The wealth management field is in the midst of a major structural shift. Advisors at wirehouses and broker-dealers are leaving in record numbers — not to retire, but to go independent. This breakaway movement has been building for years, and recent data makes it clear this is much more than just a trend. It’s a structural shift in how advisors are choosing to work.
We see this firsthand at Integrated Advisors Network. Advisors work with us because they’re ready to run their own business the way they know is best. Here are five trends that explain why independence is having a moment for entrepreneurial, driven advisors.
- Advisor movement is at near-record highs, and the RIA channel is the clear winner.
Last year, more than 39,000 advisors changed firms — a 10.5 percent jump from 2024, according to data from ISS Market Intelligence. The channel that grew the most? RIAs. Altogether, the RIA channel added over 2,500 net new advisors in 2025. Wirehouses, on the other hand, lost more than 1,100 advisors on a net basis.
This data isn’t just a blip. Over the past decade, the number of RIAs grew by nearly 66 percent while wirehouse headcount fell by 10 percent. What’s driving the shift? True independence. Even independent broker-dealer headcount has dropped by 20 percent, not because advisors don’t want independence, but because they want more of it. They want to truly own their business and to build their own enterprise value, instead of having a broker-dealer that still asserts some control.
- The RIA channel has outgrown every other model by a wide margin.
Between 2018 and 2023, assets under management in the RIA channel grew at a 7 percent annual rate, fueled largely by advisors departing wirehouses and larger firms to launch or join independent practices. According to Cerulli Associates, the number of RIA firms and the advisors within them compounded at annual growth rates of 2.4 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, over the past decade. Every other advisory channel — wirehouses, IBDs, banks — either flatlined or declined.
The momentum speaks for itself. Independent and hybrid RIAs now manage roughly 27 percent of all advisor-handled assets, according to Cerulli, up from 21 percent just a decade ago.
- Advisors report freedom is a central motivation.
Data from a Betterment Advisor Solutions survey found that 59 percent of advisors who have gone independent cite business freedom as the primary motivation behind their shift. Personal freedom came in second at 51 percent, and better access to technology was cited by 44 percent. An independent RIA model helps satisfy all of these desires, providing a structure where advisors own their day-to-day decisions, use technology in a way that best aligns with their practice, and gain the time to focus on serving their clients directly instead of drowning in logistics.
- The Great Wealth Transfer is creating opportunity.
Cerulli projects that the high-net-worth market — households with $5 million or more in investable assets — will grow at roughly 9.3 percent annually, passing $30 trillion in total assets by 2028. This expanding client base will increasingly demand services that go well beyond retirement planning: tax strategy, estate planning, business succession, philanthropy, and multigenerational wealth management.
Meeting those needs requires flexibility. Independent advisors aren’t constrained to a limited product shelf or a narrow service menu. They can build the kind of comprehensive, relationship-driven practice that high-net-worth clients are actively seeking.
That becomes more essential when you consider this fact: Research from Capgemini found that 81 percent of next-generation high-net-worth individuals plan to switch wealth management firms within one to two years of inheriting assets. That represents trillions of dollars in motion — and a massive opportunity for advisors who have built practices anchored in genuine relationships and personalized advice. Independent advisors are often the best equipped to compete for this new business precisely because they can provide a level of customization and service that other advisors simply can’t match.
- Technology has made independence more accessible than ever.
One of the biggest barriers to independence used to be infrastructure. Building your own compliance framework, assembling your own tech stack, and managing back-office operations from scratch was genuinely daunting. With an RIA platform working as your partner, that barrier is a thing of the past. A 2024 Advisor360 report found that 44 percent of advisors surveyed changed firms because of bad technology, and more than 90 percent say they would be open to changing firms due to technology issues.
For today’s independent advisors, technology is no longer what constrains them. In fact, going independent often provides a degree of freedom and customization that they never got to experience working at a captive firm.
Why independence with Integrated is the right choice.
Behind every statistic is an advisor who made a choice. They chose to own their book of business, to keep their brand, and to build their own practice instead of working for someone else.
At Integrated Advisors Network, we’re proud to help facilitate this independence — one that benefits advisors and clients alike. Independence isn’t for everyone. But for advisors who are ready to build something truly their own, the conditions have never been better. Send us a message today to learn more about how our partnership supports independent advisors.