RBC has done it again—securing first place for the seventh year in a row in Extel’s Canada-specific survey, reaffirming its long-standing leadership in Canadian equity research.
Reflecting on the firm’s continued success, Walter Spracklin, head of Canadian research at RBC, said:
“Ultimately, equity research is both an art and a science. The science encompasses rigorous analytics backed by cutting-edge technology, and the art lies in weaving this together with our analysts’ unique insights to generate compelling investment theses and deliver them to clients in ways that enhance their decision-making capabilities.”
This year’s survey reflected the views of more than 575 directors of research and investment professionals across 320 asset management firms—the former up from 520 participants in 2024.
In the commission-based ranking, respondents rated their top firms and individual analysts by sector, producing two distinct rankings. Each vote was weighted according to the respondent firm’s Canada-related commissions and average rating to determine the final numerical scores.
RBC saw its published positions rise slightly to 19, up from 18 last year. While BMO Capital Markets maintained its second-place spot—improving from 13 to 17 published positions—and TD Cowen held third, also increasing four positions from 11 to 15.
The remainder of the top ten was largely unchanged from last year, with domestic firms continuing to fill the table. Scotiabank and CIBC World Markets retained fourth and fifth place, respectively, while National Bank Financial moved up one spot to sixth. BofA Securities followed in seventh, and there was a three-way tie for eighth between Desjardins Securities, Raymond James, and UBS.
“BMO is proud to be recognized for our performance in this year’s Extel results,” said Camilla Sutton, head of equity research for Canada. “This acknowledgment reflects the high-quality, differentiated research our analysts deliver every day. Their dedication helps clients make informed, strategic decisions based on deep and actionable insights. We’re grateful for our clients’ continued support, which motivates us to keep raising our standards.”
In the leaders-weighted table, RBC’s total score was almost double that of its nearest competitor after holding 17 of 19 first-place positions. The analyst results remained broadly consistent year over year. RBC retained the top position with 27 winning analysts (compared with 28 in 2024), while BMO and TD Cowen each advanced to 17 analysts, highlighting the growing competitiveness amongst the leading firms.
Spracklin attributes RBC’s enduring dominance to four key factors:
• Leadership commitment – consistent investment and senior-level support that sustain research excellence.
• Scale and reach – leveraging RBC’s global platform to deliver broad market coverage and deep insights.
• Technological innovation – integrating alternative data through RBC Elements and applying AI via Aiden to elevate research quality and analytical depth.
• Client focus – maintaining a client-first mindset, ensuring insights are delivered in ways that seamlessly support each client’s investment process.
While these strengths have supported RBC’s continued success in Canadian equity research, the landscape remains competitive, with other domestic firms also expanding their capabilities.
The 2024 Canada Research article is available here.
