Employee development in the RIA industry is “trending toward mediocrity,” according to DeVoe & Company’s latest report that identifies deteriorating satisfaction levels across compensation and career pathing while advisor attrition is on the rise.
The RIA consultant’s new DeVoe Talent & Growth Survey asked employees to rate their RIA’s compensation plan on a scale of 1 to 10. Their responses were converted into an industry-wide Net Promoter Score (NPS) of -31. NPS converts 1-10 ratings into “promoters,” “passives,” and “detractors,” while any score below zero signals a firm has more detractors than promoters.
“A negative 31 score is shockingly low. That number should stop leaders in their tracks,” reads DeVoe’s report. “Talented advisors aren’t sticking around for mystery math and bonus black boxes. They’re looking for guidance on what matters, how it’s measured and how they can grow.”
Only 43% of surveyed RIAs said they have a clear incentive compensation plan, which is down from 50% in 2023 and 57% in 2022. Additionally, only 38% of surveyed advisors believe their firms offer defined career paths, which is down from 50% in 2024, according to DeVoe. The company surveyed over 100 representatives from RIA firms between March and May of 2025, including senior executives, principals, and RIA owners with $100 million or more in AUM.
“The future will really belong to firms that treat talent as infrastructure and invest with urgency, otherwise more firms will drift into mediocrity,” founder and CEO David DeVoe told InvestmentNews. "We're not seeing a crisis of mass departures, but instead a slow erosion of engagement. That's dangerous. It's the quiet loss of the very people meant to lead that comes next."
On the succession front, only 27% of surveyed respondents feel confident in their future leaders. Confidence in the next-gen is declining, as 45% of firms expect a “bumpy transition” in succession of leadership, up from 34% in 2024.“Realistically, owners should start thinking about these things when they have around $100 million in AUM,” said David DeVoe. “If you hit $1 billion and haven’t sold any shares internally, you could be in a tough spot to transition all the equity internally.”
DeVoe’s report also found that employees are leaving their RIAs at increasing levels for the first time in three years. The survey found 58% of firms reported no undesired attrition in 2025 after being at 68% in 2024. DeVoe pointed out equity ownership as a key tactic to keeping employees. RIAs including Mercer, HB Wealth, Snowden Lane, &Partners, and Steward Partners all have models for providing equity in their firm to employees.
“For firms that want to optimize retention of employees, they should be looking at equity,” said DeVoe. “Across the industry, succession planning is a challenge and all firms would benefit from thinking through a succession plan that includes not only equity migration, but leadership migration as well.”
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