Hybrid and independent RIAs are among the fastest growing components of all professionally managed assets in the U.S., according to a Cerulli Associates report.
The report also found that U.S. professionally managed assets grew to $51.5 trillion as of 2019, up about 10% from a year earlier.
The nation's managed assets are split between institutional client channels, at 53.8%, and the retail client channel, at 46.2%, but the share of the retail space has increased 5.2 percentage points since 2008, according to the latest "The State of U.S. Retail and Institutional Asset Management 2020" report, released today.
Among the components of the nation's professionally managed assets, the fastest growing are non-depository trust companies, with a 10-year compound annual growth rate from 2009 to 2019 of 14.6%; 401(a) plans, which grew 13.6% in that period; retail direct investor platforms, which grew 13.4%; hybrid RIAs, which saw 12.0% growth; independent RIAs, which grew 11.6%; and federal Thrift Savings Plans, which saw an increase of 10.3%, the report said.
Overall, the $51.5 trillion in professionally managed assets in 2019 was up from $46.7 trillion in 2018, according to the report, which also noted that the nation's professionally managed assets have had a compound growth rate of 7% over the past 10 years.
Of these assets, 37% are in insurance general accounts, 13.2% in corporate defined-contribution plans and 11.7% in retail direct investor platforms, the report said.
"Mutual fund ownership is split between retail and institutional client segments, with 61.4% of assets in retail client channels and 38.6% of assets in institutional client channels," the report said.
The report also found a shift in the investment vehicles where assets are being kept as more options become available to clients and their advisors. The report found that 54.2% of U.S. professionally managed assets are held in open-end mutual funds (31.7%) and institutional separate accounts (22.4%). But the five-year compound annual growth rates of these vehicles lag those of separate accounts, exchange-traded funds and collective investment trusts, the report found.
"Investors are increasingly open to vehicles beyond traditional open-end mutual funds and institutional separate accounts," the report stated. "ETFs, retail separate accounts, and [collective investment trusts] are among the fastest-growing vehicles by assets over a five- and 10-year period."
Cerulli also found that third-party intermediaries are playing an increasing role in both retail and institutional distribution.
“Centralized influence points, such as investment consultants and broker-dealer home offices, can help amplify distribution efforts as they provide a single point of contact for what is the potential of multiple client relationships,” said Brendan Powers a Cerulli associate director.