U.S. RIA Marketplace 2025
Solving for Scale
Navigate the U.S. RIA Market
- Explore a complete sizing of the U.S. retail-focused registered investment advisor (RIA) marketplace
- Understand the impact and implications of advisor movement into RIA channels
- Gain insight into RIAs’ portfolio construction processes and product use metrics
- Gain insight into the competitive dynamics among established and emerging RIA custodians, advisor interest in expanding custodial options, and drivers of growth in the clearing/custody space
- Evaluate the Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) as an independence opportunity for advisors
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Summary
Analyze the many dimensions of the retail-focused RIA marketplace with 10+ years of market sizing of the independent RIA and hybrid RIA channels. Uncover factors that have led to the channels’ high growth and understand the needs, challenges, and opportunities facing RIAs in today’s environment. The report also covers key topics for RIA sales distribution, including product use, portfolio construction, and allocation changes.
A Note From the Author
RIAs Redirect Focus to Organic Growth
Stephen Caruso
Associate Director
Bio →
Stephen Caruso
Associate Director
As an Associate Director of Wealth Management, Stephen develops critical research on U.S. registered investment advisors (RIAs). His team is responsible for the collection, interpretation, and visualization of financial advisor data and defining emerging themes impacting the industry. He has issued groundbreaking coverage on the rise of merger and acquisition activity and related consolidation industry, the emergence of the RIA consolidator model, the role of private capital, financial advisor succession, and key practice management takeaways.
Stephen also leads Cerulli’s Advisor Research Collaborative (ARC), which consists of the development of strategic engagement activity to maintain and grow Cerulli’s proprietary network financial advisors.
Full biography here.
As M&A activity becomes more commonplace in the RIA channel, the emphasis is shifting back to organic growth—highlighting existing gaps in RIAs’ marketing and business development strategies.
What’s holding them back?
- 83% of RIAs cite limited time and resources as a moderate to major challenge
- Advisors allocate only 7% of time (the equivalent of three hours in a 40-hour work week) to business development
- Only half of RIAs are proactive in discussing referrals with their clients
- 56% of RIAs cite a lack of cohesive marketing plan as a major or moderate challenge
In an ever-consolidating market, the need for positive net asset flows cannot be overstated, given their impact on the future of the RIA channels. Our research, The Cerulli Report—U.S. RIA Marketplace 2025, addresses this and more. Gain detailed analysis of market sizing, advisor attributes, custodian and asset manager relationships, investment decisions and product use, and practice operations and growth strategies.
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Each report is lead authored by a senior Cerulli analyst with significant industry experience. The report incorporates qualitative and quantitative inputs, based on Cerulli’s proprietary research process. For more on our research process, click here.
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