July / August 2026 • www. fa-mag. com

KNOWLEDGE FOR THE SOPHISTICATED ADVISOR

The Stars Are Aligned

Financial Advisor’ s 2026 RIA survey shows how both private equity and AI are transforming the industry.

Too Close For Comfort

Should you ever be your client’ s power of attorney?

Building A Family Bank

Wyoming dynasty trusts can keep families from wasting wealth.

Why Emerging Market Bonds Are Underrated

These countries have been putting their houses in order, says VanEck.

ROBABLY THE TWO MOST OVERUSED PHRASES IN FINANcial journalism are“ This time is different” and“ What could possibly go wrong?”

As I worked on this year’ s RIA survey, it immediately became apparent to me that so many tailwinds are working in favor of today’ s advisories— and conditions are so favorable— that it’ s downright scary. Only 15 years ago, advisory firms were just a well-kept secret in financial services.

It was only a matter of time before private equity would discover the space. And now it’ s happening— at a time of huge wealth creation in the years following the financial crisis, when baby boomers have headed into retirement as the most affluent generation in history.

So once again, what could go wrong? Well, for starters, it’ s important to keep in mind that the record of private equity in a variety of industries is mixed. And the growth of PE’ s position in the overall economy means there is ever more money chasing a fairly fixed number of businesses.

Still, almost any trend that ought to hurt RIA firms’ value has failed to. For example, when the Fed started hiking interest rates in 2022, prices for advisory firms should have suffered( as they did in other industries).

Instead, most firms have held their value and quite a few have appreciated. While that’ s a good thing for now, those higher valuations could also mean that PE firms will need to make deeper cuts in the event of a deep and prolonged stock market correction or a nasty recession.

As Plancorp chief investment officer Peter Lazaroff notes, the entire value proposition of the RIA model has centered on transparency. Today, the biggest trend is getting alternative investments into the hands of the mass affluent.

One can argue both ways on whether private equity and private credit investments have a role to play in ordinary Americans’ portfolios. But even if one

Another obvious challenge facing the advisory world is AI. What it will mean is anyone’ s guess. Right now, it is making advisors a lot more productive, but the jury is out on its long-term ramifications.

decides they do, there’ s a potential conflict of interest when a PE-owner directs an RIA to place clients in private alternatives. That conflict becomes obvious if the owner starts pushing his own products.

Another obvious challenge facing the advisory world is AI. What it will mean is anyone’ s guess. Right now, it is making advisors a lot more productive, but the jury is out on its long-term ramifications.

Today’ s RIA boom is stronger than ever despite dire predictions about its fate three decades ago during the advent of the internet and again when robo-advisors surfaced in 2010. As Lazaroff points out, the travel agent business is generating as much business as it did before the internet. But there are a lot fewer travel agents.

None of these developments necessarily translate into negative or positive ramifications for this business. But they do suggest it will look very different in five years than it does today.

Evan Simonoff

Email me at esimonoff @ famagazine. com with your opinion.

6 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | JULY / AUGUST 2026 WWW. FA-MAG. COM