Building a business in the RIA space can take many forms. While the top ten firms may look vastly different, you can't argue with their success and rapid growth to reach the top echelons of the industry.
Methodology: The top ten RIA firms were compiled as part of WealthMangement.com's 2014 Top 100 RIA ranking. The list was assembled using data from Meridian-IQ (in which Penton Media has a stake). Advisory firms are ranked by total assets under management. To land on the list, firms had to have at least 10 percent high-net-worth clients and at least 10 percent non-high-net-worth clients for whom they do financial planning. None of the RIAs on our list operates a broker/dealer or bank, or is affiliated with an investment company. None of the firms are owned by banks. Finally, institutional clients do not make up a substantial portion of their businesses. High-net-worth clients are defined as those with at least $1 million with the reporting advisor and/or $2 million in total net worth.