Since the Great Financial Crisis, until recently, the “growth” of a fee-based registered investment advisory firm was facilitated by years of ever-rising capital markets and an equally long period of near-zero interest rates. VNRs can be “raised” by doing almost nothing.

Most wealth management executives are not happy with this. They understand that growth – above and beyond market valuation – is essential to maintain superior service to increasingly demanding wealth management clients. Supporting that service with a sound and well-structured business is even more important as broader financial conditions tighten.

Of course, some firms are better at maintaining the quality of the customer experience and the health of the company while continuing to rapidly add assets. WealthManagement.com's The RIA Edge 100 list is an attempt to identify those firms.

The list was developed by Wealthmanagement.com's WMIQ research in partnership with ISS Market Intelligences' Discovery data. Eligible firms were limited to SEC-registered investment advisory firms that provide financial planning services, have high-net-worth individuals as more than half of their client base, and manage at least $500 million in assets. Analyzing that subset of RIAs, WMIQ ranked firms according to several other metrics, including AUM growth over one-year and five-year periods, ratio of employees to total clients, percentage of employees with CFP certification and average client account size, among other factors.

Each metric was given equal weight and, on balance, aims to provide a clear picture of the firm's growth as it relates to customer service and internal talent. The RIA Edge 100 firms are those with the most impressive growth rates combined with the best employee-to-client ratios and the highest CFP certifications.

The RIA Edge 100 is not a ranking. Nor is it a subjective list of “best advisors” based on business relationships, influencer status, or social media popularity. It is not meant to be a static list – as we continue to refine the metrics, ratios and weightings we use, the names here may change. Firms cannot apply for the list, nor is there a cost to be included.

Rather, the RIA Edge 100 was created to showcase a core group of well-managed firms that are reinvesting in their businesses, maintaining a high level of client service, and continuing to grow by design, not by default.