Modern American Advisor · September Independence Issue
What Do Advisors Really Think About Going Independent?MAA Independence Market Pulse · Powered by Play Verto
Modern American Advisor is commissioning a major national advisor survey to explore the realities behind independence, breakaway transitions, RIA formation, supported independence, ownership, succession and growth.
This is an opportunity for a limited number of premium partners to help shape the research, access the findings, build authority around the results and position themselves at the center of one of the most important conversations in U.S. wealth management.
- Survey
- ·Report
- ·Editorial
- ·Podcast
- ·Webinar
- ·Market Intelligence
- ·Qualified Follow-Up
Editorial context
Built Around the September Independence Issue
Modern American Advisor’s September issue will focus on:
The Independence IssueThe Future of Advisor Ownership, Growth and Succession
The issue will go well beyond another generic discussion about “going independent.” It will examine what the journey really involves: from leaving a wirehouse or broker-dealer and establishing or joining an RIA, through to building the people, technology, operational infrastructure, investment capability, compliance framework and leadership required to scale.
The issue will explore
- Why advisors choose independence
- Why advisors need to understand the full journey before making the move
- The different routes to independence
- The platforms and partners supporting breakaway advisors
- Technology, custody, compliance and investment infrastructure
- Recruiting, retaining and developing the right talent
- Building a firm capable of reaching $1 billion and beyond
- Organic growth, acquisitions and access to capital
- Creating genuine enterprise value
- Succession and ownership transition
- The next generation of RIA leaders
- Real stories from advisors and firms that have successfully made the journey
The MAA Independence Market Pulse will provide the data-led foundation for this wider editorial campaign.
Why this matters now
Independence Is No Longer a Simple Career Move
For many advisors, independence is no longer simply about leaving a large institution and setting up alone.
The market now includes multiple routes: full RIA formation, supported independence, corporate RIA platforms, hybrid models, aggregator models, custodian-supported routes, strategic capital partners, technology-led platforms and succession-driven transitions.
That creates opportunity, but also confusion.
Advisors need to understand
- What independence really means
- Which model fits their ambitions
- What support they need before making the move
- How much operational burden they are prepared to take on
- How to protect clients during transition
- How to build a scalable business
- How to create long-term enterprise value
- How to plan for succession or future sale
For the firms helping advisors through that journey, the question is equally important:
What do advisors actually need to know before they take the next step?
The research campaign
The MAA Independence Market Pulse
MAA will run a targeted advisor research campaign, powered by Play Verto, to capture current sentiment around independence and the future of advisor ownership.
The survey will be designed to gather insight from advisors across the market, including RIAs, wirehouse advisors, broker-dealer advisors, hybrid advisors, firm owners, next-generation leaders and advisory professionals considering their future options.
The research will explore
- Appetite for independence
- Barriers to making the move
- Perceptions of RIA ownership
- Awareness of different independence models
- Preferred support structures
- Concerns around compliance, technology and custody
- Views on supported independence platforms
- Growth ambitions
- M&A and succession intentions
- Capital needs
- Talent and leadership challenges
- What advisors most want to learn before taking action
This is a major MAA advisor sentiment survey, not a sponsor poll. Sponsors support the research and receive enhanced access, visibility and participation, while editorial control and research quality remain with Modern American Advisor.
Sponsor opportunity
A Limited Opportunity for Premium Research Partners
MAA is inviting a maximum of three premium partners to support the Independence Market Pulse.
This is designed for firms that want to be positioned at the center of the independence conversation and gain deeper insight into how advisors are thinking about their future.
Ideal partners include
- Advisor independence platforms
- Custodians
- RIA platforms
- Broker-dealers
- Aggregators
- Wealthtech firms
- Compliance and operations providers
- Investment platforms
- M&A and succession specialists
- Growth consultants
- Recruitment and talent partners
- Capital providers
- Asset managers supporting independent advisors
Research partners receive the opportunity to help shape the survey, access enhanced findings, align their brand with the editorial issue, and participate in the content programme built around the results.
What sponsors receive
What Research Partners Receive
Premium association with the MAA Independence Market Pulse
Branding on the research campaign
Opportunity to help shape selected survey questions
Inclusion in the September Independence Issue campaign
Access to aggregate survey findings
Enhanced access to segmented research results
Anonymised respondent-level insight where appropriate
Respondent-level data and contact details where explicit consent permits
Inclusion in the published Market Pulse results article
Participation in a follow-up podcast or webinar panel
Opportunity to comment on the findings
Social and newsletter promotion
Sales-enablement summary of key findings
Use of approved research findings in sponsor marketing
Priority access to the final report or insight deck
Commercial follow-up support from MAA
Respondent-level data and contact details are shared only where explicit consent permits. Qualified follow-up opportunities are available where respondents opt in.
Sponsor role in question design
Help Shape the Questions the Market Needs Answered
Premium research partners will have the opportunity to contribute to the survey design.
This allows sponsors to explore the issues most relevant to their business, while ensuring the final survey remains editorially credible, useful to advisors and valuable to the wider market.
Potential sponsor-led question areas
- What would make an advisor consider independence?
- Which route to independence feels most attractive?
- What support would reduce transition anxiety?
- What prevents advisors from leaving a wirehouse or broker-dealer?
- Which operational challenges feel most difficult?
- What do advisors want from a platform partner?
- How important is brand ownership?
- How important is client ownership?
- What role does technology play in the decision?
- What would make an advisor attend a follow-up session or request more information?
Example survey themes
What the Survey Could Explore
Powered by Play Verto
Powered by Blue-Chip Gamified Research Technology
The survey will be powered by Play Verto’s gamified research technology.
Play Verto has deep experience helping brands, governments and institutions gather insight from audiences that traditional research often struggles to engage.
Its methodology uses short, highly engaging digital experiences to improve participation, capture richer sentiment and turn responses into useful market intelligence.
Trusted by brands, governments and institutions
Play Verto’s work includes approved projects involving organisations such as Nike, Unilever / Wall’s, UNESCO, UNICEF, Mastercard, LEGO and Harvard, alongside major education, youth, civic and policy-related engagement projects, including work connected to the United Nations.
Organisations are referenced as examples of project experience only. No named organisation endorses Modern American Advisor, Play Verto or any sponsor of this research.
MAA audience and targeting
Distributed Through MAA's Advisor Audience
Modern American Advisor reaches more than 200,000 RIAs, wirehouse advisors, broker-dealer advisors, wealth managers and advisory professionals.
The campaign can be targeted and analysed using relevant advisor and firm-level criteria, including where available:
- Advisor type
- Firm type
- Role
- Seniority
- Geography
- AUM band
- Business model
- Independent, wirehouse or broker-dealer environment
- Product or service relevance
- Commercial fit
- Engagement history
This allows the research to be cut, segmented and interpreted in ways that are useful to marketing, distribution, sales and strategy teams.
Editorial and content outputs
The Research Becomes a Complete Editorial Campaign
The MAA Independence Market Pulse will not end with a data file.
The findings will be turned into a full editorial and content programme across Modern American Advisor.
- Published Market Pulse results article
- Feature coverage within the September Independence Issue
- Partner commentary within the editorial campaign
- Follow-up podcast discussion
- Webinar or roundtable based on the findings
- Newsletter promotion
- Social-media assets
- Infographic summary
- Sponsor quote opportunities
- Downloadable insight summary
- Sales-enablement version for sponsors
- 01Survey
- 02Data
- 03Market Pulse Report
- 04Editorial Feature
- 05Podcast / Webinar
- 06Social Assets
- 07Sponsor Sales Collateral
- 08Qualified Follow-Up
Podcast and webinar participation
Cement Your Position as an Independence Expert
Research partners will be invited to participate in a follow-up podcast, webinar or roundtable discussing the findings.
This gives sponsors the opportunity to interpret the data, respond to advisor sentiment and demonstrate their expertise in helping advisors navigate independence, growth, ownership and succession.
Potential discussion themes
- What advisors misunderstand about independence
- The biggest barriers to making the move
- How the right platform can reduce transition risk
- What support advisors need before, during and after transition
- How to build a firm with enterprise value
- Why growth, talent and succession matter from day one
- What the next generation of RIA leadership needs to understand
Recommended package structure
Limited to Three Premium Partners
Maximum number of sponsors: three premium research partners.
Each partner receives
- Branding across the research campaign
- Input into survey question development
- Access to the findings
- Inclusion in editorial outputs
- Podcast or webinar participation
- Use of approved findings in their own marketing
- Qualified follow-up where consent permits
Optional exclusivity upgrade
One sponsor may request exclusive category or full campaign exclusivity, subject to availability and pricing.
Pricing
Research partner packages are available by proposal. Pricing is shaped by exclusivity, survey design, data access, editorial integration, webinar participation and campaign outputs.
Ask About AvailabilityRequest the proposal
Talk to Us About Research Partnership
Tell us how your firm helps advisors and Alex Sullivan will come back with the full Independence Market Pulse proposal, including availability, question input and campaign outputs.
Prefer email? Write to alex.sullivan@modernamericanadvisor.com.
Final call
Become a Founding Research Partner
MAA is inviting a maximum of three premium partners to support the Independence Market Pulse and help shape one of the most timely research-led editorial campaigns in the U.S. advisory market.
If your firm helps advisors go independent, grow, scale, transition, build enterprise value or plan succession, this is an opportunity to own the conversation with data, editorial authority and commercial follow-up.