Charles Schwab’s newly released 2026 RIA Benchmarking Study puts a hard number on something the industry has long assumed but rarely measured. These are firms with a formal client referral program brought in 1.6 times more new client assets last year than firms working without one. The study, drawn from 1,236 RIA firms custodied with Schwab and representing more than $2.5 trillion in AUM, was fielded from January to March and reported by Wealth Management on July 16.
Client referrals topped the list of stated priorities for 2026 (so they claim) as they have every year since 2023 (and I ask who does not want referral) with firms managing more than $250 million in AUM naming referral-driven acquisition as their single biggest growth focus. Yet the follow-through doesn’t match the ambition. Only 44% of those larger firms have an actual documented referral program for existing clients, and just 30% have one for centers of influence — the accountants, attorneys, and other professionals who routinely refer clients to advisors. Even Schwab’s self-identified top performers max out at 52% and 36% on those two measures, respectively. Schwab’s Lisa Salvi, managing director of business consulting and education, called organic growth “a perennial top focus area,” noting the industry keeps naming it a priority “year after year”, read plainly, describes a firm-wide intention-execution gap.
That gap sits against an industry-wide backdrop where organic growth across RIAs and independent broker-dealers has been pegged at under 2% by other industry researchers meaning most firms are essentially standing still on net new business absent M&A or market appreciation.
What this means for fund marketers: The data is a direct rebuke to the idea that referrals are something that “just happens” if the service is good – infact referals are the hardest thing in the world in finance as why would someone want to give someone the edge? A documented program that has defined asks, timing, and follow-up mechanics — is what separates firms getting 1.6x the payoff from firms leaving it to chance. For marketing and IR teams at RIAs, wealth managers, and fund distributors, this is a concrete, low-cost place to close a gap the data shows is wide open: building an actual referral workflow (client-facing and COI-facing) rather than treating referrals as a byproduct of client satisfaction. Firms that formalize this now have a data-backed case to bring to leadership and a clear yardstick (1.6x) to justify the investment of marketing and advisor time.
Source: Alex Ortolani, “Schwab: Client Referrals, Hiring Lead RIA Priority List in 2026,” Wealth Management, July 16, 2026.
https://www.wealthmanagement.com/ria-news/schwab-client-referrals-hiring-top-ria-priority-list-in-2026
