Top brokers, RIAs and other rankings from FP in 2024

January 20, 2025 2:10 AM

Each year, the team here at Financial Planning analyzes wealth management data from dozens of angles to shine light on the state of the industry.

Over the last year, we have ranked registered investment advisories, independent broker-dealers, the top young brokers and more. Additionally, we've shined a light on the work our rising stars are doing to improve wealth management and looked ahead to see who will be impacting the industry in 2025.

Below, you'll find all those lists, as well as in-depth reporting on issues highlighted by the rankings, from concerns about shrinking advisor headcounts to the factors affecting broker pay.

Photo: Ink Drop/Adobe Stock; design: Arizent

40 Under 40

Our annual ranking of the top-producing brokers in their early careers provides insight about the firms that are attracting high-caliber advisors amid a shrinking talent pool. The rankings separately reflect national and regional firms.

Broker compensation

Large brokerages develop complex formulas to compensate their employees. Financial Planning analyzes those grids to determine what brokers would make at the firms at different production levels.

Our coverage also examines the factors that are driving change in the grids each year and what advisors can expect going forward.

IBD Elite

Our IBD Elite series ranks the largest independent broker-dealers in the U.S., but it does much more than that.

This year, we looked at the role consolidation is playing in the IBD space, as well as ranking the firms not only by size, but also those with fastest-growing payouts, number of women advisors, number of CFPs and more. There's also a deep-dive section for more data on the top 150 firms.

Rising Stars

The vast majority of those entering financial advising careers wash out before they finish their first years. That's why those in the early-career stages whothat are making significant marks are all the more impressive.

Each year, Financial Planning identifies advisors in their first 10 years who are making contributions to the industry above and beyond their normal duties, including a feature story on one standout advisor.

And check out listings from past years: 2023, 2022, 2021

Innovation Awards

In 2024, Financial Planning gave out its first Innovation Awards for those whose tech or implementation of tech was impactful for the industry. Presented at our first ADVISE AI conference, a significant number of awards were given to those whose work in artificial intelligence is making waves.

From the original slate of winners, we also identified our innovators of the year, whose work stood above the rest.

Best places to work

These days, company culture, perks and benefits are significant draws for top talent in just about any industry. Wealth management is no outlier.

We called for nominations, distributed surveys and identified the RIAs and money managers that rose above the crowd. See those rankings, as well as profiles of the top companies, below.

20 people to watch in 2025

2025 will be a significant year in terms of impact on the wealth management industry. Large firms are breaking with tradition, ESG and diversity efforts are falling by the wayside, and a second Trump presidency will shape regulatory action for at least the next four years.

We looked into the FP crystal ball and determined that the people in the story below will play outsize roles in the industry in the coming year.

20 people who will shape wealth management in 2025