Practice management
Practice management for financial advisors
As of Oct 28, 2026, AdvisorIQ offers 10 sourced guides, 2 calculators and 5 RIA benchmark pages for running an advisory practice, plus 40 research pieces and 21 podcasts on practice management and regulation.
Start with the benchmarks to see how firms like yours are built, use the guides when you are starting or changing something, and run the calculators with your own numbers. Guides cite their sources and are educational, not legal, tax or investment advice.
RIA practice benchmarks
All benchmarksMedians and shares from Form ADV for independent RIAs, by firm size. A size group with too few firms is left out.
How much AUM does an independent RIA manage per advisor?
Median AUM per advisory employee, with the middle half of firms, by firm size.
How many clients does an advisor at an independent RIA serve?
Median clients per advisory employee, by firm size.
How much AUM does an independent RIA hold per client?
Median AUM per individual and per high net worth client, by firm size.
How many people work at an independent RIA?
Median employees and advisory employees per firm, by firm size.
How do independent RIAs charge fees?
The share of firms charging a percentage of assets, hourly or fixed fees, performance fees or commissions, by firm size.
Guides
In the order most firms need them: start the firm, run it, then grow it. Each claim links to the rule, filing or publisher it comes from.
How to Start an RIA: SEC vs State Registration
The assets thresholds that decide SEC or state registration, the exceptions, and the filing steps from IARD access to state notice filings.
How to Price Advisory Services: Fee Schedules and Pricing Models
AUM tiers, flat fees, subscriptions, retainers and hourly rates, with published fee data and what Form ADV Part 2A makes you disclose.
Hiring Your First Advisor or Operations Hire: Roles, Licensing and Structure
What each first hire does, what a support hire changes, and the exams, registrations and disclosures a new advisor needs.
How to Build an RIA Compliance Program: Rule 206(4)-7, CCO and Annual Review
What Rule 206(4)-7 requires, what to write, your chief compliance officer, the code of ethics, records and how state-registered firms differ.
Legal Essentials for an Independent RIA: Entity, Advisory Agreement and Insurance
Choosing an entity, the advisory agreement, Form ADV and Form CRS delivery, privacy, insurance, change of control and when to call securities counsel.
How to Choose an RIA Custodian: What Custodians Do and What to Ask
What the custody rule requires, what you must disclose about the custodian you pick, the questions to ask in writing, and how to compare without a ranking.
Financial Advisor Technology Stack: What You Need, How It Connects and How to Budget
The software categories an independent advisor runs on, how data moves between them, how to evaluate and budget, and the rules that touch each one.
RIA Cybersecurity: Regulation S-P, Regulation S-ID and Practical Controls
Amended Regulation S-P (incident response, customer notice, service providers, compliance dates), Regulation S-ID, practical controls and state rules.
Marketing for Financial Advisors: How to Attract Clients
How independent advisors attract clients: referrals, centers of influence, a niche, content, events, social media and paid channels, with what to measure.
SEC Marketing Rule for Advisors: Testimonials, Ratings and Performance
Rule 206(4)-1 in plain words: testimonials, endorsements, third-party ratings, performance, social media, recordkeeping and FINRA Rule 2210.
Calculators
Every assumption is shown and editable, and nothing you enter is stored.
Advisor Capacity Calculator: How Many Households Can You Serve?
Estimate how many client households one advisor can serve from hours worked, service model and admin share, with every assumption shown and editable.
Advisor Fee Revenue Calculator: AUM Fee Schedule vs Flat Fee
Compare yearly revenue from your client list under an assets-based fee schedule with breakpoints and under a flat fee, with the math shown.
Research on practice management and regulation
The full research libraryThe newest from outside publishers, linked to their own pages. Inclusion is editorial and never paid.
Practice management
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What Separates Sophisticated Investors? Risk Literacy and Investment Decision-Making
FINRA Foundation · Regulator · Oct 5, 2026A research brief that sorts investors by how well they understand risk rather than basic terms. Only 18% show advanced investment literacy, and willingness to take a fraud-like pitch peaks among those with basic-only knowledge, which points to client education on risk and scams that goes beyond the basics.
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The AI advice frontier: Use, trust, and the human edge
Vanguard · Research from an asset manager · Sep 30, 2026A Vanguard survey of 6,686 investors finds about 32% have used AI for financial guidance, but only 19% of them trust its accuracy. AI was far more likely to raise than lower the perceived value of a human advisor, and the paper suggests advisors lean into empathy and help clients use AI tools safely.
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Will AI Replace Financial Advisors? Here's How to Prove Your Value to Clients
Morningstar · Research firm · Sep 30, 2026A Morningstar behavioral scientist draws on the firm's research into why clients hire advisors: behavioral coaching, goals-based planning and advice that feels personal and reliable. She concludes AI is best used for efficiency, and that uses which make the client relationship feel less personal can do harm.
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M&A in wealth management: 2026 mid-year update
Fidelity Institutional · Custodian · Aug 26, 2026Fidelity's midyear review of wealth management deals finds 120 RIA transactions in the first half of 2026, down from 132 a year earlier, but acquired assets of $342.9 billion, nearly double. Median deal size rose to $630 million, and acquirers are using deals to add capabilities such as tax and estate planning.
Regulation and ethics
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Examinations Observations Regarding Investment Adviser Annual Compliance Review
SEC · Regulator · Sep 14, 2026SEC examiners list recurring failures in the annual review of compliance policies every registered adviser must perform. They cite skipped or late reviews, review periods longer than 12 months, training or attestations used in place of a real review, thin documentation and problems left unresolved.
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Investor Perspectives: Quarterly Reporting
CFA Institute · Industry association · Sep 2, 2026CFA Institute surveyed analysts and portfolio managers as the SEC considers letting public companies report semiannually. Most want quarterly reporting kept mandatory, expect less useful information under a voluntary regime, and do not see earnings releases as a substitute for quarterly filings.
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Conflicts of Interest in Continuation Funds: Part II in a Series on Ethics in Private Markets
CFA Institute · Industry association · Jul 23, 2026An ethics analysis of continuation funds, where a private equity manager sells assets from an older fund to a new one it also runs and so sits on both sides of the price. The report separates unavoidable conflicts from process failures and misconduct, and sets out practices such as competitive bidding and full disclosure.
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Examinations Observations of Investment Adviser Obligations Related to Economic Conflicts of Interest
SEC · Regulator · Jun 9, 2026SEC examiners detail conflicts tied to advisers' own compensation that were left undisclosed or described misleadingly. Problem areas include cash sweep revenue, costlier share classes when cheaper ones were available, margin and clearing markups, Form ADV language saying a firm may earn revenue it actually earns, and billing that did not match agreements.
Practice podcasts
All podcasts-
Attractive Advisor
A short-run show on how advisors attract and keep the clients they want to serve, including whether to move to a fee-only model and what holds a practice back. Episodes are brief and practical.
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Financial Advisor Marketing Playbook
Quick-win and long-form episodes on marketing for financial advisors, including messaging, client events, client experience, and books and podcasts as ways to build authority. The host leads marketing at USA Financial.
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Financial Advisor's Workshop
Interviews with practicing advisors about how they built their businesses, from marketing beyond seminars to retainer pricing and family office services. Guests name their firms and roles, which makes it easy to follow up on an idea.
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For Advisors By Advisors
A weekly show on news and ideas for advisors, with interviews of advisors, recruiters, money managers and industry executives. Recent episodes focus on independence: moves from wirehouses and banks, private equity offers, and changes between independent platforms.
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FutureProof Advisor Podcast
Short episodes on how advisory firms can put AI and new technology to work without losing sight of process and client value. The host also answers listener questions about innovation inside established firms.
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Her Life, Her Practice, Her Way
Conversations with women advisors about building practices on their own terms, including career changes, deciding what is enough, and balancing family with client work. The host also reflects on what she learned across the first season.
Showing 6 of 21. See every show.
Selling, buying or comparing a firm
See also: Succession and M&A · What is my practice worth? · RIA deal tracker · RIA directory · Research library · Podcasts hosted by advisors · Investments. Guides and calculators are educational, not legal, tax or investment advice. Research and CE webinars from around the industry link to the publisher's or host's own page. AdvisorIQ writes the summaries; inclusion is editorial and never paid. CE for webinars from around the industry is shown as each host states it; AdvisorIQ does not confirm it. Podcasts are hosted by registered financial advisors, each checked against the SEC's IAPD records. Listing a show is not a recommendation of its hosts or their firms. Times are Eastern. Today is Oct 28, 2026.