Gitnux/Report 2026

Financial Advisory Industry Statistics

The financial advisory industry reached $176.8 trillion in assets under management in 2025, explore the figures behind growth, companies and trends.
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November 11, 2026Updated
Financial Advisory Industry Statistics
Diana ReevesWritten by Diana Reeves·Edited by Felix Zimmermann·Fact-checked by Yumi Nakamura
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

Gitnux editors write the brief first: the topic, the inclusion rules, and the frame for what belongs.

02Source Research

Agents search the published record and log every extracted figure back to the passage it came from.

Read our full methodology →

Search agents attach provenance to every extracted figure.

Next review: within 31 days

01 Industry overview

The financial advisory industry at a glance

The financial advisory industry reached $176.8 trillion in assets under management in 2025, while adviser numbers, clients and employment also reached record highs.

$176.8T[29]
Assets under management, 2025
73.7M[29]
Clients served, 2025
1.1M[29]
Non-clerical employees, 2025
$105,070[48]
Median adviser wage, 2025
Market size
The U.S. wealth management market held roughly $58 trillion in assets at year-end 2024 and generated approximately $363 billion in revenue. SEC-registered investment advisers reported $177 trillion in regulatory assets under management in 2025, providing a broader measure of advisory-market scale.[22][102]
Forecast & CAGR
Deloitte projects U.S. wealth management assets to rise from $58 trillion in 2024 to $90 trillion in 2029, equivalent to about a 9% CAGR. Globally, PwC forecasts assets under management to grow from $139 trillion in 2024 to $200 trillion in 2030, a 6.2% CAGR.[22][89]
Market share & regions
North America remains the largest global wealth-management region. PwC forecasts North American assets under management to grow at a 6.2% CAGR through 2030, compared with 6.8% in Asia-Pacific, 6.6% in Latin America, 6.3% in the Middle East and Africa, and 5.6% in Europe.[89]
Segmentation
Advisory services span investment management, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, insurance and risk management. In the U.S. wealth market, advised and self-directed models together held $58 trillion in assets in 2024; independent fiduciary advice models such as RIAs are projected to grow at a 10% CAGR, ahead of the broader market.[48][22]
Key players & concentration
The U.S. market is fragmented by firm count but concentrated by assets. In 2025, 67.4% of advisers managed less than $1 billion and 87.3% managed less than $5 billion; among SEC-registered advisers, 1.6% reported $100 billion or more in regulatory assets under management.[29][103]
Pricing
Personal financial advisers commonly charge either flat fees or commissions tied to financial products, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Median annual pay for personal financial advisers was $105,070 in May 2025, while median pay in securities, commodity contracts and related financial activities was $120,870.[48]
Trends, drivers & challenges
Demand is supported by retirement planning, wealth transfers and expanding client access: Deloitte projects advised relationships to grow from 53 million in 2024 to as many as 71 million in 2034. Technology and AI are major drivers, but profitability remains pressured; PwC reports that 89% of asset managers experienced profitability pressure over the past five years and profit per asset under management fell 19% since 2018.[22][89]
Consumer behavior & competition
Wealth managers increasingly compete through broader services, access to private assets and digital delivery. In Natixis's 2025 survey, 56% of managers identified expanding service offerings as their top growth factor, 48% cited reaching new client segments, 77% said AI could broaden their services, and 52% viewed AI-enabled robo-advice as a meaningful competitive threat.[6]
M&A
U.S. RIA deal activity increased in 2025, with 349 transactions involving firms managing more than $100 million, up by 73 deals from 2024. Acquired assets exceeded $2.0 trillion, strategic acquisitions represented 85% of activity, and firms with $500 million or less in assets accounted for 44% of transactions.[39]
Regulation
The SEC adopted amendments on November 4, 2026, raising the regulatory-assets threshold for an investment adviser to qualify as a small entity from $25 million to $1 billion. Separately, the SEC proposed changes in 2026 that would expand certain performance-based compensation arrangements and require additional disclosures.[102]
Latest news
The latest industry snapshot reports that 2025 produced record highs for advisers, clients, employees and assets under management: 16,544 advisers, 73.7 million clients, 1.1 million non-clerical employees and $176.8 trillion in assets under management. The SEC also adopted its small-entity definition amendments on November 4, 2026.[29][102]

02 Ranking

Top 10 Companies in the Financial Advisory Industry

The leading companies in the financial advisory industry, ranked on market impact, performance, momentum, innovation and brand popularity.

Updated November 11, 2026 · Next review December 11, 2026

Verdict

Morgan Stanley stands out for investment-banking economics because Institutional Securities generated $7.6 billion of investment-banking revenue in 2025, while Goldman Sachs focuses on M&A advisory since it held the No. 1 M&A-advisor position for 23 consecutive years.

Ranked by Overall score · How we score ↓

Editor's top 3 picks

Where to start, by need.

  1. #1 Overall · Leader in investment banking & wealth advisory

    Morgan Stanley

    US

    Ranked #1 · 9.3 · Investment banking & wealth advisory

    Why we picked it: Its investment-banking economics are visible in Institutional Securities, supporting its role in advisory for global clients.

    See in ranking ↓Visit morganstanley.com ↗

  2. #2 overall

    Goldman Sachs

    US

    Ranked #2 · 8.8 · Investment banking & wealth advisory

    Why we picked it: Its M&A advisory track record aligns with its 37.5% operating margin, reflecting concentrated focus on investment banking.

    See in ranking ↓Visit goldmansachs.com ↗

  3. #3 overall

    JPMorgan Chase

    US

    Ranked #3 · 8.8 · Investment banking & wealth advisory

    Why we picked it: Its global investment bank scope spans M&A and capital markets alongside wealth advisory services.

    See in ranking ↓Visit jpmorganchase.com ↗

Pick 1 is the #1 company overall. No other segment places in the top 5, so picks 2 and 3 follow rank.

Full ranking

Sort by
Top 10 companies in the financial advisory industry, 2026 – Gitnux ranking
#CompanyOverall ↓Company snapshot
1

Morgan Stanley

Investment banking & wealth advisory · US

9.3
2

Goldman Sachs

Investment banking & wealth advisory · US

8.8
3

JPMorgan Chase

Investment banking & wealth advisory · US

8.8
4

Bank of America

Investment banking & wealth advisory · US

8.7
5

UBS

Investment banking & wealth advisory · CH

8.6
6

BNP Paribas

Corporate and institutional banking advisory, global · FR

8.6
7

Deutsche Bank

Investment banking and corporate advisory, Europe and global · DE

8.3
8

Lazard

M&A, restructuring and financial advisory, global · US

8.3
9

Citigroup

Investment banking and cross-border financial advisory · US

8.2
10

Rothschild & Co

Independent M&A and strategic advisory, global · FR

8.1

How we score

  • Impact (30%): scale and weight in the market (revenue, market share, employees, market position).

Popularity (brand search demand, 15%) counts toward Overall but is not published as a column. Overall leaves out what is not known.

Scale Scores are shown on a 7–10 scale with one decimal; bars start at 7.0.

Cadence Recalculated when new figures are published; next review December 11, 2026.

Independence. Rankings are editorially independent. Scores, ranks, picks and the verdict follow the method above; no company can pay to change them.

Cite this ranking

APA

Diana Reeves. (2026, February 13). Top 10 companies in the financial advisory industry. In Financial Advisory Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/financial-advisory-industry-statistics/#top-companies

report visual · Comparison

Revenue of the largest financial advisory companies

JPMorgan Chase leads with $185.6B in annual revenue (group level, converted to USD).

JPMorgan Chase$185.6B
Bank of America$113.1B
Citigroup$85.2B
Morgan Stanley$70.6B
Goldman Sachs$58.3B
UBS$49.6B
source-verifiedjpmorganchase.com · newsroom.bankofamerica.com · citigroup.com · morganstanley.com · goldmansachs.com · ubs.com2025

04 Statistics

Technology & Innovation

AI adoption moved from workflow use into higher-frequency activity, with 80% of financial services firms reporting active AI use in 2026 and 87% expecting AI use within 12 months in June 2025.

AI in the financial advisory industry

  • 76% of U.S. financial advisors reported immediate benefits from generative-AI-enabled tools in 2025.[1]
  • 48% of U.S. financial advisors said AI significantly or moderately improved their efficiency in 2026.[2]
  • 48% of U.S. financial advisors were already using AI in their workflows in June 2025, while 87% expected to use it within the following 12 months.[3]
  • 43% of U.S. financial advisors used AI for internal productivity tasks such as meeting summaries and email drafts in 2026.[4]
  • 33% of advisors used AI for client communications or messaging in 2026.[2]
  • 64% of financial planners worldwide said their firm was using AI or planned to use it within 12 months in 2025.[5]

Automation in the financial advisory industry

  • 37% of advisors worldwide reported deploying AI for practice management in 2024.[6]
  • 82% of U.S. financial advisors said their firms had formal generative-AI policies in 2025.[1]
  • 42% of U.S. financial advisors used generative AI for summarizing meeting and interview notes in 2025.[1]
  • 40% of U.S. financial advisors used generative AI for marketing or prospecting in 2025.[1]
  • 29% of U.S. financial advisors used AI-enabled tools to develop personalized financial plans in 2025.[1]
  • 65% of U.S. financial advisors said their firms’ technology needs improvement in 2025.[1]

Digital Transformation in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 80% of financial services firms reported active AI use in 2026, up from 31% in 2025.[7]
  • 84% of financial services firms said integrating front-, middle- and back-office systems into one platform is important in 2026.[7]
  • 43% of financial services firms said they will need an entirely new technology stack to succeed in the age of AI.[7]
  • 26% of financial services firms reported using agentic AI in 2026, according to a global digital-transformation study.[7]
  • 27% of financial services firms reported financial benefits from AI in 2026, up from 14% in 2025.[7]

Technology Adoption in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • About one-third of financial services companies reported using generative AI by January 2025, compared with 21% a year earlier.[8]
  • 61% of financial institutions recently adopted AI or improved their AI capabilities, based on a 2024 survey across 11 markets.[9]
  • 59% of finance leaders reported using AI in their finance function in 2025, according to Gartner’s survey of 183 senior finance leaders.[10]
  • 35% of financial institutions adopted or improved generative-AI capabilities during the 12 months covered by the 2024 survey.[9]
  • 54% of surveyed financial services companies had deployed AI initiatives by January 2025, up from 40% one year earlier.[8]

Cloud Computing in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 43% of banking and financial services organizations were moving toward a cloud-first analytics approach in the WNS-Forrester survey.[11]
  • 91% of financial organizations had at least one cloud platform in 2023, up from 37% in 2020.[12]
  • 33% of financial services firms were highly satisfied with cloud-related reductions in operational costs in Capgemini’s 2024 survey.[12]
  • 87% of financial services firms increased cloud investment during the two years preceding LSEG’s 2025 global survey.[13]
  • 82% of financial services firms used a hybrid- or multi-cloud strategy in LSEG’s 2025 global survey.[13]

Big Data in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 43% of financial services firms had adopted customer-data platforms at least partially or were scaling them, based on Capgemini’s 2024 survey.[12]
  • 18% of finance firms adopted big-data analytics in the OECD’s cross-country comparison; the European data refer to 2019.[14]
  • 37% of surveyed bank marketers said their bank was on the way to using data and analytics to support strategic goals in 2024.[15]

05 Statistics

Data & Analytics

Advisory analytics depends on CRM and reporting tooling, with 92.5% of advisors using a dedicated CRM and 87% using performance-reporting technology in the 2025 Kitces study.

Business intelligence in the financial advisory industry

  • 92.5% of advisors used a dedicated CRM in the most recent Kitces advisor-technology research cited in 2026.[16]
  • 91.1% of advisory-firm respondents used CRM software in the latest T3 survey summarized by Kitces.[16]
  • 8.0 out of 10 was the functional-importance rating independent advisory firms gave business intelligence in 2025.[17]
  • 15.4% of independent advisory firms used standalone business-intelligence tools in the 2025 Kitces technology survey.[17]
  • 15.4% of independent advisory firms used business-intelligence tools in the 2025 Kitces technology study.[17]
  • 74.4% of advisory-firm respondents used portfolio-management software in the latest T3 survey summarized by Kitces.[16]

Data analytics in the financial advisory industry

  • 87% of advisors used performance-reporting technology in the 2025 Kitces study.[18]
  • 8.0 out of 10 was the importance score independent advisory firms assigned to business intelligence and related analytics in 2025.[17]
  • 39% of advisors planned to use AI to analyze CRM and client data for insights and audience segmentation in 2026.[16]
  • 25% of investors said risk-assessment tools that show portfolio risk clearly add the most value to the advisor-client relationship.[19]
  • 76% of advisors used investment-management tools, including portfolio-management software, in the 2025 Kitces study.[18]
  • 25% of investors said interactive dashboards that track portfolio performance in real time add the most value to the advisor-client relationship.[19]

Data Quality in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across banks supervised by the European Central Bank, 28% reported that all data used by critical functions came from golden sources in 2023.[20]
  • Across global financial services, 36% of organizations rated their data excellent for quantity and completeness in 2024.[21]
  • Across U.S. banking and capital markets, 94% of respondents named data accuracy and reliability as a priority in 2024.[22]
  • Across global financial services, 34% of organizations rated their data excellent for accuracy and integrity in 2024.[21]
  • Across significant European banking institutions, 32% did not apply data-quality-management principles to end-user computing in 2023.[20]
  • Across U.S. banking and capital markets, 86% of respondents named data access and usability as a top concern in 2024.[22]

Data Governance in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Across financial-services organizations surveyed globally, 43.7% lacked a standardized certification process for analytics content in 2025.[23]
  • Across 35 surveyed banks, insurers, and financial-services firms in 38 countries, 54% had adopted a semantic layer for organization-wide data governance in 2025.[24]
  • Across financial-services organizations surveyed globally, 57.1% identified BI-content testing as the top future investment in analytics governance in 2025.[23]
  • Across financial-services organizations surveyed globally, 82.9% had implemented governance policies specifically applying to business intelligence and analytics in 2025.[23]
  • Across global financial services, 54% of companies rated data governance at one of the two highest maturity levels in 2024.[25]

KPIs in the financial advisory industry

  • 53 new clients per year was the acquisition target reported by French financial advisors in the 2024 Natixis survey.[6]
  • 60% of high-growth advisory firms tracked client retention as a formal business goal in the 2022 Advisor Benchmark Study.[26]
  • 52% of high-growth advisory firms tracked client satisfaction as a formal business goal in the 2022 Advisor Benchmark Study.[26]
  • $1.7 million was median revenue per advisor at high-performing U.S. advisory firms in Dimensional’s 2025 study, versus $843,000 at other firms.[26]
  • 34 new clients per year was the average acquisition target global financial advisors said they needed over the following three years.[6]
  • 11.5% was the average one-year growth that global financial advisors expected for their businesses in 2024.[6]

06 Statistics

Strategy & Growth

Deal and organic growth pressures show up together, including 349 RIA transactions in 2025 and revenue growth expectations tied to next-generation asset capture.

Growth in the financial advisory industry

  • 74% of U.S. financial advisers were pursuing offensive strategies to capture next-generation assets in 2026.[6]
  • Revenue at Schwab-custodied RIA firms increased 17.6% in 2024.[27]
  • Assets under management at Schwab-custodied RIA firms increased 16.6% in 2024.[27]
  • 35% of advisers said increasing organic growth would have the biggest impact on their firm’s future valuation.[19]
  • U.S. fee-based financial-advisory revenue increased from approximately $150 billion in 2015 to $260 billion in 2024.[28]
  • Affluent U.S. households with at least $500,000 in investable assets are projected to grow 4% to 5% annually.[28]

Differentiation in the financial advisory industry

  • 45.2% of investment advisors offered financial-planning services in 2024, compared with 32.6% in 2000.[29]
  • 53% of advisers had added or were considering subscription, retainer or flat fees in addition to assets-under-management fees.[30]
  • 41% of investors said managing investments with expertise, while optimizing growth and risk management, was an important adviser capability in 2026.[31]
  • Investors ranked common advisor attributes in a survey of 693 individual investors assessing the value of financial advice.[32]
  • 56% of financial advisors expect generative artificial intelligence to have a meaningful impact on their businesses.[33]
  • Only 38% of affluent investors were at least somewhat comfortable with artificial intelligence being used in a financial relationship.[33]

Mergers and acquisitions in the financial advisory industry

  • 73.6% of wealth-management M&A activity involved RIAs in 2025, up from 71.6% in 2024.[34]
  • 233 wealth-management transactions were recorded in 2024 in Fidelity Investments’ review of industry M&A activity.[35]
  • The 349 RIA transactions in 2025 represented a 26% increase over the 276 transactions recorded in 2024.[36]
  • RIA deal volume grew from 76 transactions in the first quarter of 2025 to 95 transactions in the fourth quarter of 2025.[37]
  • 58.1% of wealth-management M&A activity involved RIAs in 2020.[34]
  • 176 peer-to-peer advisor M&A deals were completed in 2024, transferring more than $13.3 billion in assets under management.[38]

Strategic partnerships in the financial advisory industry

  • 47% of EMEA wealth-management booking-center growth came from net new assets brought by newly hired advisers, highlighting the importance of adviser-network expansion.[39]
  • 79% of high-net-worth asset managers’ distribution executives identified independent RIAs as their best distribution opportunity over the next three years.[40]
  • 57% of high-net-worth asset managers’ distribution executives identified wirehouses as a leading distribution opportunity over the next three years.[40]
  • 55% of firms in the vendor-management study identified managing supplier risk as a top challenge, including data privacy, cybersecurity and financial risk.[41]
  • The Cutter Associates study covered vendor and service-provider relationships across 34 asset and wealth-management firms.[41]
  • 62% of clients viewed their ideal adviser primarily as an information source, emphasizing the value of advice partnerships built around education and interpretation.[42]

07 Statistics

People & Workforce

Workforce stability remains a constraint, with a 32-month median tenure before competitive moves in the 12 months ending November 9, 2026, alongside advisor training attrition.

Hiring in the financial advisory industry

  • More than 70% of financial-advisor trainees leave the industry before becoming fully fledged advisors.[43]
  • More than 650 people attended CFP Board’s two financial-planning career fairs in 2024.[44]
  • Independent RIAs recorded 2,158 advisor hires and 298 departures from October 2024 through March 2025, for 1,860 net hires.[16]
  • 59% of global financial advisors said they were hiring younger advisors to work with younger, next-generation heirs in 2024.[6]
  • 11,037 people sat for the CFP certification exam in 2025, a 5.7% increase from 2024.[44]

Employee retention in the financial advisory industry

  • 50% of advisors worldwide said they retained assets when a client’s children inherited them in 2024.[6]
  • 41% of U.S. independent advisors more than two years from retirement said they might not stay with their firm within one to two years in 2024.[45]
  • 32 months was the median tenure before a competitive move among departing financial advisors in the 12 months ending November 9, 2026.[46]
  • 49 points was the year-over-year increase in satisfaction among U.S. employee advisors in 2024, reaching 637 on a 1,000-point scale.[45]
  • 15 points was the year-over-year decline in satisfaction among U.S. independent advisors in 2024, reaching 611 on a 1,000-point scale.[45]

Remote Work in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 68% of U.S. financial services workers said they would consider seeking new employment if remote and hybrid flexibility were reduced in 2023.[47]
  • 87% of U.S. financial services employees said remote work helped them balance home and work responsibilities in 2025.[25]
  • 52.5% of workers in U.S. financial activities teleworked in June 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.[48]
  • Across U.S. financial services, 82% of companies offered some form of work-location flexibility in 2025.[49]

Hybrid Work in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 82% of U.S. financial services firms offered some form of work-location flexibility in July 2025.[49]
  • 39% of financial services companies offered corporate employees full flexibility over work location in 2024.[50]
  • 52% of financial services companies used a structured hybrid model in 2024, up from 41% in 2023, according to a survey of 777 companies.[50]
  • 52% of financial services companies used a structured hybrid model in early 2024, up from 41% in March 2023.[50]
  • 42.2% of remotely workable finance and insurance jobs were hybrid in July 2025 in the United States.[49]

Upskilling in the financial advisory industry

  • 23% of global financial advisors’ weekly time was spent in client meetings in 2024.[6]
  • More than 650 prospective financial planners attended CFP Board career fairs in 2024.[44]
  • 11,037 people sat for the CFP certification exam in 2025, the largest candidate total in CFP Board history.[44]
  • 20% of global financial advisors’ weekly time was spent managing clients in 2024.[6]
  • 36% of global financial planners said the public and financial-planning profession would greatly benefit from general AI education and training in 2025.[5]

Employee Engagement in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 16% of employees worldwide were actively disengaged at work in 2025.[51]
  • 12% of employees in Europe were engaged at work in 2025.[51]
  • 31% of employees in the United States and Canada were engaged at work in 2025.[51]
  • 20% of employees worldwide were engaged at work in 2025, according to Gallup’s World Poll.[51]

DEI in the financial advisory industry

  • 76.2% of CFP professionals were men in the United States as of November 1, 2026.[44]
  • 1,694 women earned CFP certification in the United States in 2025.[44]

08 Statistics

Customer & Sales

Client retention and communications preference drive day-to-day GTM, including 73% of surveyed clients preferring email communication and 97% retention by U.S. RIA firms in 2024.

Customer experience in the financial advisory industry

  • 38% of U.S. financial-advice clients said their advisor helped them feel more secure about their financial future in 2026.[31]
  • 59% of global financial advisors ranked demonstrating value beyond asset allocation among their top success metrics in 2024.[6]
  • 55% of UK consumers would only choose a financial-services provider offering 24/7 support, according to 2025 market research cited by the FCA.[52]
  • 73% of surveyed financial-advice clients prefer email communication from their advisor.[53]
  • 38% of clients said their financial advisor helped them feel more secure about their financial future in 2026.[31]

Customer retention in the financial advisory industry

  • 76% of advisors identified long-term relationship building as the most important factor in retaining assets.[54]
  • 26% more assets from existing clients were gained in 2023 by U.S. RIA firms that collected feedback during client interviews.[55]
  • 50% of global advisors said model portfolios freed time for financial planning and other services in 2024.[6]
  • 47% of advisors cited personalized services, such as networking, as a retention strategy.[54]
  • 82% of advisors regularly discuss family wealth planning with older clients.[6]

Customer acquisition in the financial advisory industry

  • 29% of financial-advisory firms prioritized digital marketing as a client-acquisition strategy in 2024.[30]
  • 2.4 times more prospects were seen on average by advisors using Nitrogen’s lead-generation questionnaire than by those who did not.[56]
  • 60% of investors older than 60 required a referral to hire an advisor.[30]
  • 71% of wealth-management firms had both the desire and capacity to grow their book of business.[56]
  • 17% of investors younger than 44 required a referral to hire an advisor, compared with 60% of investors older than 60.[30]

Customer loyalty in the financial advisory industry

  • 22.5% of consumers said a firm’s brand was extremely important when choosing a financial advisor.[57]
  • 44% of organic new clients came from client referrals at advisory practices in the latest Kitces marketing study.[16]
  • 62% of U.S. households seeking financial advice relied on referrals from friends or family in 2025.[16]
  • 97% of clients were retained by U.S. RIA firms in 2024, indicating persistently high relationship loyalty.[55]
  • 81% of advisors are comfortable asking clients for an introduction to the next generation.[6]

Lead generation in the financial advisory industry

  • 26% of global advisors expected email marketing to become an effective prospecting solution within five years.[6]
  • 117 advisors ranked organic marketing, including content and SEO, among their lead sources in Nitrogen’s 2025 survey.[19]
  • 34% of global advisors expected online webinars to become effective prospecting tools within five years.[6]
  • 63 advisors ranked marketing software among their lead sources in Nitrogen’s 2025 survey.[19]
  • 23.7% of online RIA prospecting activity was attributed to Facebook in a 2025 channel analysis.[58]

09 Statistics

Marketing & Brand

Marketing governance varies by capacity, with 85% of U.S. and Canadian advisors lacking a defined marketing strategy in 2024 due to time constraints, while social access rules shape execution.

Marketing in the financial advisory industry

  • 19% of advisors expected social-media outreach to be their most important marketing strategy in 2023.[59]
  • 85% of U.S. and Canadian financial advisors lacked a defined marketing strategy in 2024 because of time constraints.[30]
  • 46% of advisors said LinkedIn was the only social network their firm allowed in Putnam’s 2023 survey.[60]
  • 80% of U.S. financial advisors handled their own marketing in Broadridge’s 2024 survey.[61]
  • 73% of advisors identified new-client acquisition as their primary growth driver in the AcquireUp survey.[62]

Digital marketing in the financial advisory industry

  • 36% of advisors without a defined marketing strategy converted a social-media lead into a client in 2024.[63]
  • 10.9% of online RIA prospecting activity was attributed to Instagram.[58]
  • 50% of advisors invested in Facebook as a digital marketing channel.[61]
  • 41% of advisors reported converting a social-media lead into a client in Broadridge’s 2024 survey.[63]
  • 68% of advisors invested in LinkedIn as a digital marketing channel.[61]

Branding in the financial advisory industry

  • 68% more new client assets were attracted by RIA firms with documented ideal-client personas, value propositions and marketing plans in 2024.[64]
  • 43% of top-quintile U.S. advisory firms said they were adept at branding, marketing, prospecting and generating referrals in 2024.[30]
  • 26.2% of consumers considered a financial-advisor firm’s brand very important when choosing an advisor.[57]
  • 94 of the top 100 U.S. financial-advisor firms scored below 8 out of 10 for brand originality in a 2025 website analysis.[65]
  • 67% more new clients were attracted by RIA firms with documented ideal-client personas, value propositions and marketing plans in 2023.[64]

Social media in the financial advisory industry

  • 64% of advisors said LinkedIn should be integrated into their wealth-management technology platform.[1]
  • 37% of financial advisors used Facebook professionally in the 2022 financial-advisor marketing study.[66]
  • 81% of financial advisors used LinkedIn professionally in the 2022 financial-advisor marketing study.[66]
  • 63% of advisors said X should be integrated into their wealth-management technology platform.[1]
  • 56% of advisors said Facebook should be integrated into their wealth-management technology platform.[1]

Influencer Marketing in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • 37% of banking executives in a survey of 102 finance respondents recognized influencer marketing as a potent tool for authentic consumer connections in 2023.[67]
  • 5% of financial-services marketers reported dedicated but shrinking budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026.[68]
  • 7% of financial-services marketers reported folding creator or influencer marketing into other channels rather than maintaining a dedicated budget in 2026.[68]
  • 60% of financial-services marketers reported dedicated and growing budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026.[68]
  • 23% of financial-services marketers reported dedicated but flat budgets for creator or influencer marketing in 2026.[68]

10 Statistics

Operations & Execution

Operating model changes are planned across firms, with 79% of surveyed U.S. wealth-management firms planning to change their operating model within 12 to 24 months.

Process optimization in the financial advisory industry

  • 88 households was the average caseload for senior advisors at U.S. firms with household limits in 2025.[69]
  • 79% of surveyed U.S. wealth-management firms planned to change their operating model within 12 to 24 months.[30]
  • 8% of headcount at other U.S. advisory firms worked in investments and operations in 2025.[69]
  • 10% of headcount at U.S. high-performing advisory firms worked in investments and operations in 2025.[69]
  • 44% of U.S. advisors going independent cited access to better technology as a reason in Betterment’s 2024 Advisor Survey.[33]

Operational efficiency in the financial advisory industry

  • 46% of surveyed U.S. advisors outsourced at least some compliance or regulatory-reporting work in 2024.[70]
  • 85% of U.S. advisory firms outsourced at least some technology tasks in the 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study.[64]
  • 3.4 employees supported each senior advisor at high-performing U.S. advisory firms in 2025.[69]
  • 38% of smaller U.S. RIAs’ revenue was consumed by expenses in 2023, leaving an 18% operating margin.[30]
  • Only 20% of advisors effectively outsourced or delegated tasks, according to Fidelity productivity research cited in 2025.[30]

Quality management in the financial advisory industry

  • 53% of investment-adviser firms obtained affirmative electronic consent in the 2025 compliance survey.[29]
  • 25% of investment-adviser firms tested whether electronic consent had been received in the 2025 compliance survey.[29]
  • 86% of U.S. planners identified engaging younger generations in financial education as a force driving change in 2024.[26]
  • Only 8% of U.S. planners had made significant changes to their financial-planning approach in 2024.[26]
  • 55% of investment-adviser firms conducted no testing of electronic consent in the 2025 compliance survey.[29]

Supply chain in the financial advisory industry

  • 8% of surveyed U.S. advisory firms completely outsourced investment management in 2024.[70]
  • 22% of U.S. advisory firms reported outsourcing some portfolio management and administration in the 2025 benchmarking study.[71]
  • 23% of surveyed U.S. advisory firms completely outsourced portfolio accounting in 2024.[70]
  • 46% of surveyed U.S. advisory firms outsourced at least some portfolio accounting in 2024.[70]
  • 24% of U.S. advisory firms reported outsourcing some portfolio design and construction in the 2025 benchmarking study.[71]

Outsourcing / Offshoring in the financial services sector (sector benchmark)

  • Among significant European banks, 27% of critical ICT contracts were outsourced to external providers located outside the European Union in the 2024 analysis.[20]
  • Across surveyed finance organizations, 64% were implementing or evaluating offshoring or nearshoring for finance operations in 2026, while 36% planned to remain fully U.S.-based.[72]
  • Across surveyed finance organizations, 17% were evaluating nearshore locations for future operations in 2026, compared with 13% evaluating offshore locations.[72]
  • Among U.S. banks surveyed, 57% had considered outsourcing information technology departments in 2024, the highest share among listed departments.[73]
  • Among significant European banks, 67% of outsourcing contracts were sub-outsourced to external service providers in the 2024 analysis.[20]

11 Statistics

Finance & Pricing

Pricing mix remains anchored to flat and AUM-linked fees, with 48% of advisors offering financial planning using a flat fee and 4% using subscription-fee models in 2026.

Pricing strategy in the financial advisory industry

  • 48% of advisors offering financial planning used a flat fee in the cited fee-model survey.[74]
  • 4% of surveyed financial advisors used a subscription-fee model in 2026.[74]
  • 103.7 basis points was the average self-reported AUM fee for U.S. clients with $750,000 in assets in 2024.[75]
  • 38% of advisors offering financial planning used an annual or retainer fee in the cited fee-model survey.[74]
  • 9% of surveyed financial advisors used an hourly-fee model in 2026.[74]

Cost reduction in the financial advisory industry

  • 21% of UK financial advisers were using artificial intelligence in their work in the November 2024 Schroders survey.[76]
  • 67% of U.S. advisory firms pursued inorganic growth to acquire talent in the 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study.[64]
  • 82% of revenue represented advisory expenses at smaller U.S. RIAs in 2023.[30]
  • 92% of U.S. advisory firms pursuing inorganic growth cited AUM, revenue or client growth as a reason in the 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study.[64]
  • 49% of RIA artificial-intelligence adopters used AI to draft client communications in the 2026 AssetMark survey.[77]

Profitability in the financial advisory industry

  • 18% was the operating margin for smaller U.S. RIAs in 2023.[30]
  • 56.3% was the average EBOC margin for smaller U.S. advisory firms in 2024.[30]
  • 15.2% was the increase in net new client relationships at U.S. financial advisory firms in 2024.[30]
  • 30.5% was the increase in median revenue for U.S. financial advisory firms in 2024.[30]
  • $2.4 million was the median revenue of U.S. advisory firms in the 2025 global advisor study.[69]

Financial planning in the financial advisory industry

  • 81% of specialized U.S. financial-planning firms agreed they would deliver more specialized planning in 2024.[26]
  • 50% of U.S. planners cited competing priorities as a major obstacle to changing their financial-planning approach in 2024.[26]
  • 17% of CFP professionals advised clients in 2024 to take greater advantage of workplace benefits.[44]
  • 88% of U.S. financial planners planned to learn more about clients’ values and beliefs in 2024.[26]
  • 34% of U.S. planners cited a lack of systems as a major obstacle to changing their financial-planning approach in 2024.[26]

12 Statistics

Product & Service

Model portfolios and planning delivery take center stage, with 50% of global financial advisors saying model portfolios freed time for financial planning and other services in 2024.

Product development in the financial advisory industry

  • 74% of wealth managers wanted asset managers to invest more in product-specialist headcount in 2024.[78]
  • 75% of average client-relationship asset growth occurred during the first six months, according to a wealth-management group tracked by Capital Group.[79]
  • 34% of surveyed advisory firms reported reorienting growth strategies toward younger investors.[78]
  • 31% of high-growth advisors were more likely than average advisors to have standard operating procedures supporting repeatable service delivery in 2024.[79]
  • 52% of advisors prioritized establishing relationships with client heirs as part of wealth-transfer and service development efforts in 2024.[6]

Product lifecycle in the financial advisory industry

  • 50% of global financial advisors said transitioning more clients to model portfolios would support delivery of financial planning and other services.[6]
  • 17% of private-wealth workflow activity was account opening and onboarding in 2024 in Hong Kong.[80]
  • 21.5% of UK wealth-management clients were invested in portfolios with 80% to 100% equity exposure in 2024/25.[52]
  • 3% of private-wealth workflow activity was prospect identification and targeting in 2024, compared with 8% expected five years later in Hong Kong.[80]
  • 14% of private-wealth workflow activity was portfolio management and rebalancing in 2024 in Hong Kong.[80]

After-sales in the financial advisory industry

  • 87% of children changed financial advisors shortly after the death of the primary financial decision-maker, according to cited industry research.[81]
  • 11% of clients identified return-performance factors as a retention factor in financial advice.[82]
  • 9% of advisors’ time was available for prospecting in 2024, leaving limited capacity for new-client development alongside ongoing service.[6]
  • 21% of clients identified relationship quality as a retention factor in financial advice.[82]
  • 9% of clients identified communication quality as a retention factor in financial advice.[82]

Value proposition in the financial advisory industry

  • 54% of advisors included trust services in comprehensive wealth-management offerings used to retain assets in 2024.[6]
  • 57% of global financial advisors said financial planning differentiated their practice.[6]
  • 46% of global financial advisors viewed wealth transfer as an existential threat to their business.[6]
  • 92% of advisors used an assets-under-management pricing model in some form, according to 2024 Kitces Research.[33]
  • £650,000 was the typical portfolio size for UK clients using discretionary or advisory services in the FCA’s 2024/25 survey.[52]

13 Statistics

Sustainability & Ethics

ESG implementation is constrained by product availability, with 82% of financial advisers citing insufficient suitable sustainable products as a factor affecting confidence in ESG in 2024.

Sustainability in the financial advisory industry

  • 56% of UK financial-advice firms had implemented or were considering more periodic reviews of retirement-income sustainability in 2025.[52]
  • 65% of financial advisers globally believed ESG had a neutral or positive investment impact in 2024.[83]
  • 75% of UK financial-advice firms had implemented or were considering changes to how they calculate sustainable retirement income in 2025.[52]
  • 82% of financial advisers cited insufficient suitable sustainable products as a factor affecting confidence in ESG in 2024.[83]
  • 62% of financial advisors globally were integrating ESG offerings into client practices in 2024, up from 53% in 2021.[83]

ESG in the financial advisory industry

  • 28% of Deutsche Bank wealth-management survey respondents wanted ESG used as an additional investment factor alongside financial indicators in 2024.[84]
  • 11% of American financial advisers had at least one-quarter of their business book invested in ESG in 2024.[83]
  • 23% of UK financial advisers used an ESG onboarding process only when a client specifically requested it.[85]
  • 81% of advisors cited client demand as a reason to increase ESG-fund use, according to Broadridge research.[30]
  • 61% of UK financial advisers had an ESG process for onboarding all clients in the survey period reported by Aviva and the Lang Cat.[85]

Ethics in the financial advisory industry

  • 92% of US CFP professionals agreed that a fiduciary standard is appropriate for all providers delivering personalized retail investment advice.[44]
  • 90% of US CFP professionals did not raise their required minimum investable assets after the fiduciary-duty expansion.[44]
  • About 0.5% of U.S. financial advisors received a misconduct disclosure annually in the period studied through 2024.[86]
  • Approximately 1 in 6 US financial advisers in certain regions and firms had a history of serious misconduct.[87]
  • Approximately 1 in 15 US financial advisers had a history of serious misconduct in research covering the advisory industry.[87]

CSR in the financial advisory industry

  • Less than 3.5% of approximately 80,000 US CFP professionals were Black or Latino, according to CFP Board data.[44]
  • 42% of US advisory firms had business-development targets for a new adviser’s first three months.[30]
  • 3.8% of US registered investment advisers identified as Hispanic or Latino in a 2020 industry diversity study.[29]
  • 60% of US advisory firms primarily used direct outreach or networking to recruit advisory-role candidates in a diversity study.[30]
  • 20%–25% was the approximate share of female CFP professionals in the US for more than a decade.[26]

15 Statistics

Globalization & Expansion

Regional growth and cross-border flows shape expansion, including North American dominance forecast and Hong Kong assets under management linked to mainland China flows.

Globalization in the financial advisory industry

  • The United Kingdom held a 21.4% share of international wealth-management-centre activity in 2023, according to Deloitte’s ranking.[22]
  • 15% was the increase in mainland China financial wealth during 2025, supporting expansion opportunities for global wealth managers.[96]
  • Global wealth-management advisors manage approximately 27% more assets than two years earlier, according to Oliver Wyman’s industry benchmark.[97]
  • More than 60% of Hong Kong assets under management are linked to mainland China flows, according to BCG.[96]
  • 47% of growth in EMEA booking centers came from net new assets brought by newly hired advisers.[39]

Cultural adaptation in the financial advisory industry

  • 61% of advised clients expressed a preference regarding an advisor’s age, while 38% had a gender preference and 34% had a race preference.[98]
  • 66% of Hispanic consumers say it is important that their financial adviser speaks Spanish.[99]
  • 22% of American consumers were dissatisfied with their financial guidance because of complexity or lack of personalization.[26]
  • 63% of surveyed financial advisors said attracting a diverse client base should be a strategic priority for advisory firms.[98]
  • 35% of Black consumers prefer a financial adviser of the same race or ethnicity.[99]

Supplier management in the financial advisory industry

  • 58% of asset and wealth-management firms identify vendor oversight as a time-consuming and manual process.[41]
  • 34 investment and asset-management firms with a combined $7.4 trillion in assets under management participated in a 2025 vendor-management benchmark.[41]
  • The Cutter Associates vendor-management study covered 34 firms representing a combined $7.4 trillion in assets under management.[41]
  • 55% of asset and wealth-management firms cite vendor risk, including privacy, cybersecurity and financial risk, as a top challenge.[41]

Stakeholder management in the financial advisory industry

  • 52% of investors trust financial advisers as a primary source of investment advice in 2026.[100]
  • Almost 80% of affluent households would pay at least 50 basis points more for human financial advice rather than customized digital advice priced near 10 basis points.[28]
  • 29% of affluent households said they would pay a premium of 100 basis points or more for human financial advice.[28]
  • 38% of investors said their adviser helped them feel more secure about their financial future in 2026.[31]
  • 85% of adviser-supported Millennials trusted the industry to act in their best interest in 2026.[100]

Distribution channels in the financial advisory industry

  • 92% of financial advisors use an assets-under-management fee model in some form.[33]
  • The average assets under management of RIAs offering robo-advice were $29.7 billion, compared with $7.4 billion for RIAs offering hybrid advice.[101]
  • 66% of people using generative AI had used it for financial guidance in a 2025 consumer survey.[33]
  • 79% of high-net-worth asset managers’ distribution executives ranked the independent registered investment adviser channel as their best opportunity over the next three years.[40]
  • 57% of high-net-worth asset managers’ distribution executives ranked the wirehouse channel among their best opportunities over the next three years.[40]

Key questions about the Financial Advisory Industry

What is the financial advisory industry market size?
The financial advisory industry reached $176.8T in assets under management in 2025, alongside record highs in advisers, clients, employment, and median adviser wage of $105,070 in 2025.
How fast is advisory-related wealth likely to grow?
Deloitte projects U.S. wealth management assets to rise from $58T in 2024 to $90T in 2029, about a 9% CAGR, while PwC projects global assets to grow from $139T in 2024 to $200T in 2030.
Which companies lead the financial advisory industry?
Morgan Stanley stands out for investment-banking economics because Institutional Securities generated $7.6 billion of investment-banking revenue in 2025, while Goldman Sachs focuses on M&A advisory since it held the No. 1 M&A-advisor position for 23 consecutive years.
What technology shifts are most visible in 2026?
In 2026, 80% of financial services firms reported active AI use, up from 31% in 2025, and 84% said integrating front-, middle- and back-office systems into one platform is important.
How is the market structured by adviser scale?
In 2025, 67.4% of advisers managed less than $1 billion and 87.3% managed less than $5 billion, while among SEC-registered advisers 1.6% reported $100 billion or more in regulatory assets under management.
Where are compliance and risk priorities tightening?
The SEC adopted amendments on November 4, 2026, raising the regulatory-assets threshold for small-entity qualification for advisers from $25 million to $1 billion, while compliance budgets rose by 9% on average in a WealthManagement poll.
Reference

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APA
Diana Reeves. (2026, February 13). Financial Advisory Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/financial-advisory-industry-statistics
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Diana Reeves. "Financial Advisory Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/financial-advisory-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Diana Reeves. 2026. "Financial Advisory Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/financial-advisory-industry-statistics.

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