The independent wealth management industry has grown significantly over the past decade and many financial advisors think it will continue to grow looking forward. According to a 2022 Schwab Advisor Services’ Independent Advisor Outlook Study, about 93% of firms expect growth over the next five years, with a projected uptick of 17% annually in terms of the average net new assets expected over this time. In fact, more than one in four surveyed advisors expects to grow at a faster rate over the coming years relative to their current growth rate.
In this study, SmartAsset identifies the fastest-growing financial advisors in the U.S. To do so, we eliminated firms that took part in mergers or acquisitions, comparing a total of 729 financial advisors across four metrics: one- and three-year percentage change in number of client accounts and one- and three-year percentage change in assets under management (AUM). Our Data and Methodology below has more details on advisory firm selection criteria and how we put together the data to create our final rankings.
Key Findings
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Two Atlanta-based firms along with two Chicago-based ones rank in our top 10. Aprio Wealth Management, LLC and BIP Wealth, LLC are both based in Atlanta while IHT Wealth Management LLC and The Mather Group are headquartered in the Windy City. All four firms rank in the top 20% of financial advisors for each of the four metrics we considered.
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Strong growth among some larger firms. Only about one in three financial advisory firms in our study holds assets exceeding $2 billion. However, five of the 10 fastest-growing financial advisors report a April 2022 AUM of $2 billion or more. The largest fastest-growing advisor in our top 10 is The Mather Group, with an AUM of $8.6 billion as of April 2022.
1. Integrated Wealth Concepts, LLC
Integrated Wealth Concepts, LLC ranks first for the second year in a row. Also known as Integrated Partners, the firm has the 21st-largest three-year increase in client count (218.08%) and third-largest three-year growth in AUM (478.34%). Integrated Partners also ranks well for its one-year growth in AUM. Between March 2021 and March 2022, total assets held increased by about 56%.
2. Bogart Wealth, LLC
Based in northern Virginia, Bogart Wealth, LLC had more than $1.9 billion in AUM at the end of March 2022, or roughly 157% and 47% more than it did in March 2019 and March 2021, respectively. Relative to other advisors, that is the 23rd-highest one-year percentage change in AUM and 27th-best three-year percentage change in AUM. The number of clients Bogart Wealth serves has also grown. Over the past year alone, the number of clients increased by 38.31%, growing from about 3,700 to almost 5,200.
3. Aprio Wealth Management, LLC
Over the past year, Aprio Wealth Management, LLC has the 32nd-largest change in number of client accounts (41.68%) and the 3oth-highest increase in AUM (43.82%). Aprio Wealth Management also ranks in the top 40 financial advisors for its three-year percentage change in AUM. According to the Form ADV filings, AUM grew from $500.3 million to $1.3 billion between March 2019 and March 2022.
4. Ritholtz Wealth Management
Ritholtz Wealth Management had about $2.7 billion in AUM at the end of March 2022, roughly 170% more than it did in March 2019 and 50% more than March 2021. Relative to other advisory firms, the three- and one-year changes in AUM are 23rd- and 19th-highest, respectively. Ritholtz Wealth Management also ranks in the top 50 firms for its three-year percentage change in client count (102.80%).
5. IHT Wealth Management, LLC
Based in Chicago, Illinois, IHT Wealth Management LLC ranks in the top 40 financial advisory firms for three of the four metrics we considered. Between the March of 2019 and 2022, IHT Wealth Management grew their client base by more than 209% – from about 7,600 to roughly 23,600 – and their total assets managed by more than 257% – from $1.3 billion to $4.5 billion.
6. BIP Wealth, LLC
The second of two firms based in Georgia’s capital, BIP Wealth, LLC ranks best for its growth over the past year. It has the 24th-highest one-year change in client count (53.62%) and 38th-best one-year percentage change in AUM (41.07%). At the end of March 2022, BIP Wealth’s client count and AUM stood at almost 5,000 and $2.2 billion, respectively.
7. Canopy Wealth Management (Tie)
The number of clients working with Canopy Wealth Management has more than doubled between 2019 and 2022, growing by about 100.25%. As of the end of March 2022, Canopy Wealth Management total AUM stood at roughly $1.2 billion – about 101% and 64% more than at the end of March 2019 and March 2021, respectively.
7. Fort Point Capital Partners LLC (Tie)
Fort Point Capital Partners LLC has significantly expanded its client base over the past several years. At the end of March 2022, Fort Point Capital Partners served a total of 1,264 clients. This is about 121% and 57% more than March 2019 and March 2021, respectively.
9. Main Street Research LLC
Main Street Research LLC is the oldest RIA in our top 10. Headquartered in Sausalito, California, the firm manages almost $2.0 billion in assets across roughly 2,300 accounts. These figures represent significant growth from previous years. At the end of March 2019, the firm held only $1.0 billion in assets for about 600 clients. In other words, over a three-year period, AUM grew by almost 96% and the number of clients increased by close to 289%.
10. The Mather Group
Across the four metrics we considered, The Mather Group ranks best for its one-year change in AUM. Between March 2021 and March 2022, AUM at The Mather Group grew by about 53% – from $4.1 billion to $8.6 billion. Over the same time, the firm’s client base grew by roughly 27% – from about 9,900 clients to more than 12,500.
Data and Methodology
To put together our report, we began by identifying all firms that are registered with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and headquartered in the U.S. All SEC-registered firms are legally required to abide by fiduciary duty and must report essential information about their business to the SEC.
To further refine our list, we removed any firms that have disclosures on their Form ADV, as well as firms that do not offer financial planning services and those with less than $500 million in assets under management as of their March 2019 SEC filing. Finally, to isolate organic growth, we eliminated firms who took part in mergers and acquisitions during the time frame we considered by cross referencing Fidelity’s annual M&A reports and through our own research and due diligence.
With that criteria, we considered a total of 682 financial advisory firms. We ranked those firms by comparing them across the following four metrics:
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One-year percentage change in number of client accounts. Data comes from the SEC and is for March 2021 and March 2022.
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Three-year percentage change in number of client accounts. Data comes from the SEC and is for March 2019 and March 2022.
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One-year percentage change in assets under management. Data comes from the SEC and is for March 2021 and March 2022.
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Three-year percentage change in assets under management. Data comes from the SEC and is for March 2019 and March 2022.
Using the four metrics, we ranked each advisory firm in every metric, giving all metrics an equal weighting. We then found each firm’s average ranking and used the average to determine a final score. The firm with the best average ranking received a score of 100. The firm with the lowest average ranking received a score of 0.
Please note, this study does not evaluate the quality of services provided to clients and is not indicative of the financial advisor firms’ future business performance. Neither the RIA firms nor their employees paid a fee to SmartAsset in exchange for inclusion in our rankings.
Tips for Sourcing Clients
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Partner with us. SmartAsset’s SmartAdvisor platform matches certified financial advisors with new, local clients throughout the U.S. If you are looking to scale your business, be sure to consider us as a potential organic growth partner.
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Expand your radius. SmartAsset’s financial advisor survey shows that 60% of participating prospects indicated that they were willing to work with an advisor remotely. Consider broadening your search and working with investors who are more comfortable with less frequent in-person meetings.
