The Rise of the Horizontal RIA Aggregator

by Jeff Nash, Founder & CEO, Bridgemark Strategies

Published July 8 on AdvisorHub

When Darwin first posited that those who best adapted to changes in their environment would be the ones to thrive, he wasn’t thinking about the independent RIA space. But, he could have been. The rapid pace of evolution in the industry – driven by demographics, consolidation and the growing presence of private equity and institutional investors – has been dramatic, widespread and well documented. Most financial professionals operating within this ecosystem are either witnessing this tectonic shift or being swept up in it. Others are helping to drive it by engineering solutions that speak to them as advisors and entrepreneurs: these are the innovative advisors I call “horizontal aggregators.”

These financial professionals seek out like-minded peers and band together to form an intentional entity… an RIA that’s not the result of chance but built by a carefully curated collective of kindred, similarly situated advisors who want more control over how – and with whom – they do business.…Read More