A lot of the different themes that have come out are the AI-driven utilization management platform for our advisors and, especially in Canada, it’s a big topic,” she says. “People are looking at AI-driven platforms, how they can increase efficiencies in their practice, but they’re also competing against robo-advisors. So, they’re trying to say we add value as advisors and we’re here to hold your hand during this volatility, but let’s use AI to enhance that client experience.”
SEI runs a globally managed volatility fund, where the aim is to balance risk and return, especially during turbulent markets.
Webster Gill says, “We look at volatility as not a risk; emotional reactions are and that’s the bigger risk. Staying invested and maintaining a thoughtful allocation is really critical. These strategies definitely help us and the way that we communicate with our clients as well, it’s all about goals-based investing.”
The firm organizes seminars and presentations on how to understand risk.
“People tend to have that knee-jerk reaction when it comes to our investments. We really want to help advisors navigate their clients’ emotional decision-making,” explains Webster Gill. “So, they have that kind of focus during downturns, as the real danger is not the volatility itself, but them reacting emotionally.”
She points to April 2025 as a perfect example of markets taking a sharp downturn due to the tariff fallout.
“The following week, a balanced portfolio in one day moved to the tune of seven percent, and a hundred percent equity portfolio moved to the tune of about 11. It would have been sad enough to see people sell their portfolio the week before based on fear.”
Webster Gill has also ensured that regulatory alignment is a central part of how SEI operates. She says, “People should know exactly what they’re paying and what they’re getting, and that transparency we’ve really embraced. We’ve tried to be thought leaders in that area, so we’re educating what’s coming down the pipe and how that impacts our advisors’ practices and how they should be embracing it, which they are.”
Another pillar of Webster Gill’s leadership is offering toolkits. An example is client profiling, which enables advisors to interview their clients before they work with them to ensure it’s a viable partnership. This pays dividends as that connection creates the optimum conditions for execution. Other tools deal with areas such as risk tolerance and innovation.
With over 30 years of experience under her belt, Webster Gill is eager to give everyone the confidence to be who they are. She recalls moments of imposter syndrome in her early years and also having bosses who silently gave the impression they believed that a man could do the job more effectively.
“What women really have on our side is we’re very relationship-driven, but sometimes it can be the multitasking challenge and trying to take on too much. There’s a lot of perceptions out there,” she says. “My husband and I are very happy, but we chose not to have kids, which is an unusual decision for a lot of people. I want to take down stereotypes and steer the conversation away from men and women, and just ask, ‘Who’s the most capable?’”
The transfer of wealth between generations is a live issue in Canada, with many concerns stemming from a lack of communication. This could result in higher tax bills than necessary or a lack of awareness of what is being inherited. This is another issue Webster Gill makes an effort to correct.
“It seems so easy to fix and, for advisors, it’s about understanding their future clients. It’s trying to coach through all the biases and really add value beyond the investment side of the equation. The advisors I’ve worked with who are really successful in this space, they focus on communication and education.”
“I can relate and create a personal connection with my clients, I bring my personality and a sense of realness to each client interaction,” says Zollo. “This natural exchange silently gives people permission to open up as well, and this strengthens my client relationships. I see this as a strength as it allows me to do my job more effectively by learning more about my clients personally beyond the numbers.”
Creating a roadmap for clients is the foundation of how Zollo advises. Conscious of the need to ensure clients are part of the process, she breaks things into bite-sized portions, which syncs with around 90 percent of her meetings being virtual.
"We don’t want meetings to run too long, and we’ll have consistent meetings as they get closer to retirement. Maybe, in one meeting, I’ll explain investment strategy and allocation and how we’re going to map out their portfolio in retirement. Then, in a second, I’ll do different scenarios with their financial plan, incorporating their pension entitlements and helping them decide, do I take my CPP at 65 or defer? And then in a third meeting, we usually talk about cashflow.”
At the top of Zollo’s mind is instilling in clients the confidence that they will be able to retire comfortably.
"In my experience, they typically achieve that when they see a financial plan that encompasses all the moving parts,” she says.
This extends to taking account of spouses and mortgage status but also includes the more granular details of the running costs of a car and household bills. Instilling confidence has been even harder over the past 12 months due to market upheavals.
Zollo says, “We didn’t overreact to the volatility; we sat tight through it, which was the right call in hindsight. In volatile times, sometimes you see an outperformance in active strategies versus passive, but it was a nice reminder to the client that passive has done really well for a long time, although both strategies do have merit.”
Respect is also afforded to clients in the accessibility of financial information, as certain clients prefer to self-run some of their investments. This isn’t an issue for Zollo, who collaborates with them on how they want to proceed.
“I compare the investments that we manage and the investments they have on their own, so they can understand the pros and cons of the different strategies over time. I don’t push if they like the idea of having some independently managed,” she says. “I just ask for full transparency and make it clear that if you’re going to have a TFSA somewhere else and one here, there’s a reason why I need to know how much has been contributed.”
Along with enjoying her work, Zollo is satisfied with reassuring her clients that they are on track. Alongside this, she has forged a work-life balance that allows her to be all-in at work and, at the same time, at home.
“The work that my team and I do brings peace of mind to people at important moments, so it’s very meaningful,” she adds. “I do have a young family, so when I’m home, I don’t know where my phone is, and the reverse is true when I’m at work. I probably work too much, if I’m being really honest with myself, but I really enjoy what I do, so it does not feel like work.”
As an increasing number of women become the CFOs of their households, Zollo relishes the chance to work with them.
“Women in general make fantastic investors because I find they really listen as clients. As long as you explain your recommendation and the reasoning for it, usually they’re happy to act on the recommendation,” she says.
With clients increasingly looking for holistic wealth services, including estate planning and tax optimization, Zollo says that simply being a stock picker will no longer be enough.
“There’s going to be a big shift in the industry where managing somebody’s investments and not doing any of the other work – the cash flow planning, the estate planning, or the financial planning – that’s not going to cut it anymore for the average investor.”
“Starting my career just before the 2008 financial crisis was very impactful, and it set me on a path to work with employers and focus on how I prepare my clients for volatility when it comes, or that illness or loss of a job,” says Seitz.
“That ultimately involves having more holistic conversations, because investments are never going to be in isolation from what’s going on in the family or business. There’s a dotted line to everything we do.”
Taking this approach further, Sietz completed her FEA program designation in 2025. It is aimed at working across the different roles to support wealthy families who have commercial and business interests.
“We went through a framework of managing family dynamics, understanding differences between the generations within a family and, importantly, partnering with other professionals to make sure that those silos can be broken down and that we’re all rowing in the same direction for the clients,” explains Seitz.
Part of the motivation is to truly deliver holistic advice – a term commonly used in the industry but often not appropriately.
Seitz opens the doors to have effective communication with other professionals in her client’s financial sphere. The real value lies in being able to do this and looking beyond the pure technical part of the job.
“Specifically, with intergenerational wealth transfer, part of my role is being that trusted advisor, and having open communication is absolutely imperative. It’s one of the biggest privileges of my career to be a trusted thought partner in these conversations with clients because they’re not easy to have.”
Sietz also appreciates the need to tailor her approach.
“You can have the most beautifully constructed wealth transition plan or financial plan, but it will fall flat if a good amount of time is not spent on the human side of the equation.”
And she adds, “There are real differences depending on what a certain generation has been through. I work with clients who grew up through the depression and more difficult times, and they’re going to look at money and capital differently from a generation that had their first mortgages when interest rates were near zero.”
Seitz is an advocate of helping clients understand that a certain amount of volatility in their investments is needed to create opportunities to outperform the risk-free rate. She focuses on two core elements: a resilient portfolio and something that is built for conditions in the future.
“That risk of shorter-term volatility is part of the reason why we can achieve larger returns here and there. You have to be adequately diversified,” she says. “Personally and within our company, we focus on investing in companies that are profitable today. They’ve got sustainable cash flows and strong management teams. We’re patient investors.”
This extends to Seitz always keeping the whole picture in mind and taking the heat out of the situation.
“I find that if a client understands the statistical probable volatility that they should be expecting over time, they’re much less likely to make emotional decisions.”
“As someone who guides people, I think anybody can be a great leader. You can lead through influence, and I prefer leadership not to be related to hierarchy. It’s about creating a vision for people and a path for the future. You want to motivate and inspire people so that they follow,” says Milum.
True to her word, she launched her firm iA Clarington’s Multi-Strategy Alternative Pool, a liquid alternative fund designed to provide investors with enhanced downside protection and attractive long-term total return potential.
Managed by iA Global Asset Management, the fund provides one-ticket access to six actively managed alternative strategies:
Picton Mahoney Fortified Market Neutral Alternative Fund – Market Neutral Equity
Picton Mahoney Fortified Income Alternative Fund – Long/Short Credit
RP Alternative Global Bond Fund – Long/Short Credit
iA Clarington Global Macro Advantage Fund – Global Macro
PG Partners Fund Access Fund – Private Equity, Private Credit, Infrastructure and Real Estate
Blue Owl Credit Income Trust – Private Credit
“We’ve created a product that’s not going to shoot the lights out; some people are using it as a fixed income alternative,” Milum says.
She highlights how liquid alternatives are growing in popularity due to the recent market volatility.
“It’s still small when you look at the asset classes, but it is one of the fastest growing. What we find is the retail world that I live in usually follows the institutional world. And the privates have become a big part of institutional portfolios, and they have been for years. It makes sense because it’s a way to diversify; the thing is we need to make sure that investors are educated on what they are buying.”
Another key initiative that Milum is focused on is educating advisors on what iA Carrington offers. The team gets in front of advisors via events like road shows or due diligence conference calls providing access to the portfolio managers. They also offer one-to-one meetings.
“We always keep the investor in mind because when we’re communicating with advisors, they are communicating with the investor, and we need to help them have that conversation,” she says. “People’s needs are evolving at a rapid pace, and they want more personalized advice and are more demanding, quite frankly, as they want more digital access and a holistic plan.”
And Milum adds, “The other thing that I talk to advisors about is people don’t know what they need. They don’t know because they don’t know what’s available. That’s why the advisor community communicating their value is more important than ever.”
The generational wealth transfer is another issue that Milum is alert to. She recalls when the conversation around it was measured in billions, yet it is now in trillions. She urges advisors to make women and children more involved in the conversation.
“It’s all about inclusion. If you talk to advisors, most of them will tell you, ‘Yeah, I do that’. But when we dig deeper, sometimes, we find it’s not always the case,” comments Milum. “When we talk about the intergenerational wealth transfer, it’s not just wealth; it’s the transfer of advice.”
Open to taking advice from any quarter, Milum stumbled upon surprising yet meaningful tactics from military leaders.
She explains, “I studied a lot about the military, so all the tough generals and whatnot. The thing that I found really bound people together was the word ‘love’. It was surprising to me that this would come from people that I thought were typically tough guys. But it really reverted back to going to the wall for people and having their backs.”
Another commonality among this year’s Top 50 Leading Women in Wealth is the desire to act as role models and bring other women along in an industry that remains skewed toward men, particularly in senior roles.
The 2025 VersaFi Women in Wealth report suggests that two significant factors remain the largest barriers for women in the Canadian financial advisor sector:
Culture of bias and sexism: Female advisors are still often viewed within a traditional lens, even as firms expand offerings for accessibility features like flexible work options, parental leave, and anti-bias training.
Unclear and inequitable succession planning: Female advisors told of the lack of opportunities afforded to women looking to purchase client books, while confusion surrounding succession plans have left many female advisors unclear about their future growth opportunities.
Like other influential women recognized in this year’s report, Zollo believes increased education options are needed to attract more women to the industry.
“Getting more young women involved in finances at younger ages and encouraging females in the post-secondary level to start to make financial courses mandatory as part of a general degree would be wise,” she says.
“There could be more support around family planning, helping women and programs where there are advisors who can sub in while a woman takes maternity leave. I don’t know the full extent, but that could be definitely brainstormed and discussed.”
For Webster Gill, it’s beyond a project and something of an innate belief. She is part of women’s groups and promotes that across SEI under the concept of authentic representation.
She says, “As far as women supporting women, it’s just an ongoing conversation that has to happen. It’s come to the forefront a lot more in recent years, which has been wonderful to see with people not afraid to have those conversations or be vulnerable.”
Again, she refers to imposter syndrome and feels it is not something that should be regarded negatively.
“It’s really trying to understand that you don’t have to do things the way they were always done, and there are different ways to evolve and be. There are a lot of things women can bring to the table that are different than maybe their counterparts.”
Having experienced the benefits of mentorship early in her career, Seitz is now ready to pass on the knowledge she has accumulated.
“I was really fortunate to work alongside colleagues who were open,” she notes. “They were willing to share what they were working on or allow me to attend meetings with them.”
She has also benefited from an inclusive work environment at Leith Wheeler, where women are given the flexibility to thrive.
“I’m pretty fortunate now to have found a firm where there is a ton of support for female advisors. Women bring a caretaking, compassionate lens to the advisory table. And I think more and more employers are recognizing how important that is.”
Currently mentoring four women – two internally and two externally – Milum focuses on advice that builds confidence, including how women can amplify their voices within their organizations.
“When I mentor young women, the biggest thing we talk about is their ability to be heard,” she says.
Now 30 years into her career, Milum is enjoying her first experience as a mentee of another female professional, another leader at iA.
“We meet twice a year now. There’s no real agenda, but I do ask for advice not only about navigating through the organization but from her experience as well.”
Milum’s experience as a mentor has also expanded her own skillset.
“What I’ve learned from people as a mentor is that it ups my empathy level. It allows me to walk in other people’s shoes,” she says.
For Gray, mentorship and representation are the true game changers for women in the industry.
“Women mentoring other women is how we break the cycle. It’s how we normalize asking questions, sharing knowledge, and saying, ‘Hey, I’ve been where you are.’”
She adds, “I remember when I was starting out – there weren’t a lot of advisors in the industry who looked like me or had similar life experiences. To this day, if I’m attending an industry event or even contacting someone else in the industry, the first assumption is that I am a male financial advisor’s assistant.”
Focusing more on recruitment and education in universities and high schools would be an ideal way to bring more women into the industry, Gray says.
“We need intentional efforts here. That means programs that reach women early – university or even high school – and say, ‘Finance is for you.’ It means offering mentorship and sponsorship, not just training. Women need real career pathways and advisors who look like them.”
Shawna Perron, portfolio manager at Cumberland Wealth Management - Perron & Partners, adds that, over time, the role of female investors has changed, emphasizing the importance of connecting with more financially involved women.
“In the next generation, you’re finding that women are a lot more involved in their finances, too. Globally, the stats are increasing every year about how many women are managing household finances or investments.”
In July, Wealth Professional Canada invited industry professionals across the country to nominate their most exceptional female leaders for the fifth annual Leading Women in Wealth list. Nominees had to be working in a role that related to, interacted with, or in some way impacted the financial services industry, and to have demonstrated a clear passion for financial services.
Nominators were asked to provide details of their nominee’s achievements and initiatives over the past 12 months, including specific examples of their professional accomplishments and contributions to the industry as a whole, such as community outreach, innovation, DEI promotion, and mentorship.
The WPC team reviewed all nominations, examining how each individual had made a meaningful contribution to the industry, to narrow down the list to the Top 50 Leading Women in Wealth. Revenue generation and sales figures are not mandatory criteria to be deemed a winner.