Wealth Management IQ, a research arm of Informa‘s Wealth Management publishing group, has released a paper examining how registered investment advisers can attract and retain advisors as the profession faces a generational staffing crunch. The report is sponsored by Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions.
The paper’s headline proposition is that technology and AI tools can partially offset a shortage of experienced advisors, giving existing practitioners the capacity to serve more clients without proportionally increasing headcount. That argument has become standard positioning across wealthtech vendors, but the report frames it through the lens of the RIA talent pipeline rather than pure automation efficiency.
What the report covers
According to the promotional summary, the paper addresses five areas: the retention drivers keeping independent advisors at their current firms; the top factors that attract advisors when they consider a move; how AI and technology can address the capacity gap; strategies for capturing client assets from the generational wealth transfer; and where firms are currently falling short on talent management.
The paper does not publish specific survey figures, named firm case studies or named advisory practices in the promotional materials reviewed. The full methodology, sample size and fieldwork dates are contained within the downloadable report, which sits behind a registration gate.
Market context
The advisor capacity challenge is well-documented across the independent wealth management sector. Industry estimates have long pointed to a significant portion of practising advisors approaching retirement age over the next decade, a structural dynamic that intersects with the expected transfer of assets from the baby boomer generation to younger inheritors. The $100 trillion figure cited in the report’s promotional copy is a widely used, if contested, estimate of assets expected to change hands over the coming two to three decades in the United States.
For RIAs specifically, the competitive pressure is acute. Wirehouse and broker-dealer networks retain powerful recruitment infrastructure and deferred compensation packages that independent firms struggle to match purely on financial terms. The wealthtech sector has responded by positioning practice-management software, AI-driven client servicing tools and automated reporting suites as productivity multipliers that can make a smaller advisory team competitive, particularly for firms targeting the emerging affluent segment where per-client revenue does not yet justify dedicated relationship managers.
Goldman Sachs Custody Solutions, which sponsors the report, provides clearing and custody services to RIAs, giving the bank a direct commercial interest in the health and growth of the independent advisory channel. Sponsored research of this type should be read as marketing material with analytical content rather than as independent editorial. Readers are advised to review the methodology section for details of how survey respondents were selected and how findings were weighted before drawing operational conclusions.
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