The number of fiduciary advisory firms in the U.S. rose by 2.2% last year to hit a record high of 15,144,
But over the long run, the industry is on the rise. The $114.1 trillion advisors had under management for clients may have been down from $128.4 trillion for the previous year, a result largely of falling stock and bond markets. But it's still far above the $83.7 trillion the industry had under management in 2018.
It's likewise with client numbers. The 61.9 million people, groups and institutions who consulted financial advisors may have been down from 64.7 million for 2021. But it's still far above the 43.6 million figure for advice seekers in 2018.
"Investors are increasingly engaging investment advisers, which continuously provide investment management advice as fiduciaries, putting their clients' interests ahead of their own," Karen Barr, the CEO and president of the IAA, said in a statement.
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The IAA produced its report in conjunction with National Regulatory Services, a subsidiary of the consulting company COMPLY. Most of the data analyzed was found by combing through the Form ADV documents registered firms are required to file every year with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Among the snapshot's other findings: The advisory industry continues to be dominated by small firms — 91.7% of all advisories had 100 or fewer employees.
And the majority of firms tended to have relatively small amounts of assets under management. Roughly 70% of the total had less than $1 billion under management in 2022 and 88.5% had less than $5 billion.
Read on for more insights from the IAA's latest industry snapshot:
