Simplifying the Complex World of Independence & The RIA

A Field Guide for Wealth Managers Navigating the Independent Landscape.

What’s inside

• The Fiduciary vs. Suitability Difference
• The RIA Ecosystem: Platforms, Custodians & Models
• IBD vs. Hybrid vs. Pure RIA: Decoded
• Leading Aggregators, Custodians & Platforms
• The “Breakaway” Trend by the Numbers
• How to Choose Your Right Path

An open letter

A letter from the founder.

The hardest part is not the move. It is the due diligence: proving which firm is actually better for your clients, your team, and your family.

33 years in wealth management

1993–2010Financial Advisor → Branch + Complex ManagerMorgan Stanley

2010–2020Regional Director, SoutheastJP Morgan Securities

2020 →Founder & CEOSpartan Advisory

I spent thirty-three years in wealth management. Eighteen years inside Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor, national training officer who helped train two thousand advisors in two years, branch manager, and complex manager. Ten years at JP Morgan as Regional Director for the Southeast. Then five years building Spartan.

I left because I wanted to be the advocate I wished I had had when I was an advisor on the other side of a recruiting conversation. I wanted someone to tell me the truth about the economics. The truth about the legal risk. The truth about whether my book was actually as portable as I thought. And I wanted someone neutral to hear the part advisors rarely say out loud: that walking out the door means not knowing which clients walk with you. A well-run transition keeps more than ninety percent of a book. A rushed one keeps closer to seventy-five. The difference is the work.

That is what Spartan is. Thirty-three years of experience, a network across every channel, and a process I put my name on: portability, due diligence, negotiation, transition. A firm on your side of the table, and only yours. Start with a confidential call.

Pete.

Part I · The state of the independent movement

The Great Wealth Management Migration

The wealth management industry is experiencing a structural shift unlike anything seen in its history. The W-2 Model headcount has fallen steadily — the number of W-2 Model advisors declined by 10% over the decade ending in 2024, while the number of RIA firms grew by nearly 66% over that same period to over 15,870 firms. In 2024 alone, RIA firms hit record levels on virtually every metric: 15,870 SEC-registered firms, $144.6 trillion in assets under management, and 68.4 million clients.

In 2025, more than 17,000 advisors joined the RIA channel from other channels — more than double the number who made the switch in 2021. Meanwhile, 511 new independent RIAs launched in 2025 with a combined $80.6 billion in AUM, more than double 2024 launch levels. The movement isn’t a trend anymore. It’s a structural realignment of the industry.

It’s not just smaller producers leaving; many high-revenue teams have broken away. In 2023 and 2024, there were multiple headlines of billion-dollar AUM teams departing Merrill and UBS for independent firms.Industry Analysis, 2025

Why Advisors Are Making the Move

Four forces are driving this migration:

• Independence & Ownership: Advisors want to own their book of business. In a W-2 Model, the client relationship technically belongs to the firm. In an RIA, you own it.
• Economics: Higher payout ratios — 80% to 95% of production (net 55%–75%) vs. 40–50% in W-2 Model. The 1099 model means significantly higher take-home pay, even after business expenses.
• Technology: A 2024 Advisor360° survey found that 44% of advisors who switched firms cited dissatisfaction with their firm’s technology as a primary driver. Independent advisors can choose best-in-class tools.
• The ultimate goal is building enterprise value for exit: A $3M RIA with $1.5M EBITDA can exit at an 8x to 13x multiple, securing a $15M payout taxed mostly as long-term capital gains.

Written by

Pete Secret

Founder, Spartan Advisory. Thirty-three years in wealth management, most of them on the firm’s side of the recruiting table. He now sits on the advisor’s.

pete@spartan-advisory.com727.692.1985Talk to Pete