RIA Wire Answers · Updated September 2026 · By the RIA Wire data desk
How many RIA firms cross $100M in AUM each month?
Between the SEC's August and September 2026 Form ADV extracts, 34 firms crossed above $100 million in regulatory AUM. But the raw number hides the split that matters: only 4 of the 34 were existing firms that grew across the line. The other 30 were firms reporting AUM to the SEC for the first time — mostly breakaways and state-to-SEC graduates arriving already above $100M.
Key numbers (September 2026 SEC Form ADV extract)
- —34 firms crossed above $100M in AUM between the August and September 2026 SEC extracts.
- —4 were genuine growth crossings — existing SEC filers whose reported AUM rose past $100M.
- —30 were first-time filers: firms whose first SEC-reported AUM figure was already above $100M.
- —The same month, 4 band firms grew out past $500M and 48 firms moved across a threshold in some direction.
Why does the growth-versus-debut split matter?
Because the two kinds of firms are in different buying moments. A firm that grew past $100M is upgrading: it is outgrowing tools bought at $60M and shopping for what the next tier uses. A first-time filer above $100M is usually a breakaway team or a firm graduating from state registration — it is setting up everything at once, often with no incumbent vendor at all.
Databases that report every crossing as "growth" invent gains that never happened — a firm whose prior reported AUM was zero did not gain $500M, it filed a number for the first time. Any crossing analysis worth acting on separates the two.
Why is $100M the threshold that matters?
$100M in regulatory AUM is the general line at which an adviser must register with the SEC instead of its state. Crossing it is a regulatory event, a prestige event, and a budget event at once: the firm files with the SEC, joins the 6,560 firms in the $100M–$500M band, and starts getting measured — and sold to — as an institutional-track business.
How can I track these crossings myself?
Download two consecutive monthly extracts from the SEC's Form ADV data page, key both by CRD number, and compare each firm's reported AUM — Item 5F(2)(c) — month over month. Flag firms whose figure moved across $100M or $500M, and check whether the prior month's figure was zero (first filing) or a real number (growth). Repeat monthly. RIA Wire runs exactly this comparison on every new SEC file and sells the result as the crossings file in its Directory + Alerts tier.
Directory + Alerts subscribers get every threshold crossing each month — prior and current AUM side by side, growth and first-filings labeled — the same day the new SEC extract is processed.
See what's in the RIA Wire file — pricing is on the page →Common questions
How many RIAs crossed $100M in AUM last month?
34 firms crossed above $100M between the SEC's August and September 2026 extracts: 4 through genuine growth and 30 as first-time filers whose first reported figure was already above $100M.
What happens when an RIA crosses $100M in AUM?
It generally must register with the SEC rather than its state regulator. The firm appears in the SEC's monthly Form ADV extract with its reported AUM, making the crossing publicly visible within a month.
Why do most $100M crossings come from first-time filers?
Breakaway teams and firms switching from state to SEC registration often arrive with substantial assets, so their first SEC filing is already above $100M. In August–September 2026, 30 of 34 upward crossings were first filings; only 4 were organic growth by existing filers.
How many firms grow out of the $100M–$500M band past $500M?
4 firms exited the band past $500M between the August and September 2026 extracts. Upward exits are typically outnumbered by entries — 132 firms entered the band in the same month.
Is AUM crossing data public?
Yes, in raw form. The SEC's monthly Form ADV extract shows each firm's current reported AUM; comparing two consecutive months reveals every crossing. The comparison work — keying by CRD, handling first filings, cleaning columns — is what commercial services sell.
Source and method
Every figure on this page is computed from the SEC's monthly Form ADV extract (the public FOIA file of every SEC-registered investment adviser), using the same parsing and threshold-crossing logic that builds the RIA Wire subscriber files. Figures are from the September 2026 extract; the SEC publishes a new file each month, and these pages are refreshed against it. Any row can be verified against the SEC's own download.