The Hybrid Shift: Why More Advisors Are Choosing Independence

AdvizorPro data was featured in a cluster of July articles examining how the wealth management industry's channel mix is changing, from the rise of the hybrid model to the continued growth of the independent RIA channel.

Hybrid Is Now the Most Popular Advisor Channel

ThinkAdvisor reported that the hybrid advisor population is nearly twice the size of the next largest channel, according to AdvizorPro. The piece also noted that wirehouses employ a higher percentage of women advisors than independent RIAs, with firms including Transamerica Financial Advisors, PFS Investments, Rockefeller Financial, Truist Investment Services and Morgan Stanley all exceeding 30 percent women advisor representation, a gap AdvizorPro examined in more depth in Women Advisors: Progress, Patterns, and What the Data Shows.

Want to see how advisor channel mix breaks down by firm and gender? AdvizorPro's advisor demographics data lets you filter by channel, firm type and more.

A companion piece from TheWealthAdvisor.com picked up the same theme, noting that a new demographics snapshot from AdvizorPro, drawn from the same Advisor Demographics & Team Structures Report, challenges the industry's dominant narrative that advisors are leaving traditional firms for complete independence, suggesting the profession's shift is more nuanced than a simple move toward full independence.

The Independent RIA Channel Keeps Growing

Two Investment News features published as part of the outlet's "Celebrating 250" series drew on AdvizorPro data released in January to describe the scale of the shift toward independence. More advisors discuss what going independent really taught them cited AdvizorPro data showing that independent and hybrid RIAs now manage approximately 27 percent of all industry assets, up from 21 percent in 2014, and that more than 17,000 advisors joined the RIA channel from other channels in 2025 alone.

A related piece, Advisors who went independent share what the leap actually taught them, cited the same AdvizorPro data set and added that wirehouses lost a net 1,864 advisors to other channels in 2025, more than double the figure recorded in 2021, a shift AdvizorPro unpacked further in The Advisor Talent Landscape in 2026: What the Data Shows.

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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.