Asset managers shift RIA focus to aggregators as market consolidation reshapes strategy

Asset management firms are realigning their RIA engagement strategies, increasingly directing their efforts toward the largest RIAs and aggregator groups as consolidation in the advisory landscape accelerates.

The study from FUSE Research Network - Covering RIAs: How Aggregators Are Changing Firms’ Strategy - reveals that asset managers now dedicate a substantial portion of their RIA coverage resources to aggregators and mega-size advisory firms. Presently, these large entities account for 37% of all RIA-focused coverage time, highlighting a strategic pivot toward where scale and influence are greatest.

Importantly, the report highlights that aggregators control nearly half of total RIA assets, a shift that has reverberated through asset managers’ organisational structures and resource allocation. With aggregators growing at a pace that outstrips the broader RIA universe, the study suggests that coverage emphasis on these firms is likely to increase further.

Larger asset management organisations are already adapting, with 63% of their RIA-specific time spent on aggregator relationships. In contrast, smaller asset managers remain more engaged with boutique RIAs, a cohort that still offers meaningful opportunities through traditional wholesaling and less centralized decision processes.

“The current 37% time allocation already underscores how critical aggregators have become to asset managers’ RIA initiatives,” said Loren Fox, director of Research at FUSE Research Network. “But given that aggregators now represent 49% of RIA assets - and continue to grow faster than the rest of the market - we expect that share of time to rise meaningfully. Firms need to differentiate their coverage based on resources and likely opportunities.”

The report frames these developments as part of a broader trend in which aggregator firms increasingly resemble institutional investors, with centralised home-office decision-making and sophisticated operational frameworks. This evolution is pushing asset managers to combine national accounts strategies with dedicated RIA wholesaling to match the demands of larger advisory platforms.