Tobias Salinger

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Registered investment advisors (RIAs) continue to see strong asset growth, but many are struggling to attract new clients organically. According to Paithos Research, the median U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-registered RIA increased assets under management by 15% between 2025 and 2026 while adding just one new client, reflecting a 2% increase. Much of the asset growth likely stemmed from market performance rather than new business. Larger firms continue to dominate, with RIAs managing more than $100 billion controlling 72% of industry assets, and those over $1 billion overseeing nearly 98%. Bigger firms also attract clients more effectively through greater marketing resources and acquisitions. Still, the report highlights significant variation, with about 20% of RIAs achieving client growth of at least 15%. Industry experts believe AI and affordable marketing technologies could help smaller firms compete more effectively for organic growth in the future.

View the exclusive research from Financial Planning's latest annual study of brokerages whose financial advisors aren't employees of the firms — and sort and compare data across the past 15 years.

Executives from some of the largest firms in the channel — Ameriprise, Kestra Financial, Cetera, LPL Financial and Osaic — discuss how clearing and custody fits into their approaches to recruiting and retaining financial advisors.

LPL Financial has been the largest independent brokerage in wealth management for decades, but the gap between it and everyone else has expanded to an unprecedented girth.

Recruiter Jeff Nash of Bridgemark Strategies created five calculator tools that aim to help financial advisors understand the key contributors to their revenue, expenses and take-home compensation as they weigh their potential next moves.

SER Summit co-founders Vanessa Martinez and Ana Trujillo Limón preview the professional development and networking in store for attendees next week in Denver.

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At a conference session on the emotional and psychological aspects of financial planning, financial planner Vanessa Martinez emphasized that money

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