RIAs Slowed ETF Turnover Last Year

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ETF usage among RIAs has entered a more mature phase, according to the 2026 RIA ETF Trends Report from AdvizorPro. While the average number of new ETF additions per firm rose between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2025, turnover in the funds RIAs used was lower than the year prior. RIAs have also shifted their focus from risk management when selecting new funds to a more balanced mix of ETFs that incorporate growth, thematic and macro strategies. 

Over the course of last year, RIAs tracked by AdvizorPro raised their average ETF count to 88.3—representing a 13.7% increase from the year prior. A large majority of RIAs (71.4%) increased their ETF holdings, while roughly a fifth (20.5%) slashed the number of ETFs in their portfolios. Another 8.1% kept their ETF holdings at year-end 2024 levels.

AdvizorPro found a slowing turnover rate among ETFs held in RIAs’ portfolios at 36.3% compared to about half of all ETFs turning over in 2024. The overall trend last year was clearly toward adding new ETFs, with 41.9% of funds added to RIA portfolios vs. 18.1% of existing funds being dropped.

However, Michael Magnan, founder and CEO of AdvizorPro, noted that, in his view, a more mature ETF market will likely lead to a slowdown in new ETF adoption. “I don’t see any signs that it is going to take a turn for the negative, but I do think that as the market matures, we are going to start seeing a bit of a slowdown in net new adoption, and it’s going to get more competitive for ETF managers to position themselves as the best option within a given sleeve,” Magnan said.

While the list of top ETF issuers remains largely the same, including State Street Global Advisors, iShares, Vanguard and Invesco, the top four lost some market share over 2025, while other mainstays, such as Schwab, registered almost no growth. For example, iShares experienced a 7.7% decline in the number of RIA firms holding its ETFs—more than any other issuer included in AdvizorPro’s top list. State Street saw a 6.4% drop. The number of RIAs holding Schwab ETFs rose by just 0.1%. 

At the same time, Dimensional experienced 6.7% growth in RIAs holding its ETFs, with JPMorgan Chase coming in a distant second at 2.0% and VanEck third at 0.9%. According to AdvizorPro researchers, the data suggest that “adoption momentum in the RIA channel is increasingly tied to product specialization rather than brand size alone.”

“If you look at the previous year, it was pretty much growth across the board,” said Magnan. “I think what happened is a lot of these larger issuers already command a presence in a significant portion of the RIA market. The opportunity for them is not in penetrating new RIAs. You see them launching a significant number of new strategies. It’s ‘We already have a relationship with these RIAs, how can we get AUM from them?’ I think that’s where the equation has shifted.”

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Among relative newcomers, ETF issuers adding the most RIA investors included Fundstrat, which experienced an increase of over 173% in the number of RIAs using its funds, NEOS Funds (134.4%) and Virtus (115.3%). Many of these fastest-growing managers have launched ETFs focusing on specific themes, niche strategies, defined outcomes and income generation, AdvizorPro noted.

Between year-end 2024 and 2025, the fastest-growing ETFs among RIAs were Global X’s SHLD, with a focus on technology, which posted an increase of 296.7% in the number of RIAs allocating to it. The next two fastest-growing funds both focus on derivative income—NEOS’ QQQI, with growth of 222.2%, and Goldman Sachs’ GPIX, with growth of 200.0%. Both of these ETFs also topped the list of newly launched funds, garnering the most traction among RIAs. 

Among ETFs that RIAs have allocated money to for the first time over the past year, the most (86) focus on trading—leveraged equity. Another 72 focus on defined outcomes, 46 on derivative income and 35 on digital assets. RIAs added a total of 719 ETFs between the fourth quarter of 2024 and the fourth quarter of 2025.

AdvizorPro analyzed the 13F filings of 4,237 RIAs for the study.