AdvizorPro data and leadership were featured across four publications in early 2026, covering the fastest-growing RIAs, private equity's expanding footprint, and how a federal government shutdown froze firm registrations. The coverage appeared in Financial Planning, AdvisorHub, and Advisors Magazine. Here is what the data shows.

AdvizorPro Compiled Financial Planning's Top 20 Fastest-Growing RIAs

Financial Planning published its top 20 fastest-growing RIAs ranking in May 2026, with the list compiled by AdvizorPro. The rankings are based on each firm's compound annual growth rate of AUM over the past 12 months, calculated from Form ADV filings. The methodology excludes firms with less than $500 million in AUM and those that do not focus on retail wealth management clients.

Every firm on the list grew AUM at a CAGR above 100% over the past year. VestGen Wealth Partners ranked first with a 535.7% one-year CAGR, growing from $660 million to $6.7 billion in AUM. Farther ranked second at 392.6% CAGR, reaching $16 billion. Arax Advisory Partners came in third at 369.3%, and Focus Partners Wealth ranked fourth at 351.8%, growing from $21.5 billion to $181.9 billion largely through internal rollups within Focus Financial Partners.

The list includes a mix of firm types: individually owned RIAs, RIA arms of dually registered firms, and newer platforms scaling through M&A and advisor recruiting. As AdvizorPro's own deep-dive on the fastest-growing RIA firms explains, AUM growth at this pace typically reflects a combination of organic client growth, recruiting momentum, and acquisition activity.

Private Equity Now Controls Nearly 23% of RIA Assets

A 2025 research report from AdvizorPro, cited in AdvisorHub in connection with the launch of the Cardinal Haven Initiative, found that total AUM controlled by PE-owned RIAs climbed 14% to nearly $6 trillion, representing 22.96% of all $100 million-plus RIA assets. The number of PE-backed RIAs rose 16% in the year ending July 2025. PE investors also broadened their target market beyond large firms: 81 RIAs with less than $1 billion in AUM reported PE ownership, up from 62 firms a year earlier.

The same AdvizorPro data was cited in a Financial Planning Wealth Think column by Neela Hummel, CEO of Abacus Wealth Partners, who argued that internal succession planning better aligns with a fiduciary firm's stated values than a PE exit. The column drew on the AdvizorPro PE ownership study to frame the scale of private equity's presence before making the case for employee ownership and internal transitions. 

For a closer look at which RIA firms are drawing the most interest from distribution teams, allocators, and acquirers right now, the Top Trending RIAs in Q1 2026 report tracks which profiles are seeing the sharpest increases in platform views.

The 2025 Government Shutdown Froze SEC RIA Registrations by More Than 80%

Advisors Magazine published a post-mortem analysis of the 2025 federal government shutdown's impact on RIA and broker-dealer registrations, based on a 10-year historical comparison using AdvizorPro data. The findings show that SEC registrations collapsed by more than 80% versus the 10-year baseline during the shutdown, while state regulators continued processing new firm formations at near-normal levels. Once federal funding resumed, filings surged, confirming pent-up demand.

AdvizorPro Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Hesom Parhizkar was quoted throughout the analysis. "What we saw was not advisors backing away from launching firms," Parhizkar said. "They were ready to go. The federal gate simply closed, and everything stacked up behind it." He described the post-shutdown rebound as "the smoking gun. It proves advisors weren't hesitating. They were stuck."

All SEC registrations that were delayed affected RIA filings specifically, with virtually no broker-dealer-only or hybrid firms able to mitigate the disruption. The practical consequences extended beyond paperwork: delayed registrations postponed firm launches, slowed client onboarding, deferred asset transitions, and created prolonged uncertainty for advisors preparing to move.

About AdvizorPro

AdvizorPro is the advisor intelligence platform built for asset managers, ETF issuers, wealthtechs, and distribution teams that need to identify, prioritize, and engage financial advisors. With verified data across 750,000+ RIAs, family offices, and broker-dealers - combined with AI-powered lead scoring, TrafficIQ visitor intelligence, native CRM integrations, and now direct connectivity to Claude and ChatGPT - AdvizorPro powers the go-to-market strategies of leading firms across the wealth management ecosystem.

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