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Data & Research August 1, 2025
Independent RIAs to Increase by 12% by 2028
Over the next three years, independent registered investment advisers will be the fastest-growing portion of the advisory landscape, according to Cerulli.
Reported by Edward Rueda
Advisory firms are in flux due to cresting retirements, but independent registered investment advisers are expected to increase by 12% by 2028, according to new research from market intelligence firm Cerulli Associates. By that point, about one-third of all advisers will belong to RIA channels.
By comparison, Cerulli estimated that independent broker/dealers will increase by only 4.7% by 2028. Most advisory channels are expected to lose headcount over the next three years, as insurance B/Ds will decrease by 9.6%, retail bank B/Ds will lose 6%, wirehouse firms will lose 5.7%, hybrid RIAs will lose 1%, and national and regional B/Ds will lose 0.6%.
Surveyed broker/dealers who were considering becoming independent told Cerulli that their main reasons for such a move would be higher payouts and the chance to build financial value in an independent business.
This comes during what Cerulli calls a “retirement boom,” as 37% of all advisers are expected to retire between 2024 and 2033. That will impact an estimated $13 trillion, or 41% of industry assets, according to the report.
Among surveyed retiring advisers, 15% said they wanted to sell their practice, while 33% of retiring independent RIAs said they wanted to sell their practice.
Overall, RIA mergers and acquisitions are soaring, and Cerulli estimated the potential market through 2033 will include more than $3.8 trillion in potential assets under management. Most of this market consists of more than 27,000 retiring advisers, representing nearly $2.7 trillion in AUM.
The rest of the M&A market consists of nearly 35,000 breakaway advisers—who are expected to move from broker/dealer and wirehouse firms to RIAs and are in charge of $681 billion in AUM—and more than 4,000 advisers in RIAs with growth challenges, representing $464 billion in AUM.
More than 2,000 financial advisers participated in Cerulli’s Advisor Research Collaborative survey, and Cerulli also conducted more than 20 research interviews during the second quarter of 2025.