Schwab: Client Referrals Lead RIA Priority List in 2026
Client referrals and recruiting are the top two priorities for Charles Schwab-controlled registered investment advisors, according to a company report. Annual RIA customer survey.
When asked to name their top three priorities, organizations with more than $250 million in assets under management frequently identified customer acquisition through new referrals as their No. 1 focus for 2026. This prioritization reflects the continued struggle for organic growth for RIAs, which some industry experts have labeled as Less than 2% across RIAs and independent broker/dealers. That follows Swab’s surveys of customer referrals as a top priority starting in 2023.
“Organic growth is a sustainable high focus area for organizations,” said Lisa Salvi, managing director of business consulting and education at Schwab Advisory Services. “This is a rich growth-oriented industry, and this is reflected in the top priorities year after year.”
The results, which came from 1,236 RIAs, also showed the importance of having a client referral program to get results. According to Schwab, organizations with an existing client referral program generate 1.6x more new client assets than those without a program.
However, less than half (44%) of firms with more than $250 million in assets have a referral plan for existing clients, and only 30% are registered for centers of influence. Top performers, while more likely to have plans, were still only 52% for client referrals and 36% for centers of influence.
“We believe that organic growth is essential, and it helps create a cycle of opportunity that is very important in a consulting firm,” said Salvi.
Schwab’s survey also highlighted that. Competitive market for consulting talent In RIA, as the sector continues to hunt from wirehouses and independent broker/dealer space. After client referrals, the second most cited priority was hiring employees to “enhance the organization’s skill set/capability.”
According to the survey, by 2025, 75% of organizations will hire an average of two new employees. Sources of that workforce were mixed, with Schwab RIAs finding a high percentage of new hires through professional and personal networks (56%). colleges and universities (36%); other RIAs (28%); and non-financial professional service organizations (19%).
RIAs expect more hiring this year, with the median firm planning to add four new roles by 2026 and hire another 75% before the end of the year.
For talent hunting, creating a proven path to equity is still elusive. According to the survey, only one in three RIAs has a documented method for employee equity shares.
For those offering equity, 49% said the main reason was retaining key talent. Another 30% said it was to support a succession strategy, and 11% said sharing company ownership was to help with management continuity.
The survey also revealed some new priorities: Many RIAs indicated using AI to improve productivity and integrating AI into their business strategy. They landed in the sixth and seventh marked spots respectively in the survey.
as a Wealth management It was recently reportedmany large RIAs are investing in AI tools and business integration for existing advisors and those looking to hire.
