On the 250th anniversary of American independence, the independent RIA channel continues to grow at a pace that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago. Independent and hybrid RIAs now manage approximately 27% of all industry assets — up from 21% in 2014 — and more than 17,000 advisors joined the RIA channel from other channels in 2025 alone, according to data released in January from AdvizorPro. For the four advisors who spoke with InvestmentNews this Fourth of July, the decision to leave a wirehouse or major institution was not primarily about economics. It was about conviction — and what became possible the moment that conviction was acted upon.
Taylor Hart, president and founding partner of Steadmont Advisors — a Birmingham, Alabama-based independent RIA launched in January 2024 in partnership with Dynasty Financial Partners, with Fidelity as custodian, after Hart and his team managed $420 million at Merrill Lynch — went independent because he wanted to build a firm around his team's own principles, not a large institution's platform. The freedom to choose technology, investment solutions, and service models without being constrained by a single ecosystem was the practical goal. But what confirmed the decision was more personal.
"When long-time clients chose to follow us, it reinforced that our business is built on trust, not brands," Hart said. "They were placing their confidence in relationships we had built over many years, and that was one of the most meaningful validations we could have received as we launched our firm."
Hart says the experience has permanently changed how he thinks about professional risk.
"I've learned that what many people call risk is often just the discomfort of pursuing a different path. When you have conviction in your mission and pair it with discipline and hard work, the uncertainty becomes much easier to embrace," Hart said.
Steadmont's client base — described by the firm as the "millionaire next door," including business owners, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and multi-generational families — reflects Hart's planning-first approach, which uses eMoney for financial planning and Black Diamond for performance reporting.
Brandon Ross, co-founder and co-CEO of Quotient Wealth Partners — a Dallas and Houston-based SEC-registered independent RIA he co-founded after co-founding Peak Capital Investment Services, which subsequently merged with United Capital, followed by a stint as Head of Office for Texas and Colorado at Goldman Sachs — describes independence as something he and his partners were built for from the beginning. The firm, which has operated since 2002 and has grown to offices in Dallas, Houston, Denver, San Antonio, and Morristown, was founded on the belief that truly objective advice requires freedom from a single firm's platform constraints.
The moment Ross says he genuinely felt independent, however, was not a strategic milestone. It was a software implementation.
"At my previous firm, we knew there were better tools out there, but we didn't have the flexibility to adopt them," Ross said. "Once we went independent, we immediately integrated top-tier tax planning technology — and that allowed us to solve complex client situations in ways we simply couldn't before. That was the moment it clicked."
Ross's observation points to a pattern that surfaces consistently across breakaway stories: the technology unlocked by independence often exceeds advisors' expectations. Advisors have also told InvestmentNews that the client retention risk they feared typically does not materialize. And the push towards breakaway is continuing. According to a February 2026 Cerulli Associates report, about 9% of advisors, representing $3.1 trillion in assets, were expected to change firms in 2025. The research firm also noted that 71% of advisors said they would choose an independent channel if they were to switch.
Brian Gately, CFA, Managing Partner and Private Wealth Advisor at Anchyra Partners — an Atlanta-based independent RIA launched in June 2025 by Gately, CEO Robert Durham, and Managing Partner Zack Cloud, who previously managed $2.6 billion in client assets, with Gately and Cloud both former vice presidents at Goldman Sachs and Durham a former managing director at Stephens Inc., backed by Dynasty Financial Partners — frames the case for independence around something his wirehouse and institutional years could not offer: unfiltered access to the most compelling private investment opportunities.
"In the past, a relationship with a large firm often meant access to the best investment opportunities. Today, many of the world's most compelling companies and investment opportunities are sourcing capital directly and often bypassing traditional institutions," Gately said. "By maintaining relationships with leading sponsors and managers, we can provide our clients with differentiated access and serve as true fiduciaries for their portfolios."
"Independence for Anchyra Partners represents freedom for our clients through greater opportunity, flexibility, and alignment. What makes the leap worthwhile is seeing the positive impact we're able to have on our clients' lives," Gately said.
Anchyra, whose name is derived from the Greek word for "anchor," is targeting ultra-high-net-worth clients and multi-family offices, and plans to grow through both organic client development and the acquisition of independent advisory firms in select US markets — a model that reflects a broader shift in how newly independent RIAs are thinking about scale.
Derek Wittjohann, chief operating Officer and partner at Premier Path Wealth Partners — a Madison, New Jersey-based independent RIA launched in 2023 after Wittjohann and his team departed Merrill Lynch — built his firm specifically around closely-held business owners and multi-generational family wealth. That specialization shaped not just the client experience but the client response when the team announced its departure from the wirehouse.
"We were constantly protecting clients' needs from corporate interests, limited to one firm's investment platform, and unable to adapt to evolving technology and solutions," Wittjohann said. "We wanted to remain on the leading edge of the industry to better serve our clients."
The milestones that confirmed he had made the right call were cumulative: hiring a business advisory consultant for succession and business sale planning, launching a proprietary private access fund for differentiated investment opportunities, and adopting tax and estate planning technology that significantly enhanced client service — none of which, he says, would have been possible inside the wirehouse.
"Each time we made one of those decisions, we found ourselves saying, 'We never would have been able to do this before we were independent,'" Wittjohann said.
The client response, Wittjohann adds, reflected the entrepreneurial profile of the people Premier Path was built to serve. "We were fortunate to have an incredibly successful transition. Not only did our clients come with us, but because many are entrepreneurs themselves, they celebrated our decision and felt even more aligned with us than before," he said.
Taken together, the four stories that emerged in this Independence Day series — alongside those published earlier this week — paint a consistent picture: the advisors who thrive after leaving a major institution are those who go for specific, client-centered reasons, who invest heavily in the transition itself, and who are willing to let conviction carry them past the uncertainty. The industry data, and their clients, have largely rewarded them for it.
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