the current statements of a client, looking at the current investment returns, et cetera. That can all be entered through AI and categorized through AI, and organized by it, and that’ s a lot of work today. That’ s hours and hours of client service. Then you think about things like maintaining systems.”

Firms today have a CRM database and performance reporting, and the linkages between those systems are being built.“ And with AI, you can just have a bot that seamlessly ensures everything is integrated,” Cranston continues.“ You can design bots to ensure that that data is clean.”

Why is this important? Because fundamental consumer demand for advisor services is growing— and yet organic growth has somehow stalled.( Fifty-five percent of advisors consider new client acquisition a challenge, according to a Cerulli report earlier this year.)

Part of the reason for that is the profession’ s consolidation and its creation of so many giant players. Growing at 10 % is easier when you’ re at $ 200 million in assets. But if you’ re at $ 70 billion, it means that 10 % growth requires $ 7 billion in new assets each year, says Dave Welling, the CEO of Mercer Advisors in Denver.

“ It’ s a thing that everybody struggles with,” says Welling,“ and I think for some firms the growth muscle has atrophied. They were once upon a time good growers. … But to keep the same percentage growth going at the big numbers you find, you have to be really proactive. You actually have to have dedicated, focused resources.”

Organic growth is something many firms have been able to overlook because advisory clients have benefited from surging markets in recent years. According to Financial Advisor’ s annual RIA survey, the mean amount of assets per client climbed 15.96 % in 2024 to $ 1.77 million, up from $ 1.52 million the previous year.

71.57 %

RIAs’ PRIMARY CUSTODIANS

30.68 % 9.32 %

2.47 %

CATEGORY

% OF FIRMS THAT OFFER THIS SERVICE IN-HOUSE

% OF FIRMS THAT OUTSOURCE THIS SERVICE

AVG. % OF CLIENTS USING SERVICE WHEN OFFERED

Financial Planning 98.08 % 0.27 % 69.10 % Alternative Investing 65.21 % 7.95 % 38.13 % Asset Allocation 96.71 % 1.37 % 94.28 % Bond Management 70.96 % 14.25 % 55.73 % Business Consulting 36.99 % 5.48 % 13.79 % Charitable Counseling 78.90 % 3.84 % 33.65 % Digital Advice Platform 16.71 % 3.29 % 34.65 % Equity Management 70.68 % 7.95 % 81.78 % Estate Planning 66.03 % 17.81 % 56.24 % Exchange-Traded Funds 80.27 % 7.67 % 79.37 % Fund Of Hedge Fund Selection / Oversight 24.38 % 4.38 % 25.02 % Group 401( k) Advice / Sales 50.68 % 4.93 % 11.38 % Healthcare 20.55 % 14.52 % 31.29 % Hedge Fund Selection / Oversight 30.96 % 4.38 % 24.89 % Impact Investing * 50.68 % 8.22 % 13.92 % Index Funds 69.59 % 7.12 % 70.00 % Institutional Fund Management 39.45 % 3.29 % 34.24 % Insurance Planning 63.56 % 12.60 % 45.22 % Manager Selection / Oversight 62.47 % 3.29 % 77.80 % Mutual Fund Selection / Oversight 82.47 % 2.19 % 79.22 % Real Estate Investment Trusts 46.03 % 8.22 % 42.10 % Separately Managed Account 61.37 % 11.78 % 39.59 % Tax Planning 77.53 % 7.95 % 65.51 % Tax Preparation 23.84 % 16.99 % 33.28 % Cybersecurity Protection 12.88 % 10.41 % 50.64 %

* Category included socially responsible and sustainable investing.

DO YOU USE A SINGLE CUSTODIAN OR MULTIPLE CUSTODIANS?

■ One custodian 30.73 %

■ Two custodians 26.26 %

SEI

WHICH CUSTODIAN’ S NEW CLIENT REFERRAL PROGRAM DO YOU USE?

HOW FIRMS CHARGE FOR SERVICES

AUM Fees

Hourly

Subscription Fees 2.74 %

Other

27.12 %

Charles Schwab

26.58 % Flat Fee / Retainer

11.23 %

8.22 %

Fidelity Pershing Other / None

49.32 %

12.92 %

62.74 %

98.63 %

28 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | JULY / AUGUST 2025 WWW. FA-MAG. COM