# How many people work at an independent RIA?

As of October 2, 2026, the median independent wealth management RIA has 2 employees, and the middle half of firms have between 1 and 4 (22,791 firms, from Form ADV). The median firm has 1 advisory employee. By size, the median number of employees is lowest at firms managing under $100 million (1) and highest at firms managing $10 billion and up (205).

As of: 2026-10-02
Address: https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/firm-size/

## Facts

- Question: How many people work at an independent RIA?
- Answer: As of October 2, 2026, the median independent wealth management RIA has 2 employees, and the middle half of firms have between 1 and 4 (22,791 firms, from Form ADV). The median firm has 1 advisory employee. By size, the median number of employees is lowest at firms managing under $100 million (1) and highest at firms managing $10 billion and up (205).
- Population: 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.
- Period: 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.
- Minimum firms per group: 30
- Measures: Key: employees, Label: Employees, Definition: A firm's employees, full time and part time, not counting clerical workers (Form ADV Item 5.A). One value per firm; firms reporting at least one., Unit: count; Key: advisory_employees, Label: Advisory employees, Definition: A firm's employees who perform investment advisory functions, including research (Form ADV Item 5.B(1)). One value per firm; firms reporting at least one., Unit: count
- By size band: Employees: Group: All sizes, Firms in group: 22914, Firms with value: 22791, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; Group: Under $100 million, Firms in group: 11373, Firms with value: 11307, Median: 1, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 2; Group: $100 million to $250 million, Firms in group: 3447, Firms with value: 3446, Median: 3, Middle 50 percent from: 2, Middle 50 percent to: 5; Group: $250 million to $500 million, Firms in group: 2025, Firms with value: 2025, Median: 6, Middle 50 percent from: 4, Middle 50 percent to: 8; Group: $500 million to $1 billion, Firms in group: 1307, Firms with value: 1307, Median: 9, Middle 50 percent from: 6, Middle 50 percent to: 13; Group: $1 billion to $5 billion, Firms in group: 1089, Firms with value: 1089, Median: 18, Middle 50 percent from: 12, Middle 50 percent to: 30; Group: $5 billion to $10 billion, Firms in group: 128, Firms with value: 128, Median: 62.5, Middle 50 percent from: 37, Middle 50 percent to: 97.25; Group: $10 billion and up, Firms in group: 109, Firms with value: 109, Median: 205, Middle 50 percent from: 124, Middle 50 percent to: 432; Group: No AUM reported, Firms in group: 3436, Firms with value: 3380, Median: 1, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 2, Advisory employees: Group: All sizes, Firms in group: 22914, Firms with value: 22705, Median: 1, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 3; Group: Under $100 million, Firms in group: 11373, Firms with value: 11283, Median: 1, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 1; Group: $100 million to $250 million, Firms in group: 3447, Firms with value: 3441, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 2, Middle 50 percent to: 3; Group: $250 million to $500 million, Firms in group: 2025, Firms with value: 2022, Median: 4, Middle 50 percent from: 3, Middle 50 percent to: 5; Group: $500 million to $1 billion, Firms in group: 1307, Firms with value: 1305, Median: 6, Middle 50 percent from: 4, Middle 50 percent to: 8; Group: $1 billion to $5 billion, Firms in group: 1089, Firms with value: 1088, Median: 11, Middle 50 percent from: 7, Middle 50 percent to: 18; Group: $5 billion to $10 billion, Firms in group: 128, Firms with value: 128, Median: 32, Middle 50 percent from: 18.75, Middle 50 percent to: 56.25; Group: $10 billion and up, Firms in group: 109, Firms with value: 109, Median: 99, Middle 50 percent from: 46, Middle 50 percent to: 217; Group: No AUM reported, Firms in group: 3436, Firms with value: 3329, Median: 1, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 1
- By state all sizes: Employees: State: California, Firms with value: 3206, Median: 1, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 3; State: Texas, Firms with value: 1797, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: Florida, Firms with value: 1703, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: New York, Firms with value: 1322, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: Pennsylvania, Firms with value: 898, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 5; State: Ohio, Firms with value: 834, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: Illinois, Firms with value: 823, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: Massachusetts, Firms with value: 772, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: Colorado, Firms with value: 747, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4; State: New Jersey, Firms with value: 686, Median: 2, Middle 50 percent from: 1, Middle 50 percent to: 4
- 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)).

## Notes

- A group with fewer than 30 firms reporting is not shown.
- 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.

## Sources

- SEC, Information About Registered Investment Advisers (ia100226.zip), checked 2026-10-02: https://www.sec.gov/files/investment/data/other/information-about-registered-investment-advisers-exempt-reporting-advisers/ia100226.zip
- IAPD compilation reports (IA_FIRM_STATE_Feed_10_20_2026.xml.gz), checked 2026-10-20: https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/compilation

## Related

- [RIA practice benchmarks](https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/)
- [How much AUM does an independent RIA manage per advisor?](https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/aum-per-advisor/)
- [How many clients does an advisor at an independent RIA serve?](https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/clients-per-advisor/)
- [How much AUM does an independent RIA hold per client?](https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/aum-per-client/)
- [How do independent RIAs charge fees?](https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/fee-arrangements/)
- [RIA industry data](https://advisoriq.com/ria/industry/)
- [How the directory is built](https://advisoriq.com/ria/methodology/#benchmarks)

## Cite as

AdvisorIQ, as of 2026-10-02. https://advisoriq.com/ria/benchmarks/firm-size/

License: https://advisoriq.com/license/