How many clients does an advisor at an independent RIA serve?

As of October 2, 2026, the median independent wealth management RIA has 45 clients per advisory employee, and the middle half of firms have between 21 and 83 (19,915 firms, from Form ADV). By size, the median is lowest at firms managing under $100 million (31) and highest at firms managing $500 million to $1 billion (71).

By AUM size band

Clients per advisory employee at independent wealth management RIAs by AUM size band, Form ADV data as of October 2, 2026
AUM size band	Median	Middle 50%	Firms with a value	Firms in group
All sizes	45	21 to 83	19,915	22,914
Under $100 million	31	14 to 61	10,820	11,373
$100 million to $250 million	66	39 to 108	3,434	3,447
$250 million to $500 million	70	45 to 113	2,019	2,025
$500 million to $1 billion	71	45 to 114	1,304	1,307
$1 billion to $5 billion	68	41 to 108	1,087	1,089
$5 billion to $10 billion	53	27 to 98	128	128
$10 billion and up	60	29 to 93	109	109
No AUM reported	25	7 to 66	1,014	3,436

By state

The 10 states with the most firms reporting, by main office, all sizes. States with fewer than 30 firms reporting are not shown.

Clients per advisory employee at independent wealth management RIAs by main office state, all sizes, Form ADV data as of October 2, 2026
State	Median	Middle 50%	Firms with a value
California	40	18 to 76	2,760
Texas	37	17 to 70	1,535
Florida	37	16 to 76	1,478
New York	38	15 to 80	1,150
Pennsylvania	48	23 to 86	778
Ohio	60	27 to 108	733
Illinois	46	23 to 86	716
Massachusetts	43	20 to 79	678
Colorado	42	20 to 76	652
Georgia	42	22 to 76	596

What these figures count

Who is counted: Independent wealth management RIAs, SEC-registered and state-registered: firms whose individual and high net worth clients hold at least half of their AUM and that offer financial planning or portfolio management for individuals. Broker-dealers, banks and their advisory arms, asset managers, private fund managers and pension consultants are not counted. 22,914 firms are in the data; 19,915 report what this page needs.
When: Form ADV data as of the date above. Each firm's figures are as it last reported them, mostly as of its fiscal year end, which is usually December 31 of the previous year.
Middle 50%: The middle 50% runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile: a quarter of firms are below it, half are inside it and a quarter are above it. The median is the firm in the middle.
Small groups: A group with fewer than 30 firms reporting is not shown, and nothing is estimated for it.

Definitions

Clients per advisory employee (count): A firm's clients divided by its advisory employees (Item 5.B(1)). Clients are the firm's count of clients by type (Item 5.D(a) to (n)) plus clients with no AUM (Item 5.C(1)), approximate as the firm reports them. One value per firm; firms reporting at least one client and at least one advisory employee.

Compiled October 21, 2026 from SEC Form ADV data as of October 2, 2026 and state data as of October 20, 2026. Sources: SEC registered adviser data (ia100226.zip) and IAPD compilation reports. How the directory is built.

Method

For each firm the measure is worked out from its own Form ADV answers; a size band shows the median of those firm values and the middle 50% around it, so a few very large or very small firms do not pull the figure. Size bands are the AUM bands used in the industry data (Item 5.F(2)(c)).

Affiliated advisers can report the same assets on their own Form ADV, so totals here may double count across firms, as the SEC's own totals do. Full methodology.

More benchmarks

All RIA practice benchmarks
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 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.