Market data
RIA industry data: independent wealth management RIAs
As of October 2, 2026, 22,889 independent wealth management RIAs reported $10.1 trillion in regulatory assets under management; SEC-registered independent RIAs' assets were up 20.5% from September 2, 2025.
Include wirehouses and broker-dealer firms
For research and reports, at firm level, from Form ADV. Independent wealth management RIAs: firms whose individual and high net worth clients hold at least half of their regulatory assets and that offer financial planning or portfolio management for individuals, leaving out broker-dealers, banks and their advisory arms. Asset managers, private fund managers and pension consultants are not in the directory. How firms are classed.
- Independent wealth management RIAs
- 22,889
- SEC-registered
- 8,687
- State-registered
- 14,202
- Regulatory assets under management
- $10.1 trillion
- Client accounts
- 26,290,847
- Median firm size
- $64.5 million
- Broker-dealer affiliated firms, not included
- 982, with $14.0 trillion
Over time
The history comes from the SEC's yearly files, so it covers SEC-registered firms, from October 2018, the first snapshot in which the firm classes can be applied. Each snapshot is classed from its own Form ADV answers; state-registered firms appear only in the latest snapshot.
Data table
| As of | Firms |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2018 | 5,717 |
| October 1, 2019 | 5,930 |
| October 1, 2020 | 6,281 |
| October 4, 2021 | 6,914 |
| October 3, 2022 | 7,364 |
| October 5, 2023 | 7,413 |
| October 1, 2024 | 7,740 |
| September 2, 2025 | 8,079 |
| October 2, 2026 | 8,687 |
Data table
| As of | Regulatory assets under management |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2018 | $3.4 trillion |
| October 1, 2019 | $3.4 trillion |
| October 1, 2020 | $3.9 trillion |
| October 4, 2021 | $4.6 trillion |
| October 3, 2022 | $5.7 trillion |
| October 5, 2023 | $5.5 trillion |
| October 1, 2024 | $6.8 trillion |
| September 2, 2025 | $8.1 trillion |
| October 2, 2026 | $9.7 trillion |
Data table
| As of | Client accounts |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2018 | 7,882,262 |
| October 1, 2019 | 8,819,363 |
| October 1, 2020 | 11,361,711 |
| October 4, 2021 | 14,544,589 |
| October 3, 2022 | 15,808,709 |
| October 5, 2023 | 18,067,684 |
| October 1, 2024 | 20,991,888 |
| September 2, 2025 | 21,885,844 |
| October 2, 2026 | 24,146,667 |
Data table
| As of | Median firm size (RAUM) |
|---|---|
| October 1, 2018 | $220.7 million |
| October 1, 2019 | $211.4 million |
| October 1, 2020 | $234.0 million |
| October 4, 2021 | $244.8 million |
| October 3, 2022 | $267.2 million |
| October 5, 2023 | $239.1 million |
| October 1, 2024 | $261.4 million |
| September 2, 2025 | $278.2 million |
| October 2, 2026 | $286.1 million |
The market now
Headline figures
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firms | 22,889 | 8,687 | 14,202 |
| Regulatory assets under management | $10.1 trillion | $9.7 trillion | $339.3 billion |
| Accounts | 26,290,847 | 24,146,667 | 2,144,180 |
| Clients | 20,651,033 | 19,871,766 | 779,267 |
| Employees | 161,252 | 139,012 | 22,240 |
| Advisory employees | 100,131 | 81,467 | 18,664 |
| Investment adviser representatives | 98,286 | 79,300 | 18,986 |
| Median RAUM | $64.5 million | $286.1 million | $20.3 million |
| Average RAUM | $516.5 million | $1.2 billion | $30.6 million |
Firms by size
Advisers grouped by regulatory assets under management.
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firms under $100 million | 11,381 | 555 | 10,826 |
| RAUM of firms under $100 million | $331.7 billion | $24.0 billion | $307.7 billion |
| Firms $100 million to $250 million | 3,450 | 3,177 | 273 |
| RAUM of firms $100 million to $250 million | $554.1 billion | $524.1 billion | $30.0 billion |
| Firms $250 million to $500 million | 2,025 | 2,024 | 1 |
| RAUM of firms $250 million to $500 million | $714.9 billion | $714.5 billion | $337.9 million |
| Firms $500 million to $1 billion | 1,307 | 1,305 | 2 |
| RAUM of firms $500 million to $1 billion | $913.3 billion | $912.0 billion | $1.3 billion |
| Firms $1 billion to $5 billion | 1,089 | 1,089 | 0 |
| RAUM of firms $1 billion to $5 billion | $2.1 trillion | $2.1 trillion | $0 |
| Firms $5 billion to $10 billion | 128 | 128 | 0 |
| RAUM of firms $5 billion to $10 billion | $889.0 billion | $889.0 billion | $0 |
| Firms $10 billion and up | 109 | 109 | 0 |
| RAUM of firms $10 billion and up | $4.5 trillion | $4.5 trillion | $0 |
Concentration
How much of the market the largest advisers hold.
| Measure | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Top 10 share of RAUM | 21.4% | |
| Top 100 share of RAUM | 44.1% |
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 10 share of RAUM | 21.4% | 22.2% | 0.9% |
| Top 100 share of RAUM | 44.1% | 45.7% | 4.0% |
How advisers are paid
Share of advisers reporting each form of compensation on Form ADV Item 5.E. A firm can report several.
| Measure | Bar | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Charge a percentage of assets | 91.7% | |
| Charge hourly fees | 50.5% | |
| Charge subscription fees | 1.4% | |
| Charge fixed fees | 59.7% | |
| Receive commissions | 2.1% | |
| Charge performance-based fees | 7.2% | |
| Other compensation | 8.9% |
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charge a percentage of assets | 91.7% | 97.2% | 88.3% |
| Charge hourly fees | 50.5% | 48.5% | 51.7% |
| Charge subscription fees | 1.4% | 1.2% | 1.6% |
| Charge fixed fees | 59.7% | 66.2% | 55.8% |
| Receive commissions | 2.1% | 2.3% | 2.0% |
| Charge performance-based fees | 7.2% | 8.0% | 6.6% |
| Other compensation | 8.9% | 8.6% | 9.0% |
Custody
Advisers reporting custody of client cash or securities on Form ADV Item 9.
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Have custody | 28.4% | 49.1% | 15.7% |
Broker-dealer and other affiliations
From Form ADV Items 6 and 7.
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker-dealer affiliated | 1.5% | 3.3% | 0.4% |
New firms and successions
New registrations and firms reporting that they succeeded to another adviser's business (Form ADV Item 4).
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| New registrations | 2,453 | 1,006 | 1,447 |
| Successions | No data | 11 | No data |
Other measures
| Measure | Independent RIAs | SEC-registered | State-registered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firms reporting RAUM | 19,489 | 8,387 | 11,102 |
| Discretionary RAUM | $9.0 trillion | $8.7 trillion | $294.8 billion |
| CFP professionals | 29,206 | 24,147 | 5,059 |
| 25th percentile RAUM | $15.3 million | $157.6 million | $6.3 million |
| 75th percentile RAUM | $234.8 million | $638.2 million | $47.9 million |
| 90th percentile RAUM | $682.5 million | $1.5 billion | $77.2 million |
| Average account size | $382,877 | $402,823 | $158,265 |
| Offer financial planning | 76.0% | 80.8% | 73.0% |
| RAUM growth, one year | No data | 20.5% | No data |
As of October 2, 2026. Definitions of every measure are on the methodology page.
The 2011 to 2012 break in the series
Two changes from the Dodd-Frank Act make the years before mid-2012 hard to compare with the years after. Most mid-sized advisers, those with less than $100 million in regulatory assets, moved from SEC to state registration, withdrawing their SEC registrations by June 28, 2012, which lowered the count of SEC-registered firms. At the same time the "private adviser" exemption ended, and advisers that had relied on it, many of them hedge fund and private equity managers, had to register with the SEC by March 30, 2012, which raised it.
The same rules replaced the old assets under management figure on Form ADV with regulatory assets under management, which is calculated gross, without deducting outstanding debt, and includes family and proprietary assets, assets managed without pay and assets of foreign clients. Totals from before 2012 measure something narrower. Read firm counts, assets and growth across those years with care.
Source: SEC Release IA-3221, Rules Implementing Amendments to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (June 22, 2011).
More
- RIA market data by state: firms, assets, growth and the independent share in every state.
- RIA industry reports, the latest The RIA industry, Q4 2026: key findings from these figures, ready to quote.
- RIA rankings, nationally and by state.
- Methodology: sources, definitions, how firms are classed and what is left out.
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.