U.S. Intermediary
Map out the U.S. retail-focused financial advisor market. Cerulli’s Intermediary practice focuses on the intermediaries that provide advice to end-investors, their service models, and the implications of shifting market dynamics.

Practice Detail
A one-stop destination for comprehensive insight into the U.S. retail-focused advisor channels, Cerulli’s Intermediary Practice focuses on the intermediaries that provide advice to end-investors and how they do it. The practice covers market sizing and segmentation, practice structures and attributes, distribution of retail asset management products and services, product decisions, broker/dealers, clearing and custody agents, advisor recruiting and transitions, RIA aggregators, and growth drivers.
Publications
- Annual report
- Cerulli Edge
- Cerulli Lodestar
Our Experts
Meet the Team
As data-driven problem solvers, they analyze key business trends, emerging challenges, and growth signals to arrive at actionable insights. They know trends, they know products, they know fees, they know sales models. Learn how they can help you.

Donnie Ethier
Senior Director
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Donnie Ethier
Senior Director
Donnie Ethier is the head of Cerulli Associates’ Wealth Management practice. The Wealth Management practice is dedicated to helping clients proactively adapt to retail financial advice and planning trends, including the high-net-worth markets. Donnie oversees the practice’s annual research agenda and is a core contributor to consulting engagements, syndicated research, and the U.S. Advisor Edge.
Since joining Cerulli in 2012, Donnie has led several practices and research initiatives including the Wealth Management, High-Net-Worth, and Annuity practices. Prior to joining Cerulli, Donnie held roles at Sun Life Financial and Sun Life Financial Distributors for eight years focusing on market and distribution strategy, product development, competitive intelligence, and professional development.
Full biography here.

Matt Belnap
Senior Analyst
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Matt Belnap
Senior Analyst
As a senior analyst, Matt plays a critical role in developing research across the retail financial services spectrum, including wealth management, managed accounts, and product development. Matt contributes to nine Cerulli reports across three research practices and manages The Cerulli Edge—U.S. Advisor quarterly publication.
Matt began his career in financial services at Eaton Vance investment management, serving in a variety of roles, ranging from shareholder services, to institutional marketing, and in competitive analysis seeking strategic distribution opportunities.
Full biography here.

Ed Louis
Associate Director
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Ed Louis
Associate Director
Ed is an associate director in Cerulli’s Wealth Management practice and leads research for the U.S. Intermediary Distribution report. His research focuses on distribution strategies for retail asset management products sold through financial advisors, advisor product use, and portfolio construction trends.
Prior to joining Cerulli Associates, Ed worked as an internal wholesaler at Wells Fargo Asset Management. There, he spent nearly a decade working with financial advisors in the wirehouse, independent broker/dealer, and RIA channels.
Full biography here.

Michael Rose
Associate Director
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Michael Rose
Associate Director
As associate director of the Wealth Management practice, Michael is responsible for researching trends within the wealth management industry that impact broker/dealers. In this capacity, he regularly engages with key constituents that comprise the wealth management ecosystem, including investors, financial advisors, financial institutions, and technology providers, in order to measure key market characteristics and to advise financial institutions. Michael also collaborates with his Cerulli colleagues in support of the firm’s broader research into the wealth management industry.
Prior to joining Cerulli, Michael spent eight years working as a financial advisor, providing comprehensive wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals and families. Prior to his role as a financial advisor, Michael served as a research analyst for IDC, where he was responsible for researching trends within the technology industry and advising senior business executives on product strategy.
Full biography here.

Marina Shtyrkov
Senior Analyst
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Marina Shtyrkov
Senior Analyst
Marina specializes in retail financial advisor trends across affiliation models. She is a member of the Intermediary practice, where she leads research for two annual reports. She also contributes to The Cerulli Edge series and generates quantitative analysis to support strategic consulting engagements.
Prior to joining Cerulli Associates, Marina was at Baystate Financial. In her role, she managed the pre-sales process for a financial planning practice, facilitated case design, and helped implement individualized client strategies.
Full biography here.
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