The number of investment advisors registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reached an all-time high of 15,396 in 2023, according to a report jointly released by industry and lobbying group the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) and compliance firm COMPLY. Those advisors also represented more than 56 million clients and managed $128.4 trillion in assets in 2023 — a 12.5% growth from 2022 that brings the AUM level back to the historical high reached in 2021. Part of that asset growth is driven by a more bullish market since 2023. But the annual “snapshot” report suggested that the increase in advisor numbers over the past five years, as well as a return to smaller firms holding more managed assets, may indicate the industry is stabilizing. The investment advisor industry added 34,984 jobs in 2023, marking another record high and seven consecutive years of growth. The total number of RIA clients increased by 3.5% to 64.1 million in 2023, marking an average annual jump of 8.5% over the past six years. Individuals are the largest client base at 53.8 million, next to institutions (2 million) and pooled vehicles (128,000). More than 85% of clients were non-high net worth individuals, generally with less than $1.1 million in AUM with an advisor. However, 64.3% of the assets managed for all individual clients came from 14.7% of high net worth individuals. The number of advisors using multiple websites or social media platforms to communicate with clients rose to 65.2% of respondents in 2023, up from 49.1% in 2018. Also, only 9% of advisors reported having no online presence in 2023, compared to 11.6% in 2018. While the total of asset management clients jumped to new highs, the report noted there was a sizable decline in non-asset management clients. The number of asset management clients rose 4.4% to a record high of 56.7 million. The number of non-asset management clients dropped 3.6% to 7.4 million, falling for the second consecutive year. The study found that more advisors are shifting to fixed and hourly fee structures, while commissions and performance fees have declined. In looking at the past 10 years, survey results showed: Fixed fees are up by 3.7% as a percentage of advisors. Hourly fees rose by 1.1%. About half of advisors (49.8%) and more than 85% of advisors offering financial planning services received either a fixed fee, an hourly fee or both. Meanwhile, commissions dropped 2.9%, and performance fees fell 2.3%.