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Data & Research April 22, 2026
Top-Rated RIA Firms Often Trail in Brand Originality, per Study
An assessment of financial advisory firms’ branding found that about 40% used website copy that lacks distinction, a communication firm found.
Reported by
Valentina Baez
Many financial advisory firms might describe their work with words such as “holistic,” “comprehensive,” “personalized” or “goals–based,” but a study by communications firm Gregory suggests the message may not be getting through. Analyzing the website copy of firms on the 2025 CNBC Financial Advisor 100 list, the study found that 94% of the firms used content that was not “specific, memorable [nor] impossible to confuse with a competitor.”
The analysis scores each of the firms on a scale of one to 10, examining the homepage and “about us,” “philosophy” and “services” pages, and scoring their brand originality out of a possible 10 points, Gregory found that 42% of firms landed in the “generic” range (4.0 to 5.9), meaning their web sites used text identical to their competitors. Only six of the 100 firms scored in the “truly distinctive” range, or at least 8 out of10.
The five clichés most-frequently used by the firms were:
- Goals/goals based: Found on virtually every site;
- Fiduciary: Used by 85% of firms;
- Personalized/tailored: Used by 80% of firms;
- Long-term: Used by 75% of firms; and
- Independent: Used by 70% of firms.
Other overused words and phrases the firm looked for were: achieve your/their goals, best interest/clients first, client-centric, customized, dedicated, disciplined, journey, partnership, peace of mind, trusted/trust, wealth management (self-referential) and wellness/wellbeing.
Experts say effective, distinctive branding and wording can be a crucial tool for retirement-plan-focused advisers. It can provide an opportunity to speak to issues that clients are asking about, said Joe Anthony, president of Gregory, in an email to PLANADVISER.
Anthony said that advisers should keep in mind what their clients need to know and how they can best communicate that information. He added that effective websites for retirement plan advisers often offer retirement calculators, scenario simulators and other behavior guidance tools.
“Retirement plan participation is often someone’s first foray into consistent investing. Using that perspective to sharpen how you educate people with your content can go a long way,” said Anthony. “We see successful websites for retirement … help participants understand what can happen with the choices they make around their plan participation.”
Older Firms Lean on Clichés
Gregory’s study found older firms were more likely to use clichés and indistinguishable copy. The pattern of lower average brand originality scores for firms founded before 1985, which Gregory called “the tenure trap,” is defined by a sense of false confidence from previous decades of success.
However, the report said that the incoming generation of high-net-worth clients will likely conduct due diligence online before making a phone call, when looking for an adviser.
“The firms that have been around the longest have shown a tendency to be complacent about how they communicate,” said Anthony, in the announcement about the study. “They built their client base on referrals and relationships and never had to earn attention in a competitive marketplace. That era is over.”
Anthony said smaller advisers have the unique opportunity to be more differentiated in their branding, since they are not trying to speak to a wider audience.
“[Smaller advisers] are not trying to message a wide audience, but very likely have cultivated a niche or two to lean into,” he said. “The more specific your web content is to those audiences, the better. This dynamic allows smart, nimble, yet smaller practices a chance to shine.”
How to Be a Brand Winner
The study found six firms scored 8 or higher out of 10, meaning the wording on their website is specific, memorable and hard to confuse with competitors.
Gregory provided quotes from the websites of six top-scoring firms, three of which scored 8.5 and another three scored 8.0 as examples of what it rated highly:
- “Worth. Worthy. Beyond Net Worth.”
- “[I]nvesting is our first responsibility … Your wealth is yours today. Whose should it be tomorrow?”
- “Thematic investing is the antithesis of style box investing.”
- “We eat our own cooking.”
- “Noah did not start building the Ark when it was raining.”
- “We’ve set out to actually do what others say they do.”
“The firms with the courage to sound like themselves are winning the next generation of clients before their competitors even get a meeting,” said Anthony in the announcement.
The study noted that the top-ranked firm on CNBC’s list scored 8.0 in Gregroy’s rubric for brand originality.
