The Largest Registered Investment Advisors
Ranked by total client assets, Mariner Wealth Advisors leads the largest independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) at about $550 billion, ahead of Fisher Investments and Creative Planning. The twelve largest advise on more than $3 trillion combined.
Largest: Mariner Wealth Advisors (~$550B) · Top 12 combined: ~$3.2T · 12 firms · US independent RIAs
A registered investment advisor (RIA) is a firm registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to manage client assets and give investment advice under a fiduciary duty. The largest independent RIAs are national wealth managers advising on hundreds of billions of dollars each; ranked by total client assets, Mariner Wealth Advisors leads at about $550 billion, and the twelve largest advise on more than $3 trillion combined.
The ranking below orders these firms by total client assets, drawn from each firm's most recent Form ADV filing or public disclosure. It covers independent, fee-based wealth managers, not the wirehouses or the asset managers ranked separately. Consolidation has reshaped the field: private-equity capital has fueled a decade of acquisitions, and several firms have doubled in size in a few years. Most firms link to their Altss profile, where coverage and activity are tracked.
Largest registered investment advisors by client assets
Assets under management and advisement, latest firm disclosures, 2025-2026
| # | Firm | Client assets (USD) | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mariner Wealth AdvisorsAssets under management and advisement; includes the Cardinal institutional advisory book, so discretionary AUM is materially lower | ~$550B | Overland Park, United States |
| 2 | Fisher InvestmentsFounded by Ken Fisher; mostly discretionary AUM across private clients and institutions (mid-2026) | $441B | Plano, United States |
| 3 | Creative PlanningAssets under management and advisement (mid-2025); minority stake held by TPG | $370B | Overland Park, United States |
| 4 | Hightower AdvisorsPartnership of affiliated advisory practices (end-2025) | $354B | Chicago, United States |
| 5 | Edelman Financial EnginesRanked the top independent RIA by Barron's on discretionary AUM; 1.3M clients (mid-2025) | $308B | Santa Clara, United States |
| 6 | CorientUS wealth arm of CI Financial, now owned by Mubadala Capital (end-2025) | $224B | Miami, United States |
| 7 | Rockefeller Capital ManagementWealth, asset management, and investment banking; led by Greg Fleming (Q3 2025) | $187B | New York, United States |
| 8 | Brown AdvisoryEmployee-owned wealth manager and asset manager; firmwide client assets (end-2025) | $173B | Baltimore, United States |
| 9 | PathstonePartner-owned multi-family office; aggregate assets including advisement (end-2025) | $170B | Englewood, United States |
| 10 | Cerity PartnersNational wealth and OCIO advisor (end-2025) | $166B | New York, United States |
| 11 | Wealth Enhancement GroupSerial acquirer of independent RIAs; total client assets (early 2026) | $136B | Plymouth, United States |
| 12 | Mercer AdvisorsOne of the most acquisitive RIAs; client assets (end-2025). Distinct from Mercer, the Marsh McLennan consultancy | $96B | Denver, United States |
Figures are total client assets, combining discretionary assets under management (AUM) with non-discretionary assets under advisement (AUA), as most recently reported by each firm or its Form ADV. The mix varies: firms with large institutional advisory or OCIO books (notably Mariner) report totals well above their discretionary AUM, while managers such as Fisher Investments and Edelman Financial Engines are mostly discretionary. Figures are point-in-time and reported at different dates. Bars show relative size.
Four forces reshaping the RIA landscape
Private equity's land grab
Private-equity and permanent-capital investors now back most of the largest RIAs. TPG holds a stake in Creative Planning, Mubadala Capital took CI Financial (Corient) private, and buyers have funded a decade of roll-ups. Capital is abundant and valuations are high.
Roll-ups at scale
The biggest firms grow by acquisition. Mercer Advisors closed 18 deals in 2025 alone, and Wealth Enhancement, Hightower, and Mariner each absorb dozens of smaller practices a year. Fragmentation at the bottom feeds concentration at the top.
AUM versus advisement
Headline size figures blend two things: discretionary assets under management and assets under advisement. Mariner's $550 billion, for example, includes a large institutional advisory book from its Cardinal acquisition, so its managed AUM is much lower. The distinction matters when comparing firms.
Wealth managers as allocators
The largest RIAs increasingly build private-markets programs for their ultra-high-net-worth clients, committing to private equity, private credit, and venture funds. That makes them a growing, and often under-covered, source of limited-partner capital.
How the largest RIAs invest for clients
The firms at the top of this ranking manage money for wealthy families, business owners, and institutions, typically through diversified portfolios of public funds, separate accounts, and, increasingly, private markets. As their ultra-high-net-worth client bases have grown, the largest RIAs have built dedicated alternatives programs, allocating to private equity, private credit, venture capital, and real estate through funds and direct deals.
For fund managers, that shift makes large RIAs a meaningful and fast-growing source of limited-partner capital, alongside the family offices many of them resemble. Reaching them means understanding each firm's platform, gatekeepers, and alternatives appetite, which is what Altss tracks across 150,000+ institutional entities, including RIAs, family offices, and the wealth platforms that allocate to private funds.
How this ranking is built
Altss ranks registered investment advisors by total client assets, using each firm's most recent Form ADV filing or public disclosure. Figures combine discretionary AUM with assets under advisement and are noted where a firm's total is dominated by an institutional advisory book. The ranking covers independent, fee-based wealth managers, not wirehouses or standalone asset managers. This page was last reviewed in July 2026.
For managers raising capital from wealth platforms, each firm's profile tracks coverage, mandate activity, and personnel where publicly observable.
Largest registered investment advisors — questions
What is a registered investment advisor (RIA)?
What is the largest RIA in the United States?
How are the largest RIAs ranked?
Are RIAs limited partners (LPs) in private funds?
Why are RIAs consolidating?
Sources
Figures are drawn from each firm's own disclosures and the following authoritative sources.
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Data methodology
How Altss sources and verifies allocator data.
Raising from wealth platforms and allocators?
Altss tracks RIAs, family offices, pension funds, and 150,000+ institutional entities, with verified contacts, mandates, and signals for fund managers.