81% of advisors surveyed at SEI summit are more optimistic on organic growth than in 2025

Eighty-one percent of more than 150 advisors surveyed at SEI's annual Nashville summit said they were more optimistic about organic growth than they were in 2025, according to InvestmentNews. Just 2% described themselves as pessimistic. SEI provides custody, technology and investment services to RIAs.

The Ensemble Practice's 2026 study put industry organic growth at 3.7%, near the lowest level in its decade of benchmarking. Gabe Garcia, SEI's head of RIA client strategy and experience, told InvestmentNews that revenue growth has come from markets and from share of wallet with existing clients. Net new clients have been a challenge for several years, Garcia said.

Respondents named capacity as the constraint. In the poll, 69.9% cited operational efficiency and scalability as their top three-year challenge. Another 56.2% cited recruiting and retaining talent. Garcia said about 58% of advisors want AI to close the capacity gap. Ensemble found the average firm's operating margin was 38.6% in fiscal 2025; Garcia called that a caution light on how firms reinvest profits for growth.