SEC-registered wealth management firm Broker-dealer affiliated
Cetera Investment Advisers LLC
As of its Form ADV filed August 13, 2026, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC, an SEC-registered, broker-dealer affiliated wealth management firm in Schaumburg, Illinois, reported $256.8 billion in regulatory assets under management across 813,961 accounts, ranking #1 among all wealth firms in Illinois by assets.
Registration
- Main office
- Schaumburg, IL
- Registration
- SEC-registered, Approved
- CRD number
- 105644
- SEC file number
- 801-20406
- Registered since
- January 13, 1984
- Latest Form ADV filing
- August 13, 2026
- Organized as
- Limited Liability Company
- Fiscal year ends
- December
- Other offices
- 6,584
Key figures
- Regulatory assets under management
- $256.8 billion
- Discretionary
- $209.1 billion (81.4%)
- Non-discretionary
- $47.7 billion
- Accounts
- 813,961 (680,405 discretionary)
- Clients
- 837,980, approximate as reported
- Employees
- 10,251
- Advisory staff
- 9,049 performing investment advisory functions
- Average account
- $315,511
- Asset growth, 1 year
- 56.8% (from $163.8 billion a year earlier)
- Asset growth, 3-year annual rate
- 97.5% (from $33.4 billion three years earlier)
- Asset growth, 5-year annual rate
- 55.4% (from $28.3 billion five years earlier)
- Client growth, 1 year
- 38.5% (from 605,017)
Broker-dealer affiliated. The firm is affiliated with a broker-dealer (Item 7.A(1)), at least half of its advisory staff are registered representatives of a broker-dealer (Item 5.B(2) against 5.B(1)), and its advisers manage less than $100 million each on average (5.F(2)(c) over 5.B(1)), the pattern of a broker-dealer's advisory arm rather than an adviser that owns a small broker-dealer. It is ranked among all wealth firms, the directory's view that includes wirehouses and broker-dealer firms, not in the main lists of independent RIAs. How firms are classed.
Growth rates come from the SEC's yearly snapshots and are left blank when the years are not comparable.
Rankings
Among all wealth firms, including wirehouses and broker-dealer firms.
Assets over time
Data table
| As of | RAUM |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2010 | $3.2 billion |
| October 3, 2011 | $3.6 billion |
| October 1, 2012 | $3.0 billion |
| October 1, 2013 | $3.1 billion |
| October 1, 2014 | $4.7 billion |
| October 1, 2015 | $7.4 billion |
| October 3, 2016 | $7.0 billion |
| October 2, 2017 | $7.8 billion |
| October 1, 2018 | $10.1 billion |
| October 1, 2019 | $10.3 billion |
| October 1, 2020 | $15.9 billion |
| October 4, 2021 | $28.3 billion |
| October 3, 2022 | $35.8 billion |
| October 5, 2023 | $33.4 billion |
| October 1, 2024 | $104.5 billion |
| September 2, 2025 | $163.8 billion |
| October 2, 2026 | $256.8 billion |
Clients and services
Client mix
| Measure | Bar | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals (other than high net worth) 722,373 clients | $175.5 billion | |
| High net worth individuals 79,279 clients | $69.8 billion | |
| Corporations or other businesses 3,884 clients | $5.9 billion | |
| Pension and profit sharing plans 6,324 clients | $3.5 billion | |
| Charitable organizations 2,036 clients | $1.9 billion | |
| State or municipal government entities 65 clients | $112.5 million | |
| Banking or thrift institutions fewer than 5 clients | $0 | |
| Other investment advisers fewer than 5 clients | $0 | |
| Insurance companies fewer than 5 clients | $0 | |
| Sovereign wealth funds and foreign official institutions fewer than 5 clients | $0 |
How the firm is paid
- A percentage of assets under management
- Hourly charges
- Fixed fees
Advisory services
- Financial planning
- Portfolio management for individuals or small businesses
- Portfolio management for businesses or institutional clients
- Pension consulting
- Selection of other advisers
- Educational seminars or workshops
Financial planning clients (Item 5.H): 16968.
Wrap fee program sponsor or portfolio manager: yes.
Other business, affiliations and custody
Other business activities (Item 6.A)
None reported.
Financial industry affiliations (Item 7.A)
- Broker-dealer
- Other investment adviser
- Municipal advisor
- Trust company
- Insurance company or agency
- Pension consultant
Custody (Item 9)
The firm reported custody of client cash or securities, $488.2 billion in total.
Investment adviser representatives
- IARs registered with the firm
- 10,450
- Also registered through a broker-dealer
- 10,288
- Employees who are IARs (Form ADV 5.B(3))
- 10,240
Designations held by the firm's IARs: CFP 1,867, ChFC 527, PFS 263, CFA 59.
Between 1,002 and 5,481 of the firm's 10,450 IARs are registered in jurisdictions that require IAR CE. The source counts registrations by jurisdiction, and many IARs are registered in more than one, so the exact number is not knowable from it. IAR CE requirements by state.
Counts only. AdvisorIQ does not list individual people.
Disclosures
On Form ADV Item 11 the firm answered yes to 13 disclosure questions. See the detail on IAPD.
Succession and acquired firms
On Form ADV Item 4 the firm did not report succeeding to another adviser's business.
Similar-sized firms in Illinois
| Firm | City | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| Hightower Advisors, LLC | Chicago | $198.6 billion |
| Cresset Asset Management, LLC | Chicago | $78.9 billion |
| CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc. | Chicago | $67.8 billion |
| William Blair & Company L.L.C. | Chicago | $64.3 billion |
| Savant Wealth Management | Rockford | $55.6 billion |
The five wealth firms, broker-dealer affiliated firms included, nearest in regulatory assets with a main office in the same state.
Elsewhere
- Cetera Investment Advisers LLC on IAPD: Form ADV, brochures and disclosure detail.
- Firm website: cetera.com
- Wealth management firms in Illinois
Firm data as of October 2, 2026, from ia100226.zip. Figures are as the firm reported them; corrections are made on Form ADV and appear after the next monthly reload.
Data as of October 2, 2026, from Form ADV. Sources: SEC registered adviser data (ia100226.zip) and IAPD compilation reports. How the directory is built.