What does a typical financial advisory firm look like today?

The shape of financial advisory firms is one that is evolving to meet the shifting demographics of advisors and the changing demands of clients.

A new report published today (July 1), looks at the stats on more than three quarters of a million securities-licensed advisors, and 44,700 registered firms to paint a picture of how the US advisory industry looks in 2025, based on an analysis on June 1.

The AdvizorPro report highlights the aging advisor population, gender representation gaps, and the complexity of teams, using SEC ADV filings, proprietary web data, AI extraction, and manual research, all helping to identify the trends and challenges of firms.

The age of advisors is an issue that has long been mentioned, necessitating the filling of the pipeline of younger advisors coming into the industry. The report reveals that more than one in seven advisors is aged 60 or above, led by wirehouses (22%) with RIAs (15%), hybrids (15%), and independent broker-dealers (10%).

While the peak is 54 (average 46.7 years) and there is a pipeline of talent in the 35-45 age range, a smaller share of younger advisors may not be enough to replace those at the upper age range, especially in those states with higher exposure to aging advisor populations set to retire – led by Mississippi at 25% (Wisconsin has the smallest at 11%).

The median age of all advisors is 46, but this varies by channel with 45 for RIAs, 46 for IBDs and hybrids, and 51 for wirehouses. The report suggests this older median for wirehouses (the average is also around three years higher than the other channels at 49.3) reflects legacy structures and a slower pace of breakaways becoming independent.

The report also considers the size of firms with the most common being those with 1-3 advisors, typically led by founders. However, despite being smaller in number, the conclusion of the analysis is that larger firms are the “operational future of the industry” leveraging centralized investment decisions, multi-role staffing models, and outsourced planning or investment platforms to drive efficiency.

The firms that lead in terms of the number of mapped advisor teams are Merrill, Morgan Stanley, and LPL Financial (based on verified team relationships among licensed advisors—not inflated branch affiliations or roll-up structures.)

Some firms achieve scale by focusing on depth—developing larger, centralized advisor teams that resemble institutional investment desks. Others grow through breadth, supporting wide networks of smaller, autonomous teams. These structural approaches influence how firms hire talent, approach sales, adopt technology, and make investment decisions—key considerations for product providers, recruiters, and integration partners.

The report concludes that advisor demographics and team structures provide more than just benchmark data, they reveal how firms function, evolve, and change hands. Firms that understand these trends are better equipped to plan for the future, whether by refining growth strategies, customizing recruiting efforts, or designing products that align with the realities of today’s advisory landscape.