The U.S. wealth management industry continues to be shaped by accelerated consolidation, rising client expectations, expanded demand for holistic planning, and increased pressure on firms to deliver scalable, personalized advice.
Faced with these challenges, many RIAs are not just staying the course, instead they’re growing strategically and building more resilient organizations for the future.
This year, Wealth Management’s 2026 RIA Edge 100 list, developed in partnership with ISS Market Intelligence (ISS MI), recognizes today’s top independent advisory firms demonstrating deliberate, sustainable, organic growth. The list goes beyond market‑driven gains to spotlight RIAs that are winning by strengthening operations, investing in talent, and elevating their client experience.
The partnership brings together Wealth Management’s expert editorial insight on the evolving advisor industry landscape and ISS MI’s industry‑leading advisor and firm data, powered by our MarketPro platform.
The Winning Growth Formula for Modern RIAs
Wealth Management’s annual RIA Edge 100 list is not a ranking and firms cannot apply to participate. Instead, the list is built from equally weighted metrics including:
- Five-year AUM growth
- Ratio of employees to clients
- AUM per advisor
- Percentage of employees holding a CFP
Snapshot: Top 10 Fastest Growing RIA Edge 100 Firms (by Five-Year AUM CAGR)
Pulled from the broader RIA Edge 100 roster, here are the top 10 fastest-growing firms from this year’s list, based on five-year AUM compound annual growth rate (CAGR). To see the full list of firms, visit WealthManagement.com.
Congratulations to all the firms recognized this year!
| Rank | RIA Firm Name | Location | Five-Year AUM CAGR |
| 1 | Root Financial Partners | Austin, TX | 76% |
| 2 | Shade Tree Advisors LLC | Saratoga Springs, NY | 66% |
| 3 | Clark Asset Management, LLC | Boston, MA | 48% |
| 4 | Align Impact, LLC | Santa Monica, CA | 44% |
| 5 | Pathstone | Englewood, NJ | 44% |
| 6 | Fielder Capital Group LLC | Nashville, TN | 39% |
| 7 | Sage Mountain Advisors, LLC | Atlanta, GA | 39% |
| 8 | Sunpointe Investments | St. Louis, MI | 39% |
| 9 | Operose Advisors LLC | Milwaukee, WI | 38% |
| 10 | Circle Wealth Management, LLC | Summit, NJ | 34% |
ISS MI remains committed to enabling clarity and confidence for growing firms in today’s evolving wealth management ecosystem. We are proud to partner with Wealth Management to highlight the firms reshaping the future of advice and setting new standards in operational excellence.
To learn more about ISS MI’s capabilities and offering, including MarketPro, connect with our team.
