FA’ S 2026 RIA SURVEY & RANKING fiduciaries and half the time we were‘ best interest,’” he says, referring to the standard of client service utilized by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for brokers, not advisors under the umbrella of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Higginbotham says that, as of late May, OpenArc’ s assets were $ 10 billion, and he outlined some ambitious expansion goals, including reaching $ 15 billion in assets under management and administration by year’ s end. The firm is also deploying planning techniques like exchange funds( not to be confused with ETFs) for concentrated positions, charitable lead trusts, direct indexing and various hedging strategies with its wealth management clients.
The model of combining a direct contribution business with wealth management has proved to be a big winner for some of the largest firms in the RIA business. No firm has been more successful at it than Raleigh, N. C.-based Captrust, the RIA world’ s only trillion-dollar firm when measured by assets under management.
According to its founder and CEO, Fielding Miller, the firm decided in 2006 it wanted to expand from the retirement plan business into wealth management and establish a presence in the nation’ s 20 leading metropolitan markets. So it embarked on an acquisition strategy. Over the last two decades, Captrust has acquired about 80 firms, and its wealth management unit now generates 70 % of its revenues, a figure Miller expects to reach 80 % within a few years.
Like most RIAs, Captrust is a private company. However, it has 1,400 employees in its stock plan and its value has climbed about tenfold to more than $ 6 billion over the last decade. That’ s creating another issue for the firm, which currently employs 33 former CEOs.“ I’ ve got a lot of people retiring,” Miller says.
Exodus
Some industry observers fear that a wave of retiring advisors could stunt the industry’ s growth and simultaneously reduce the generous multiples that private investors have been willing to pay to gain a foothold in the advisory world.
“ Two key reasons drive this,” says DeVoe.“ The first is risk: If a successor is not fully in place, this can create a material risk to the organization. The second factor is growth: Firms run by aging founders often experience slower growth.”
The transfer of client wealth to the next generation is driving changes at both the advisor and client level. Developing young talent is critical in winning the emerging wealthy, and that can mean stretching to accommodate young clients.
Only 2.5 % of the RIA firms in Financial Advisor’ s survey are using subscription fees, a compensation method that became popular with millennials over the last decade. Like most big firms, Chicago-based Wealthspire doesn’ t use subscription fees, but it does work with younger clients who don’ t meet its AUM minimum, according to president and CEO Mike LaMena.
DOES YOUR FIRM HAVE AN OUTSIDE INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR OR INVESTORS, INCLUDING A PRIVATE EQUITY FIRM?
■ Yes 19.19 %
■ No 80.81 %
ACTIONS FIRMS HAVE TAKEN IN THE LAST 3 YEARS
CATEGORY
If YES, what percentage of the firm do they own?
ACTIONS TAKEN IN LAST 3 YEARS %
■ 0-20 % 55.14 %
■ 20 %-40 % 12.97 %
■ 40 %-60 % 13.51 %
■ More than 60 % 18.38 %
ACTIONS LIKELY IN NEXT 12 MONTHS %
Hired strategy consultant 39.73 % 8.72 % Obtained a valuation appraisal 44.77 % 15.31 % Added one or more offices 39.53 % 15.50 % Held exploratory merger talks 34.69 % 11.63 % Rejected a merger proposal 27.13 % 5.81 % Hired a former registered rep to work at your firm 36.05 % 12.21 %
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF YOUR CLIENT BASE
Business Owners 84.80 % Corporate Executives 75.44 % Professionals( doctor, lawyers) 87.52 % Retirees 92.40 % Other 42.69 %
WHERE DO YOU THINK AI WILL HAVE THE MOST POWERFUL EFFECT ON YOUR FIRM?
Financial Planning
Marketing
Operations
Investing
Compliance
15.50 %
19.38 %
42.83 %
41.67 %
80.62 %
JULY / AUGUST 2026 | FINANCIAL ADVISOR MAGAZINE | 25