SEC-registered wealth management firm Broker-dealer affiliated
Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc.
As of its Form ADV filed March 31, 2026, Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc., an SEC-registered, broker-dealer affiliated wealth management firm in Chicago, Illinois, reported $2.5 billion in regulatory assets under management across 18,608 accounts, ranking #34 among all wealth firms in Illinois by assets.
Registration
- Registration
- SEC-registered, Approved
- CRD number
- 281285
- SEC file number
- 801-106953
- Registered since
- November 18, 2015
- Latest Form ADV filing
- March 31, 2026
- Organized as
- Corporation
- Fiscal year ends
- December
- Other offices
- 136
Key figures
- Regulatory assets under management
- $2.5 billion
- Discretionary
- $2.5 billion (99.0%)
- Non-discretionary
- $25.4 million
- Accounts
- 18,608 (18,569 discretionary)
- Clients
- 14,314, approximate as reported
- Employees
- 433
- Advisory staff
- 433 performing investment advisory functions
- Average account
- $133,666
- Asset growth, 1 year
- 28.0% (from $1.9 billion a year earlier)
- Asset growth, 3-year annual rate
- 30.3% (from $1.1 billion three years earlier)
- Asset growth, 5-year annual rate
- 25.8% (from $790.7 million five years earlier)
- Client growth, 1 year
- 21.1% (from 11,822)
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 3, 2016 | $0 |
| October 2, 2017 | $111.0 million |
| October 1, 2018 | $183.3 million |
| October 1, 2019 | $324.0 million |
| October 1, 2020 | $531.7 million |
| October 4, 2021 | $790.7 million |
| October 3, 2022 | $1.2 billion |
| October 5, 2023 | $1.1 billion |
| October 1, 2024 | $1.5 billion |
| September 2, 2025 | $1.9 billion |
| October 2, 2026 | $2.5 billion |
Clients and services
Client mix
| Measure | Bar | RAUM |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals (other than high net worth) 14,270 clients | $2.4 billion | |
| High net worth individuals 5 clients | $99.3 million | |
| Pension and profit sharing plans 39 clients | $25.4 million |
How the firm is paid
- A percentage of assets under management
- Other
Advisory services
- Financial planning
- Portfolio management for individuals or small businesses
- Selection of other advisers
- Educational seminars or workshops
Financial planning clients (Item 5.H): 0.
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
- Insurance company or agency
- Real estate broker, dealer or agent
Custody (Item 9)
The firm reported no custody of client cash or securities.
Investment adviser representatives
- IARs registered with the firm
- 533
- Also registered through a broker-dealer
- 501
- Employees who are IARs (Form ADV 5.B(3))
- 433
Designations held by the firm's IARs: ChFC 14, CFP 12.
Between 109 and 326 of the firm's 533 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 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Arete Wealth Advisors, LLC | Chicago | $2.7 billion |
| Ipi Wealth Management, Inc. | Decatur | $2.7 billion |
| Cozad Asset Management Inc | Champaign | $2.6 billion |
| North Star Investment Management Corporation | Chicago | $2.5 billion |
| Vestor Capital, LLC | Chicago | $2.3 billion |
The five wealth firms, broker-dealer affiliated firms included, nearest in regulatory assets with a main office in the same state.
Elsewhere
- Bankers Life Advisory Services, Inc. on IAPD: Form ADV, brochures and disclosure detail.
- Firm website: www.bankerslife.com/bankers-life-securities/bankers-life-advisory-services-inc
- 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.