Unlocking Growth: The Rise of RIAs and the Road Ahead

We believe the rapid rise of the US Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) channel is fundamentally reshaping the wealth management market.

As the industry expands, evolving trends, including industry consolidation and changing client expectations, are creating new challenges and opportunities for growth. The Goldman Sachs RIA Professional Investor Forum (PIF) recently brought together industry leaders to reflect on the landscape and explore strategies for future success. We highlight some of the key themes discussed.

An Expanding RIA Footprint

The RIA sector is experiencing significant growth, with the largest firms expanding headcount and assets at impressive rates.¹ This growth is driven by both organic and inorganic factors. We observe organic growth stemming from investors prioritizing fee transparency and fiduciary advice, and demographic shifts, such as the aging baby boomer generation seeking retirement planning. Inorganic growth is being fueled by a surge in M&A activity, as larger, operationally efficient RIAs acquire smaller firms.² RIA consolidators account for over $1.5 trillion in assets under management.³

“

We believe what’s happening right now in the US wealth space is a megatrend in US financial services. We are committed to putting our people and our expertise behind it to enable its growth.”

Adam Siegler

Head of One Goldman Sachs RIA Strategy

Growing Client Expectations

RIAs are expanding, but client expectations for personalized financial service are also rising. Clients expect tailored investment strategies, tax planning, and consideration of their individual circumstances. This creates an operational challenge for RIAs, who must deliver individualized service to a large number of clients. Unified managed accounts (UMA) streamline operational complexity by enabling RIAs to invest clients in personalized portfolios of mutual funds and ETFs to direct indexing and private market investments in a single account.

In today's volatile markets, RIAs face the additional challenge of helping clients achieve their investment objectives while managing elevated uncertainty. Diversification through alternative assets and buffered ETFs,⁴ along with hedging strategies like structured products, are becoming increasingly important tools. We believe access to institutional-quality investment solutions and comprehensive investment research has the potential to empower RIAs to make informed decisions and fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities.

“

We aim to provide a combination of customized solutions to RIAs in a scalable, simplified format that they can easily deliver to their end clients. We've made significant progress, and will continue to focus on new innovations to further enhance our offering.”

John Waldron

President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs

Tools to Stay Competitive

To remain competitive and meet growing client demands, RIAs are strategically implementing technology solutions to scale their operations. Client relationship management and workflow automation tools are improving advisor productivity and client engagement. Custodian application programming interfaces (APIs) and integrations are centralizing client data, improving reporting accuracy, and providing a holistic view of client portfolios. Digital onboarding and e-signature platforms are streamlining the client acquisition process, and making it easier for advisors to easily complete sub docs for portfolios that include alternative funds. Meanwhile, we believe robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard sensitive client data are becoming increasingly important in today’s digital landscape.

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Many advisors now understand what private equity and private credit are, but they struggle with how to select the right investment managers and build a portfolio of these alternative investments. It’s critical to have the right technology and partnerships in place. It’s about the how and the how to get it done.”

Jen Wing

Chief Investment Officer, GeoWealth

Partnerships Matter

Rapid RIA growth, evolving client expectations, persistent market uncertainty, and the transformative power of technology are converging to underscore the critical need for strategic partnerships and new solutions within the RIA landscape. From custody solutions to custom model portfolios, there are opportunities to help RIAs unlock efficiencies and grow organically in many ways. Enabling RIAs to successfully acquire and manage high-net-worth clients is becoming increasingly crucial, especially by delivering tailored solutions that focus on efficient cash management, creating tax-efficient investment strategies (tax alpha), and providing access to alternative investment opportunities.

Goldman Sachs is dedicated to building strategic, long-term relationships with RIA Firms. With client centricity at its core, we aim to deliver the power of Goldman Sachs to RIAs to unlock enterprise value.

¹Cerulli Associates. As of November 13, 2024.
² Citywire, DeVoe & Company RIA Deal Book. As of April 4, 2025.
³ Cerulli Associates. As of November 13, 2024.
⁴ Wealthmanagement.com. As of June 24, 2025.

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Risk considerations and disclosures

Glossary

A buffer ETF is typically designed to deliver pre-defined outcomes over a defined period.

Risk Considerations

All investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

Exchange-Traded Funds are subject to risks similar to those of stocks. Investment returns may fluctuate and are subject to market volatility, so that an investor’s shares, when redeemed, or sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. ETFs may yield investment results that, before expenses, generally correspond to the price and yield of a particular index. There is no assurance that the price and yield performance of the index can be fully matched.

Hedge funds and other private investment funds (collectively, “Alternative Investments”) are subject to less regulation than other types of pooled investment vehicles such as mutual funds. Alternative Investments may impose significant fees, including incentive fees that are based upon a percentage of the realized and unrealized gains and an individual’s net returns may differ significantly from actual returns. Such fees may offset all or a significant portion of such Alternative Investment’s trading profits. Alternative Investments are not required to provide periodic pricing or valuation information. Investors may have limited rights with respect to their investments, including limited voting rights and participation in the management of such Alternative Investments.

Alternative Investments often engage in leverage and other investment practices that are extremely speculative and involve a high degree of risk. Such practices may increase the volatility of performance and the risk of investment loss, including the loss of the entire amount that is invested. There may be conflicts of interest relating to the Alternative Investment and its service providers, including Goldman Sachs and its affiliates. Similarly, interests in an Alternative Investment are highly illiquid and generally are not transferable without the consent of the sponsor, and applicable securities and tax laws will limit transfers.

An investment in private credit and private equities is not suitable for all investors. Investors should carefully review and consider the potential investments, risks, charges, and expenses of private equity before investing. They are speculative, highly illiquid, involve a high degree of risk, have high fees and expenses that could reduce returns, and subject to the possibility of partial or total loss of capital. They are, therefore, intended for experienced and sophisticated long-term investors who can accept such risks.

Private equity and private credit investments are speculative, highly illiquid, involve a high degree of risk, have high fees and expenses that could reduce returns, and subject to the possibility of partial or total loss of fund capital; they are, therefore, intended for experienced and sophisticated long-term investors who can accept such risks.

Conflicts of Interest
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Date of first use: July 04, 2025