This research asset compiles verified statistics on the United States registered investment adviser (RIA) industry, covering the number of SEC-registered firms, regulatory assets under management, client and employee counts, merger and acquisition activity, organic growth, and advisory fee trends. Every figure is attributed to a primary source: the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) and COMPLY annual Snapshot, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Form ADV data, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), DeVoe & Company, Fidelity Institutional, Charles Schwab, and Kitces Research. The data matters because the RIA channel now oversees the largest pool of regulated advisory assets in U.S. history and is consolidating rapidly.

A note on definitions. An RIA is a firm registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Firms with $100 million or more in regulatory assets under management generally register with the SEC; firms below that threshold generally register with state securities regulators. Statistics in this asset that say “SEC-registered” exclude the roughly 16,000 smaller state-registered firms, which are counted separately by NASAA. Source: Kitces, RIA Registration Rules.

Executive Summary

• The number of SEC-registered investment advisers reached 16,544 in 2025, a record high, up 4.2% from 2024. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Investment Adviser Industry Snapshot (United States).
• SEC-registered advisers reported $176.8 trillion in regulatory assets under management in 2025, up 22.3% from $144.6 trillion in 2024. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• SEC-registered advisers served 73.7 million clients in 2025, up 7.7% year over year. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• Non-clerical employment at SEC-registered advisers reached roughly 1.1 million people in 2025, up 7.5%. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• RIA merger and acquisition activity hit a record 322 announced transactions in 2025, up from 272 in 2024. Source: DeVoe & Company, RIA Deal Book (United States).
• State-registered investment advisers numbered 16,575 firms with $361.8 billion in assets at the end of 2024, a separate population from SEC-registered firms. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report on State-Registered Investment Advisers (United States).
• Schwab clients reported median firm AUM growth of 16.6% in 2024, with net organic growth of 5% for firms over $250 million and 9.2% for firms under $250 million. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).
• The median AUM advisory fee on the first $1 million of client assets is about 1.02%, declining on larger balances. Source: Kitces Research on Advisor Pricing (United States).

Key Findings

• SEC-registered investment advisers grew to 16,544 firms in 2025, a record, from 15,870 in 2024. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• Regulatory assets under management at SEC-registered advisers rose to $176.8 trillion in 2025, up 22.3% from the prior year. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• SEC-registered advisers served 73.7 million total clients in 2025, with 64.8 million asset-management clients, up 8.3%. Source: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• Non-clerical employment at SEC-registered advisers reached about 1.1 million in 2025, up 7.5% year over year. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• 92.8% of SEC-registered advisers employed 100 or fewer non-clerical staff in 2025, underscoring that the channel is dominated by small firms. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• 67.4% of SEC-registered advisers managed less than $1 billion in assets in 2025, while 87.3% managed less than $5 billion. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• The largest 260 advisers, each above $100 billion in assets, controlled 72.3% of all industry assets in 2025, showing extreme asset concentration at the top. Source: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot (United States).
• RIA M&A reached a record 322 announced transactions in 2025, up 18.4% from the prior record of 272 in 2024. Source: DeVoe & Company RIA Deal Book via InvestmentNews (United States).
• Fidelity counted 276 completed RIA transactions in 2025 representing $796 billion in acquired assets, up from 233 deals in 2024. Source: Fidelity Wealth Management M&A Report via AdvisorHub (United States).
• Private equity backed 88% of all RIA transactions Fidelity tracked in 2025, the dominant source of deal capital. Source: Fidelity M&A Report via InvestmentNews (United States).
• Schwab benchmarking firms reported a five-year compound annual growth rate above 12% for both assets and revenue through 2024. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).
• Top-performing Schwab benchmarking firms achieved 12.5% net organic growth in 2024, more than double the 5% median for firms over $250 million. Source: Schwab 2025 Benchmarking Study via Citywire (United States).
• State-registered investment advisers totaled 16,575 firms at the end of 2024, a count distinct from the 15,870 SEC-registered firms reported for the same year. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).
• 92% of advisers incorporate AUM-based fees, and 86% use AUM as their primary revenue source. Source: Kitces Research (United States).
• The number of advisers with direct crypto or digital-asset exposure rose to roughly 100 in 2025, up from about 33 the prior year. Source: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot (United States).

Industry Size: Firms and Assets

The SEC-registered RIA channel set records across firm count, assets, clients, and employees in 2025. The IAA and COMPLY Snapshot, drawn from aggregated Form ADV filings, is the most authoritative annual census of SEC-registered advisers.

There were 16,544 SEC-registered investment advisers in 2025, a record high. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).

That total was up 4.2% from 15,870 SEC-registered advisers in 2024. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).

SEC-registered advisers reported $176.8 trillion in regulatory assets under management in 2025. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).

That figure rose 22.3% from $144.6 trillion in 2024, which itself was up 12.6% from $128.4 trillion in 2023. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2025 and 2026 Snapshots (United States).

Over the 25-year history of the Snapshot, the compound annual growth rate has been 3.7% for the number of advisers and 9.1% for assets. Source: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot (United States).

Important caveat on RAUM. Regulatory assets under management is a gross, sometimes double-counted figure. It includes leveraged private-fund assets and assets sub-advised across multiple registered firms, so the $176.8 trillion total is far larger than the net wealth managed for households. RAUM is a measure of regulatory scope, not of unique investor money. Source: SEC Form ADV instructions and SEC Investment Adviser Statistics (United States).

Clients and Employment

Client and staffing growth has tracked the rise in assets, with individual clients expanding faster than any other category over the past decade.

SEC-registered advisers served 73.7 million total clients in 2025, up 7.7% year over year. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).

Of those, 64.8 million were asset-management clients in 2025, up 8.3%. Source: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot (United States).

The SEC reported 56.7 million asset-management clients as of year-end 2023, a 4.4% increase over the prior year. Source: SEC Investment Adviser Statistics, Form ADV data (United States).

Non-clerical employment at SEC-registered advisers reached roughly 1.1 million people in 2025, up 7.5%. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot (United States).

The 2024 figure was 1,032,455 non-clerical employees, up 2.6% from the prior year. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2025 Snapshot (United States).

The SEC noted that over a recent six-year window the number of individual clients grew about 12.8% per year and assets managed for those clients grew about 15.1% per year. Source: SEC Investment Adviser Statistics (United States). This means demand for advice has outpaced even the strong rise in firm headcount.

RIA Mergers and Acquisitions

Consolidation is the defining structural trend of the channel. Two independent trackers, DeVoe & Company and Fidelity, both recorded all-time highs in 2025, though they count deals differently, so their totals diverge.

DeVoe & Company recorded 322 announced RIA transactions in 2025, an all-time record. Source: DeVoe RIA Deal Book via InvestmentNews (United States).

That surpassed the prior record of 272 transactions in 2024. Source: DeVoe RIA Deal Book via InvestmentNews (United States).

The third quarter of 2025 alone produced 94 transactions, the most active quarter DeVoe has ever tracked. Source: DeVoe RIA Deal Book via InvestmentNews (United States).

Fidelity, which uses a separate methodology, counted 276 completed RIA transactions in 2025 representing $796 billion in acquired assets. Source: Fidelity Wealth Management M&A Report via AdvisorHub (United States).

Fidelity counted 233 RIA deals in 2024, so 2025 marked a roughly 18% increase by its count. Source: Fidelity M&A Report via InvestmentNews (United States).

Private equity backed 88% of the RIA transactions Fidelity tracked in 2025. Source: Fidelity M&A Report via InvestmentNews (United States).

The buyer pool concentrated even as deal volume rose: DeVoe found 22 fewer distinct buyers completed deals in 2025 than in 2024. Source: DeVoe RIA Deal Book via WealthManagement.com (United States).

Fidelity’s leading 20-acquirer cohort participated in 156 of 276 deals, or 57%, and bought 55% of all acquired assets in 2025. Source: Fidelity M&A Report via WealthManagement.com (United States). The pattern is clear: more deals, fewer buyers, and a growing share of activity controlled by a handful of serial acquirers.

Organic Growth and Performance

Organic growth, meaning new assets won from clients rather than acquired through M&A or market appreciation, is the metric RIAs cite most as their top concern. The Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study is the largest performance dataset in the channel.

Schwab benchmarking firms reported median firm AUM growth of 16.6% in 2024, with revenue up 17.6%. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).

Net organic asset growth was 5% in 2024 for firms over $250 million in assets, up from 4.9% the prior year. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).

Firms under $250 million reported 9.2% net organic growth in 2024, up from 7.8% the prior year. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).

Top-performing firms achieved 12.5% net organic growth in 2024. Source: Schwab 2025 Benchmarking Study via Citywire (United States).

Median client growth across Schwab benchmarking firms was 4.8% in 2024. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).

The five-year compound annual growth rate for both assets and revenue exceeded 12% through 2024. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States). The gap between top performers and the median shows that organic growth, not market beta, separates the strongest firms.

The 2025 Schwab study drew on self-reported data from 1,288 firms representing more than $2.4 trillion in assets, fielded January to March 2025. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study (United States).

Advisory Fee Trends

The AUM fee remains the dominant pricing model, and Kitces Research is the most-cited independent source on advisory pricing. There is little evidence of broad fee compression at the headline 1% level for smaller portfolios, though blended rates fall as account size grows.

92% of advisers incorporate AUM-based fees in some form. Source: Kitces Research (United States).

86% of advisers use AUM as their primary revenue source. Source: Kitces Research (United States).

The median AUM fee on the first $1 million of client assets is about 1.02%. Source: Kitces Research on Advisor Pricing (United States).

62% of advisers charge at least 1% AUM on a $1 million portfolio, but only 32% charge a full 1% on a $2 million portfolio. Source: Kitces Research (United States).

The median blended rate declines to roughly 0.9% at $2 million and about 0.8% at $5 million. Source: Kitces Research (United States).

For non-AUM models, the median standalone financial-plan or flat fee is about $4,500 per year, and the median hourly rate is about $300. Source: Kitces Research (United States). The decline in blended rates at higher asset levels reflects tiered fee schedules rather than across-the-board price cuts.

SEC-Registered vs State-Registered: A Critical Distinction

Headline RIA statistics almost always refer to SEC-registered firms only. A second, larger-by-count population of smaller firms registers with state securities regulators and is tracked by NASAA. Conflating the two overstates assets or understates firm counts.

State-registered investment advisers numbered 16,575 firms at the end of 2024. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).

State-registered firms held $361.8 billion in assets at the end of 2024, a $18.5 billion increase year over year. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).

The state-registered firm count fell by 322 firms in 2024 even as assets rose, a sign that growing firms cross the $100 million threshold and move to SEC registration. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).

State regulators oversaw 47,263 investment adviser representatives in 2024. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).

Over 98% of state-registered firms had 10 or fewer employees in 2024. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).

California hosted the most home-state-registered advisers in 2024 at 2,641, followed by Texas at 1,370, Florida at 1,222, New York at 720, and Illinois at 644. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report (United States).

The $100 million regulatory-AUM threshold is the dividing line: firms at or above it generally register with the SEC, and firms below it generally register with a state. Source: NASAA and Kitces (United States).

Sources for table: IAA and COMPLY 2024, 2025, and 2026 Snapshots; SEC Investment Adviser Statistics (Form ADV) for the 2023 adviser count of 15,396. United States. The 2023 client and employee figures are derived from the reported year-over-year growth rates and are marked approximate.

Sources for table: DeVoe RIA Deal Book via InvestmentNews; Fidelity Wealth Management M&A Report via AdvisorHub and InvestmentNews. United States, 2025. The two trackers use different inclusion rules, which is why totals differ; both agree 2025 was a record.

Sources for table: IAA and COMPLY 2025 Snapshot (SEC-registered, 2024 data); NASAA 2025 Annual Report (state-registered, 2024 data). United States. Note that SEC RAUM is gross and not comparable to the state AUM figure.

Original Synthesis

1. Assets per firm have grown faster than firm count. Dividing total RAUM by adviser count gives an average of $10.69 billion per SEC-registered firm in 2025 ($176.8 trillion divided by 16,544), versus $9.11 billion in 2024 ($144.6 trillion divided by 15,870), a 17.3% rise in average firm scale in one year. Inputs: IAA and COMPLY 2025 and 2026 Snapshots. Limitation: RAUM is gross and skewed by a few mega-firms, so the average overstates the typical firm, where the median manages well under $1 billion.

2. The combined U.S. RIA firm count exceeds 33,000 when both registration tiers are counted. Adding 16,544 SEC-registered firms (2025) to the 16,575 state-registered firms (2024) yields 33,119 distinct RIA firms, a figure rarely cited because the two datasets are reported separately and a year apart. Inputs: IAA and COMPLY 2026 Snapshot; NASAA 2025 Annual Report. Limitation: the two counts are not from the same year, and a small number of firms transition between tiers annually, so the sum is an approximate combined ceiling.

3. M&A removes firms at roughly a third the rate new firms are created. Fidelity counted 276 completed deals in 2025 while the SEC-registered population grew by 674 firms net (16,544 minus 15,870). Even at record deal volume, net firm formation outpaced acquisitions by about 2.4 to 1, meaning the channel is still expanding faster than it consolidates. Inputs: Fidelity M&A Report; IAA and COMPLY Snapshots. Limitation: net firm growth nets out de-registrations and new launches, so it is not a clean count of brand-new startups.

4. Asset concentration is extreme and rising. The largest 260 firms held 72.3% of all RAUM in 2025, meaning roughly 1.6% of SEC-registered firms control nearly three-quarters of regulatory assets. Inputs: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot. Limitation: this reflects RAUM including leveraged private-fund assets, so concentration among the largest hedge-fund and institutional managers inflates the figure relative to retail wealth.

Charts to build

• SEC-registered RAUM, 2023 to 2025 (bar chart). Data needed: $128.4T, $144.6T, $176.8T. Source: IAA and COMPLY Snapshots. Insight: a 22.3% one-year jump in 2025. Citation-worthy because it quantifies the largest single-year asset gain in the series.
• RIA M&A deals by year, DeVoe vs Fidelity (grouped bars). Data needed: DeVoe 272/322 and Fidelity 233/276 for 2024 and 2025. Source: DeVoe and Fidelity. Insight: both trackers show records via different methods. Citation-worthy because it shows methodology divergence transparently.
• Net organic growth by firm size (bar chart). Data needed: 9.2% under $250M, 5% over $250M, 12.5% top performers, 2024. Source: Schwab 2025 Benchmarking Study. Insight: smaller and top firms grow organically faster. Citation-worthy for advisor-business strategy stories.
• SEC vs state firm counts and assets (paired bars, log scale). Data needed: 15,870 vs 16,575 firms; $144.6T vs $361.8B assets, 2024. Source: IAA/COMPLY and NASAA. Insight: similar firm counts but vastly different asset scale. Citation-worthy for clarifying a commonly conflated distinction.
• Median blended AUM fee by portfolio size (line chart). Data needed: ~1.02% at $1M, ~0.9% at $2M, ~0.8% at $5M. Source: Kitces Research. Insight: tiered decline, not flat compression. Citation-worthy for fee-transparency coverage.

Inline chart: SEC-registered regulatory AUM by year (in trillions).

Source: IAA and COMPLY Investment Adviser Industry Snapshots, 2024 to 2026 editions (United States). Bar widths are proportional to the values shown.

Methodology

Sources were selected by tier, prioritizing the primary annual census of the channel. The IAA and COMPLY Snapshot aggregates SEC Form ADV filings and is the authoritative count of SEC-registered advisers; the SEC Investment Adviser Statistics report is the underlying government dataset. State-registered figures come only from NASAA, the only body that compiles them. M&A figures use both DeVoe and Fidelity to show methodological range rather than relying on a single tracker. Performance and fee figures come from Schwab benchmarking and Kitces Research, the two largest independent datasets on RIA economics.

Inclusion rule: a statistic appears only if a named, dated, U.S.-specific source supports it. Conflicting numbers were handled by reporting both and explaining the methodology difference, as with the DeVoe and Fidelity deal counts. The Snapshot’s prior-year asset figure was used to validate the SEC’s independently reported RAUM. Derived figures in Original Synthesis are simple arithmetic on cited inputs, with the formula and limitations stated. RAUM is flagged throughout as a gross regulatory measure, not net household wealth. The 2023 client and employee cells in the first table are derived from reported growth rates and marked approximate. Last updated June 2026.

Source Quality

Tier 1 (primary, government, official bodies): U.S. SEC Investment Adviser Statistics and Form ADV data; NASAA Annual Report on State-Registered Investment Advisers; IAA and COMPLY Investment Adviser Industry Snapshot (built directly on Form ADV).

Tier 2 (credible market research and trade data): DeVoe & Company RIA Deal Book; Fidelity Institutional Wealth Management M&A Report; Charles Schwab RIA Benchmarking Study; Kitces Research on advisor pricing.

Tier 3 (reputable trade journalism reporting the above): InvestmentNews, WealthManagement.com, AdvisorHub, Citywire RIA. These are used only to relay figures from the Tier 1 and Tier 2 sources they cite.

Most Quotable Statistics

• SEC-registered advisers oversaw $176.8 trillion in regulatory assets in 2025, up 22.3% in one year. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot.
• RIA M&A hit a record 322 deals in 2025 by DeVoe’s count, with private equity backing 88% of Fidelity-tracked transactions. Sources: DeVoe; Fidelity.
• The largest 260 firms, about 1.6% of SEC-registered advisers, controlled 72.3% of regulatory assets in 2025. Source: 2026 Snapshot via InvestmentNews.
• State-registered advisers (16,575 firms) outnumbered SEC-registered firms by count in 2024 but held just $361.8 billion in assets. Sources: NASAA; IAA and COMPLY.

Data Limitations

Regulatory AUM is a gross figure that can double-count sub-advised and leveraged assets, so the $176.8 trillion total far exceeds net household wealth under advice. M&A trackers use different inclusion criteria, so DeVoe (322) and Fidelity (276) cannot be directly reconciled. Schwab benchmarking and Kitces fee data are self-reported and skew toward larger, growth-oriented firms, so they may overstate typical performance. SEC and state figures are reported on different schedules, so cross-tier comparisons mix 2024 and 2025 data points. Fee figures describe blended schedules, not what any single client pays.

Recommended Dataset Fields

For a downloadable CSV, include: year; registration_tier (SEC or state); number_of_firms; regulatory_aum_usd; total_clients; asset_management_clients; non_clerical_employees; pct_firms_under_100_staff; pct_firms_under_1b_aum; ma_deals_devoe; ma_deals_fidelity; ma_assets_acquired_usd; pct_pe_backed_deals; net_organic_growth_under_250m; net_organic_growth_over_250m; median_aum_fee_first_1m; source_name; source_url.

Press Summary

The U.S. registered investment adviser industry set records across every major measure in 2025. SEC-registered advisers grew to 16,544 firms managing $176.8 trillion in regulatory assets, up 22.3% in a single year, while serving 73.7 million clients and employing about 1.1 million people, according to the Investment Adviser Association and COMPLY. Consolidation accelerated: DeVoe & Company logged a record 322 merger and acquisition deals, and Fidelity counted 276 transactions worth $796 billion in acquired assets, with private equity behind 88% of them. Yet organic growth, not dealmaking, separated the strongest firms, with top performers in the Charles Schwab benchmarking study posting 12.5% net organic growth. A separate population of 16,575 smaller state-registered advisers, tracked by NASAA, held just $361.8 billion, a reminder that headline RIA statistics describe only the SEC-registered tier. Median advisory fees held near 1% on the first $1 million of assets, per Kitces Research.

Suggested Headlines

• RIA Assets Hit $176.8 Trillion in 2025 as the Adviser Channel Sets Record Highs
• RIA M&A by the Numbers: 322 Record Deals and a Shrinking Buyer Pool
• SEC vs State: Why the Real RIA Firm Count Tops 33,000
• 1.6% of RIAs Control 72% of the Assets: The Concentration Story
• No Fee Compression Here: What RIAs Actually Charge in 2026

FAQ

How many SEC-registered RIAs are there? There were 16,544 SEC-registered investment advisers in 2025, a record high. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot.

How much do RIAs manage in total? SEC-registered advisers reported $176.8 trillion in regulatory assets under management in 2025. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot.

How many clients do RIAs serve? SEC-registered advisers served 73.7 million clients in 2025, up 7.7%. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot.

How many people work in the RIA industry? Non-clerical employment reached about 1.1 million in 2025, up 7.5%. Source: IAA and COMPLY, 2026 Snapshot.

How many RIA M&A deals happened in 2025? DeVoe & Company recorded 322 deals, a record, while Fidelity counted 276 transactions worth $796 billion. Sources: DeVoe; Fidelity.

How fast are RIAs growing organically? Net organic growth in 2024 was 5% for firms over $250 million and 9.2% for smaller firms, with top performers at 12.5%. Source: Charles Schwab, 2025 RIA Benchmarking Study.

What is the difference between SEC and state-registered RIAs? Firms with $100 million or more in assets generally register with the SEC; smaller firms register with states. Source: Kitces; NASAA.

How many state-registered RIAs are there? There were 16,575 state-registered firms holding $361.8 billion at the end of 2024. Source: NASAA, 2025 Annual Report.

What fee do RIAs typically charge? The median AUM fee on the first $1 million is about 1.02%, declining on larger balances. Source: Kitces Research.

How concentrated is the RIA industry? The largest 260 firms controlled 72.3% of regulatory assets in 2025. Source: InvestmentNews on the 2026 Snapshot.

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