Part of the Independence Reality Check series. Start with the hub guide: The Advisor Independence Reality Check: What Broke, What Held, What’s Next.

By Ray Gettins, Your RIA Mentor

2025 was not just another year in wealth management. It was the year the record books got rewritten by consolidation, platform upheaval, and a growing number of advisors who stopped bracing for impact and started asking a different question.

What is next for me?

RIA Confidential unpacked these shifts with industry leaders, breakaway advisors, and platform executives. What emerged was not just a trend line. It was a mindset transformation happening in real time.

This guide breaks down the defining shifts of 2025, what they mean going forward, and the practical moves independence-minded advisors can make to stay ahead.

Key takeaways

• Consolidation accelerated and surprises became a pattern, including comp changes, forced migrations, and top-down decisions arriving fast.
• Advisors stopped treating the broker-dealer model as inevitable and started questioning alignment, economics, and client fit.
• More advisors had an economic awakening, running the math on fees and hidden drag instead of guessing.
• The insurance and annuity objection weakened as fee-based solutions and independent platforms expanded.
• Independent firms increasingly won the technology war by building modern stacks on their terms.
• Independence shifted from reactive escape to proactive strategy rooted in scalability, control, and ownership.

1) The Year of Shockwaves: Consolidation reached record speed

Consolidation did not just continue in 2025. It accelerated.

The numbers told the story

• Industry projections put RIA M&A volume above 300 deals in 2025, representing hundreds of billions in acquired AUM (DeVoe and Company).
• Broker-dealer ranks fell to the low 3,000s, down nearly 600 firms in five years (FINRA Industry Snapshot 2024).
• Major moves like LPL completing its acquisition of Commonwealth underscored how fast the landscape was shifting.

What advisors experienced on the ground

• Sudden announcements with little warning
• Forced platform migrations
• Custodial surprises and tech sunsets
• Grid changes delivered via email

By year’s end, a common question stopped being theoretical.

Do I move with my firm, or is this the moment to go independent?

2) Advisors began questioning the broker-dealer model

2025 was the year advisors stopped accepting the broker-dealer model as the only way and started asking harder questions.

• Is the broker-dealer model still serving me?
• Is the FINRA tail wagging the SEC dog?
• Is this structure aligned with modern clients?

Why the questions got sharper

• RIAs have grown substantially while FINRA broker-dealers have declined by 20 percent or more since 2008 (InvestmentNews Research).
• Independent RIAs often report EBITDA margins in the 20 to 30 percent range, with top-quartile firms averaging about 40 percent (McKinsey and DeVoe Economics).
• Surveys suggest 72 percent of investors prefer transparent, fiduciary-aligned advice (Cerulli 2025).

Once advisors clearly see the economics, flexibility, and client alignment of independence, they cannot unsee it.

3) Platform turbulence became the new normal

If 2025 felt like whiplash, you were not alone.

• More than 7,000 advisory firms were affected by Schwab’s final integration of TD Ameritrade accounts (Schwab Integration Update 2025).
• Envestnet system changes rippled across the industry.
• Advisor economics stayed stable, with the average advisory fee holding around 1.02 percent for discretionary accounts (Cerulli Associates 2025).

Platforms scrambled to adapt, but advisors who positioned themselves proactively were not waiting for permission.

The biggest risk is not moving. The biggest risk is staying still.

4) The Economic Awakening: Advisors finally did the math

This was the year advisors stopped guessing and started calculating. They tallied every haircut fee, markup, ticket charge, and hidden drag on net revenue.

What the data revealed

• Advisors who transitioned to independence often realized net income gains of about 20 to 35 percent (Dynasty Financial Partners and Sanctuary Wealth, 2025).
• Advisors in independent RIA models now retain about 65 to 85 percent of gross revenue, compared with about 40 to 50 percent in legacy wirehouse grids (Cerulli U.S. RIA Marketplace 2025).

One advisor summarized it perfectly.

I did not realize how much I was leaving on the table until I actually ran the numbers.

CTA: Run your numbers at RIACalculator.org.

5) The Insurance and Annuity Myth was finally broken

For years, one fear held many advisors back. If I go RIA, I will lose my insurance and annuity clients. 2025 flipped that script.

What changed

• Fee-based annuity products surged, with sales reaching about $8B in 2025 (LIMRA).
• The five best-selling annuity companies now offer fee-based products (LIMRA).
• Commission-free platforms like DPL surpassed $5B in annuities on platform (2025).
• More top carriers now provide fee-only solutions (Morningstar Annuity Intelligence 2025).

Insurance and Annuity Landscape: 2020 vs. 2025

Bottom line: RIAs gained flexibility. Clients gained transparency. Everyone won.

6) The Great Technology Migration: Independence won the tech war

For years, the narrative was that big broker-dealer tech stacks were better and independence meant patching together inferior tools. 2025 proved that wrong.

The data

• About 68 percent of RIAs use AI-powered tools for planning, compliance, or marketing (InvestmentNews AI Report 2025).
• 57 percent of independent RIAs are actively using AI, with another 29 percent exploring implementation (Schwab study).
• Independents reported higher satisfaction with tech stacks than BD-based advisors (T3 Tech Survey 2025).
• Many RIAs invest 5 to 6 percent of revenue in technology versus about 3 percent for traditional broker-dealers (Kitces AdvisorTech Study 2025).

7) Independence became proactive, not reactive

Historically, advisors went independent after something broke. In 2025, the pattern flipped.

• Scalability and control overtook firm frustration as the top reason for breakaway moves (TD Ameritrade Advisor Movement Study 2025).
• Hundreds of billions in AUM are projected to migrate to independent models by 2026 (Echelon Partners Deal Report 2025).

I am not leaving because I am unhappy. I am leaving because independence is the better model.

8) Advisors are thriving in the post-BD era

Many advisors who made the leap did not just survive. They thrived.

• My practice finally feels like mine
• Client conversations are deeper and more transparent
• My revenue is healthier and I can market the way I want
• I finally have control of my firm

9) What this means going forward

The direction is clear. Broker-dealer consolidation continues. Advisor mindset is changing faster than legacy infrastructure. Talent gravitates toward ownership, control, and optionality.

10) What’s next for you

If 2025 taught us anything, it is this. The advisors who see the shift early make the next phase a breakout year. The ones who wait spend the next phase trying to catch up.

The Independence Reality Check

1. Economics: What is your real net after platform drag and hidden costs?
2. Control: Which decisions affecting clients happen above your head today?
3. Client experience: Where are clients feeling friction, delay, or lack of transparency?
4. Optionality: Do you have a 6 to 18 month plan, even if you do not move this year?
5. Equity: Are you building enterprise value you can own, grow, and transfer?

Next step: If you want to talk through your situation privately, start at RIAMentor.com.