Tobias Salinger

From left to right, Association of African American Financial Advisors CEO Sheena Gray, First Trust Portfolios Vice President and Advisor Consultant Jackie Wilke, Carson Group Vice President of Accounting Andrea Johnson, Naperville, Illinois-based Raymond James & Associates financial advisor Kristy Sullivan and Women's Alliance of Financial Advisors CEO Stephanie Gularte posed together in a photo of "community partners" at a recent event hosted by the Women's Alliance. Women's Alliance of Financial Advisors

Financial Planning's Compensation Survey measured the total pay of hundreds of financial advisors and, perhaps more importantly, the lessons they would share to aspiring planners about forging a successful career.

The Women's Alliance of Financial Advisors has launched the Future Advisor Circle and is preparing a Big Sis Career Navigator program to support students, young professionals and career changers entering financial advice. The programs will add structured mentorship and group discussions to the organization's existing one-on-one career guidance. Participants will receive help navigating licensing, job searches, practice models and workplace expectations. The initiative reflects broader industry efforts to improve recruiting and retention among women, who remain underrepresented in advisor roles despite growing interest in financial services careers.

A former college and professional football player who is now a veteran financial advisor has created a league for athletes to compete against each other in the field of finance.

In a Q&A, Horizon Financial Group CEO Pete Bush explains why he adapted one of his favorite books to the financial advising profession.

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Registered investment advisors (RIAs) continue to see strong asset growth, but many are struggling to attract new clients organically. According to Paithos Research, the median U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission-registered RIA increased assets under management by 15% between 2025 and 2026 while adding just one new client, reflecting a 2% increase. Much of the asset growth likely stemmed from market performance rather than new business. Larger firms continue to dominate, with RIAs managing more than $100 billion controlling 72% of industry assets, and those over $1 billion overseeing nearly 98%. Bigger firms also attract clients more effectively through greater marketing resources and acquisitions. Still, the report highlights significant variation, with about 20% of RIAs achieving client growth of at least 15%. Industry experts believe AI and affordable marketing technologies could help smaller firms compete more effectively for organic growth in the future.

View the exclusive research from Financial Planning's latest annual study of brokerages whose financial advisors aren't employees of the firms — and sort and compare data across the past 15 years.

Executives from some of the largest firms in the channel — Ameriprise, Kestra Financial, Cetera, LPL Financial and Osaic — discuss how clearing and custody fits into their approaches to recruiting and retaining financial advisors.

LPL Financial has been the largest independent brokerage in wealth management for decades, but the gap between it and everyone else has expanded to an unprecedented girth.