Schwab Study Finds 97% RIA Client Retention as AI Adoption Reaches 83%
Updated
Updated · The Daily Upside · Jul 16
Schwab Study Finds 97% RIA Client Retention as AI Adoption Reaches 83%
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Upside · Jul 16
Summary
97% of clients stayed with registered investment advisors over the past decade, while the median firm's assets under management climbed from just over $150 million in 2005 to $712 million in 2025, Schwab said.
83% of RIAs now use AI, but only about one-third of senior leaders have set a formal integration vision, prompting Schwab to urge firms to treat AI as a firmwide operating tool rather than a meeting-notes add-on.
87% more new clients and 127% more new client assets went to firms with a written marketing plan, a defined ideal client and a clear value proposition, underscoring how formal growth strategies can lift organic expansion.
Fewer than half of RIAs have a formal referral strategy even though Schwab called referrals one of the industry's biggest growth openings, with charitable giving and estate planning also among the fastest-growing added services.