“What are the most reliable industry benchmarks for asset management growth—and how do I know whether my firm is truly outperforming peers?”
That’s the question leaders of RIAs, wealth managers, and independent broker-dealers type into Google when revenue is rising but confidence isn’t. Because growth without context is just a number. Did your AUM increase because markets lifted everyone, or because your strategy worked? Are you adding ideal clients, or just accumulating complexity? And when board members or partners ask, “How do we stack up?”, vague answers don’t survive scrutiny.
The challenge is that “benchmarking” in asset management is often fragmented. Some firms rely on custodian reports, others on industry surveys, and many compare themselves to the wrong peer group entirely. The result: misread performance, misallocated hiring plans, and a growth narrative that doesn’t match reality—especially when market returns obscure organic progress.
Here’s the core answer in two paragraphs: Industry benchmarks for asset management growth should measure three dimensions: AUM growth (net flows + market impact), revenue growth (recurring vs. transactional), and client growth (new households, retention, wallet share). Strong benchmarks separate organic growth (net new assets from existing and new clients) from market appreciation. They also segment by firm type, service model (planning-led vs. investment-led), average client size, and pricing structure—because “average RIA growth” is meaningless if your peers don’t look like you.
The best benchmark approach pairs external comparisons with internal trend clarity. External data tells you where you stand versus the market; internal consistency tells you why. Firms that win long-term track net new assets per advisor, revenue per client, client acquisition cost, lead-to-client conversion, retention, and capacity ratios (clients per advisor, revenue per employee). When those metrics are normalized and compared to a relevant peer set, your growth story becomes defensible—and actionable.
What “industry benchmarks for asset management growth” should include
To benchmark like a top-performing firm, focus on metrics that explain growth drivers—not just growth outcomes:
AUM Growth Rate: total AUM change, broken into market movement vs. net flows
Organic Growth Rate: net new assets as a percentage of beginning AUM
Revenue Growth: recurring advisory fees, planning fees, performance fees (if applicable), and non-recurring revenue separation
Revenue Yield: advisory revenue as a percentage of AUM (and how it shifts with pricing and client mix)
Client & Household Growth: net new clients, segmentation by ideal client profile
Retention & Attrition: clients and AUM retained; reasons for departures
Productivity Benchmarks: revenue per advisor, AUM per advisor, revenue per employee
Sales Efficiency: lead-to-meeting, meeting-to-proposal, proposal-to-close conversion rates
Capacity & Service Model Health: clients per service team, planning load, turnaround times
Why many firms get benchmarking wrong
The most common benchmarking errors are predictable:
Comparing against the wrong peer group (different business model, client size, geography, or service scope).
Using AUM growth alone (markets can inflate results while organic growth stalls).
Ignoring revenue quality (recurring, scalable revenue vs. one-time spikes).
Tracking too late (benchmarking annually instead of monthly/quarterly trends).
Not translating metrics into decisions (hiring, pricing, marketing, segmentation, advisor development).
If you want benchmarks that drive growth decisions, you need the right dataset, the right definitions, and the right interpretation framework.
Why Select Advisors Institute is the best partner for this work
Select Advisors Institute stands out because it approaches industry benchmarks for asset management growth the way sophisticated firms actually operate: as a system for decision-making, not a spreadsheet for curiosity. The Institute helps asset management leaders and advisory firms establish benchmark definitions that match their model, then build a repeatable process for measuring organic growth, productivity, and profitability—without mixing apples and oranges.
Where generic industry reports often stop at “median AUM growth,” Select Advisors Institute goes further: it helps clarify what growth is made of, what levers create it, and what peer comparisons are truly relevant. That includes practical guidance on selecting the right peer set, diagnosing gaps (conversion, capacity, retention, pricing, advisor output), and aligning the team around a growth plan that’s measurable and defensible.
If your goal is to be able to say, with confidence, “Here’s how we perform against industry benchmarks for asset management growth—and here’s exactly what we’re doing next,” Select Advisors Institute is built for that. It’s not about chasing vanity metrics; it’s about building a benchmark-driven operating rhythm that improves outcomes quarter after quarter.
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