US households are sharply reducing the number of financial institutions they use as investors embrace ‘one-stop shopping’ for their savings and investing needs, according to new research.
Between 2023 and 2025, the total number of saving and investment relationships dropped from 351 million to 323 million and, on average, households now maintain relationships with just 2.4 stores (down from 2.7 in 2023). And among the wealthiest (with $5 million or more in investable assets), the average number of providers shrank from 4.5 in 2018 to just 3.9 today.
The report from Hearts & Wallets reveals that among affluent households in the $1 million-to-$5 million and $5 million-plus categories, the share of households using only a single provider rose to 22%, up 11 and 13 percentage points respectively.
Analysts say this consolidation reflects growing demand for simplicity and efficiency.
“Firms that want to leverage the one-stop-shopping trend must offer all the account types to satisfy investor needs, including taxable brokerage,” says Laura Varas, CEO and founder of Hearts & Wallets. “Successful consolidation initiatives will support marketing calls-to-action with tangible processes.”
For the first time, Fidelity Investments has surpassed Bank of America Merrill Lynch as the most widely held provider, according to reach - the proportion of US households reporting at least one account at a given firm. Alongside Charles Schwab, Fidelity leads among households with $1 million or more in investable assets, who together control roughly 80% of such assets.
In terms of asset share, trust and loyalty - measured through metrics like share-of-wallet, intent to invest more, and likelihood to recommend - firms such as LPL Financial, Edward Jones and Fidelity stand out as primacy leaders with many clients entrusting them with 60% or more of their investable wallet. On loyalty and trust, Edward Jones, Fidelity, Vanguard and LPL exceed industry norms.
The industry average ‘intent to invest more’ sits at 18%, rising to 31% among clients using a firm as their main or secondary provider. Meanwhile, the ‘likelihood to recommend’ metric - a proxy for advocacy - lands at 26%, with the combined Hearts & Wallets loyalty score at 25%. High-trust designation is achieved by LPL and Edward Jones at over 1.5× the industry average.
“Partnerships, mergers and acquisitions can help stores offer a full suite of account types and achieve the scale to make the investments in technology, field training and marketing necessary to compete in today’s consolidating market,” says Beth Krettecos, Hearts & Wallets subject matter expert. “A portfolio of advice experiences can spark dialogue to create opportunities to earn share of wallet with different customer types.”
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