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One thing I’ve learned after working with hundreds of RIA firms: You can have the best technology, the most elegant processes, and proven systems, but if you don't have the right people executing your vision, your firm will plateau.
And worse, your best people will grow frustrated watching underperformers drag down the team, creating a cascade of dysfunction that kills growth momentum.
Talent is everything. The rest is just window dressing.
The chaos we're all navigating
Think about what's happened in just the last five years: We've seen AI transform how we deliver client services, M&A activity completely reshape firm economics, consumer preferences shift toward digital-first experiences, and a global pandemic that forced us to reinvent operations overnight.
And we didn’t have the luxury of pressing pause on managing portfolios, conducting client reviews, or focusing on growth to figure it out.
The difference between the firms that are thriving right now and those scrambling to stay afloat? People. More specifically, people who embrace chaos, handle adversity well, and can pivot on a dime when everything inevitably changes again.
This is exactly why we're seeing such intense consolidation. Solo practitioners and small teams are finally acknowledging what many of us have known for years: You can't do everything yourself, and independence doesn't always equal freedom. When you're acting as the portfolio manager, business strategist, compliance officer, marketing director, and relationship manager all at once, something's got to give — and more often than not, it's growth. In a constantly evolving industry, juggling all those roles stacks the odds against you.
What the winners are doing differently
I've watched some RIA practices completely shatter growth barriers while others stay stuck in that single-advisor trap. The difference isn't their investment philosophy or their tech stack; it's how they've built their teams.
Data backs this up. According to Schwab's 2024 RIA Benchmarking Study, top-performing firms achieved twice the revenue growth of everyone else over five years. The median RIA has eight employees, but more than half of all firms still have 10 or fewer people, which tells me most practices haven't figured out this team thing yet.
Successful scaling requires five very specific types of people, each creating capacity for the others to do what they do best.
The 5 roles that matter
The leader: Every high-growth RIA has someone who can see the forest through the trees. These leaders have a clear vision for how the firm will grow and evolve, and they're willing to make the hard decisions that others avoid.
More importantly, they create capacity for growth because they can connect all the dots, articulating how every individual role plays a part in driving the larger strategy. When everyone understands the "why," operational confusion disappears and momentum builds.
The operator: This is the leader's right hand — the person who takes vision and turns it into systematic execution. While the leader is thinking about where the firm is going, the operator is making sure it actually gets there efficiently.
These individuals optimize processes and coordinate teams, creating capacity for advisors by building systems that handle the routine stuff automatically, which allows client-facing professionals to focus on relationships and business development instead of administrative tasks.
The rainmaker: Referrals from clients and centers of influence drive 67% of new clients and assets, and digital marketing in our space is certainly getting more sophisticated. However, growth-focused firms still need someone whose primary job is bringing in business.
This role creates capacity across the entire organization by maintaining a steady pipeline of qualified prospects. When business development is someone's main responsibility rather than something to be squeezed in between client meetings, everyone's productivity jumps, and growth becomes intentional rather than incidental.
The person in this role might also wear other hats; in some teams, the business developer is also a lead advisor or the firm’s principal. In others, they’re brought on specifically to focus full-time on growth. Regardless of the structure, successful business developers tend to be natural connectors. They not only have access to your ideal audience but also hold influence within those circles, opening doors that would otherwise stay closed.
The technicians: High-growth firms separate financial planning from everything else with dedicated planning professionals who focus exclusively on plan creation and technical analysis, as well as complex scenarios, tax strategies, and estate planning.
And because such firms do this, their client-facing advisors can spend more time having actual conversations with people instead of being buried in spreadsheets. Plus, plan quality improves because these specialists stay current on technical developments full-time.
The care specialists: Ongoing relationship management — including client communication, scheduling meetings, and email follow-ups — strengthens loyalty and ultimately retention over time.
When client care is someone's primary responsibility, advisors gain the space to focus on strategic conversations and complex problem-solving rather than administrative follow-up.
The math that matters
Firms with four sources of growth achieved 15.6% annual growth versus 8.5% for firms with just one source. Specialized teams enable multiple growth channels simultaneously. It’s quite literally the formula for capacity creation at scale.
Most firms will need to add at least four new roles over the next five years to support expected growth, and top performers will need twice that.
The choice firms have to make
The specialization model forces every advisor to make important decisions about their career path. You'll either become a business development advisor who splits time between planning and growth activities, or you'll specialize in one of these five core areas.
The days of trying to do everything are over. Successful growth requires each team member to have specific objectives and performance metrics aligned with their function.
The firms that recognize talent as their primary growth constraint and actually put in the effort to build specialized teams around that reality will dominate the next decade. The ones still trying to be everything to everyone will keep fighting for scraps while watching their competitors scale past them.
Your technology matters. Your processes matter. But your team determines whether you scale or stagnate. Your people will make or break your growth story; choose wisely.
Penny Phillips is co-founder and president of Journey Strategic Wealth. She has spent most of her career coaching and consulting financial advisors, business owners, and wealth management institutions. Penny has authored multiple practice management training programs and is an industry speaker in both the U.S. and Canada. She shares her insights with advisors about the industry on her blog and on LinkedIn.
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Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
