Slight Growth in RIAs

The universe of registered investment advisors grew only slightly during the past year, according to National Regulatory Services and the Investment Adviser Association's seventh annual report on the state of the advisor profession. The report–Evolution Revolution–based on data obtained from electronic filings by RIAs with the SEC, found that the number of entities registered as investment advisors on April 6, 2007 was 10,446 (including 1,077 that reported less than $25 million in assets under management, many of which are pension consultants). A vast majority of advisors are small businesses–9,442 (90.4%) SEC-registered advisors reported that they have fewer than 51 employees, an increase of 121 from 2006.

David Tittsworth, executive director of the IAA, noted in a statement that 83% of SEC-registered RIAs have fewer than 10 employees, and that the "typical" SEC-registered advisor in 2007 has discretionary authority over client accounts, $130 million in discretionary AUM, six to 10 employees, and 26–100 clients including individuals, high-net-worth individuals, and pension and profit sharing plans.