Billion-Dollar RIAs' Annual Growth Tops 9%: Schwab

The chief strategic priorities for firms with $1 billion or more in assets have remained consistent year over year, the study showed: acquiring new clients and using technology to improve productivity.

The study's findings showed that larger firms were likelier than their peers to leverage technology to serve clients more consistently and streamline communications.

Firms with $1 billion or more in assets under management were also more likely than those with between $250 billion and $1 billion under management to have in place written strategic plans — 72% versus 62% — and succession plans — 67% versus 58%.

In 2019, firms with $1 billion or more in assets reported that their new-to-firm client assets were 4.1 times higher than new assets from existing clients, a median $66 million versus $16 million.

Thirty-three percent of RIAs with $1 billion or more under management identified marketing strategy as the top area of their businesses that could benefit from outside help, while 32% cited growth strategy and 27% staff training in sales and business development.

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