Fear not RIAs! You don't have to sacrifice independence to scale

The industry expectation for 2026 is that RIA consolidation will continue to accelerate. All points lead to more and more M&A driving more and more financial advisors to get bigger or get left behind.

But that does not mean wealth managers must sacrifice independence for scale.  

Andy Schwartz, CEO of OnePoint BFG Wealth Partners, for example, was the first RIA to take a minority investment from Rise Growth Partners, founded by Joe Duran. Over the past year, the firm has nearly doubled its AUM – from $8.5 billion to approximately $15 billion – completed its largest acquisition to date with Chicago-based Spahn Financial Partners and transitioned roughly 80% of assets from 1099 to W2 advisors.

“For most founders, independence is not about owning 100 percent forever. It is about maintaining control over the client experience, the investment philosophy, and how you spend your time. The firms that scale well invest early in infrastructure so growth does not introduce friction. They centralize what clients never see and fiercely protect what differentiates them,” Schwartz said.

Emphasized Schwartz: “Independence is not preserved by staying small. It is preserved by being intentional about what you are willing to give up and what you are not.”

Jason Gordo, president and co-founder of Modern Wealth Management, meanwhile, believes most advisors want to deliver extreme client care, and true independence means giving them more time to do exactly that. 

“We centralize organic growth strategies, marketing, data management, compliance, platform infrastructure, HR and people functions, and surround them with dedicated teams of experts including tax, estate, insurance, and investment management. That structure frees advisors to spend more time with clients and prospects and less time running the operations,” Gordo said.

He adds that advisors stay at the center of the relationship, delivering planning, the agreed‑upon investment approach, and the client’s tax and estate strategy, with the scaled platform removing the friction that gets in the way. 

Elsewhere, Andree Mohr, president of Integrated Partners, says it is “all about being intentional” because too often, companies get lost chasing the next shiny object. In her opinion, scaling thoughtfully and intentionally has allowed Integrated to leverage technology and free up time while maintaining their identity.

“We spent time becoming clear on who we want to be and what makes us unique. Those factors must stay intact as we scale. The rest we can find best of breed technology or partners to help us optimize,” Mohr said.

And as to what’s driving the current wave of RIA consolidation, Mohr points to two main factors: cost and the loneliness of going it alone.

“It’s hard to be all things to all people and partnership helps advisors drive value to clients, free up time, take advantage of scale and doing it with other people is just smart business,” Mohr said.

For the record, RIA dealmaking set a record in 2025 with 322 M&A transactions, according to a report this week from consulting firm DeVoe & Company. Total deals marked an 18% increase over the previous record of 272 announced transactions tracked by DeVoe in 2024. The average AUM for selling firms in 2025 was just above $1 billion.

INTEGRATING WITHOUT BREAKING CULTURE

According to OnePoint BFG’s Schwartz, most integrations fail because culture is treated as an outcome instead of a prerequisite.

“You cannot merge cultures. You decide which behaviors are non-negotiable and you build around them,” Schwartz said, adding that culture breaks when people feel something is being “done to them” while integration works when people feel they are helping build something better than what existed before.

Along similar lines, Modern Wealth’s Gordo, believes culture is preserved by protecting the client promise and building on what already makes a partner firm successful, never by forcing a new identity on them.

“We start with people functions and backend functions like data, compliance, finance, and technology so clients feel continuity while gaining the benefits of scale. It typically takes about six months for a firm to fully evolve into a modern wealth office. Once that foundation is in place, the firm is positioned for real growth and acceleration,” Gordo said.

Finally, Integrated Partners’ Mohr, says alignment is needed from the very beginning. Spending the appropriate time in advance to ensure you truly understand people's values and their short and long-term goals allows for integration without sacrificing culture in his view.

“Culture is everything and that isn’t lip service or a marketing slogan. When your people define your culture, then your culture can define your growth,” Mohr said.