FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NORFOLK, VA – January 20, 2026 – AdvisorFinder, a leading growth platform connecting financial advisors with prospective clients, today released "The State of Advisor Discovery 2025," the company's first comprehensive industry report analyzing how Americans search for financial advisors.
Based on analysis of thousands of consumer assessments completed on the AdvisorFinder platform in 2025, the report reveals significant gaps between industry assumptions about advisor demand and actual consumer search behavior.
For years, the conventional wisdom has been that people searching for financial advisors are primarily retirees looking for retirement planning. Our data tells a different story. Nearly half of the people actively searching for advisors are in wealth accumulation phases - established professionals seeking sophisticated growth strategies, not preservation strategies.
— Jason Friedman, Co-Founder and CEO of AdvisorFinder
KEY FINDINGS
The report identified five major findings that challenge prevailing industry assumptions:
Wealth Builders Dominate Search Volume
Forty-five percent of advisor searches come from individuals focused on "building their financial foundation"—the wealth accumulation phase. Combined pre-retirees and retirees represent approximately 35% of searches, while the remaining 20% includes family financial planning and life transition events.
Virtual Meetings Are Now the Default
Approximately two-thirds of prospects prefer virtual or hybrid meeting arrangements, with only 20% expressing a preference for purely in-person relationships. "Mostly virtual with occasional in-person" emerged as the single largest preference category at 40%.
Industry Specialization Drives Differentiation
Healthcare professionals, technology workers, and business owners represent the three largest professional segments actively seeking financial advisors. Each group has distinct planning needs: healthcare professionals navigate complex compensation and student debt, tech workers manage equity compensation and liquidity events, and business owners seek succession and exit planning expertise.
High-Net-Worth Clients Exhibit Distinct Behaviors
The report's analysis of high-net-worth prospects revealed dramatically different preferences compared to the general population. Affluent prospects are nearly twice as likely to prefer in-person meetings (45% vs. 20%), significantly more retirement-focused (65% vs. 35%), and more likely to have complex portfolios including real estate and business equity.
Emerging Geographic Markets Show Strong Demand
While major metros like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles continue to dominate search volume, the analysis identified Charlotte and Atlanta as emerging markets showing disproportionate demand relative to their population size, particularly among high-net-worth prospects.
IMPLICATIONS FOR FINANCIAL ADVISORS
This data has significant implications for how advisors position their practices. Advisors who focus exclusively on retirement planning may be missing their largest potential client segment. Those who don't offer virtual meeting options are excluding two-thirds of prospects before any conversation begins. And advisors who position themselves as generalists may be leaving differentiation opportunities on the table in a market that increasingly values specialization.
— Jason Friedman
The report includes specific recommendations for both individual advisors and wealth management firms on messaging strategy, service positioning, and geographic market opportunities.
METHODOLOGY
The State of Advisor Discovery 2025 is based on aggregated, anonymized analysis of consumer assessments completed on AdvisorFinder.com throughout 2025. AdvisorFinder's unique position as a platform where consumers actively search for and connect with financial advisors provides insight into actual search behavior rather than survey-based data.
Most industry research about advisor demand relies on surveys—asking people what they think they want. We have the advantage of observing what people actually do when they're ready to find an advisor. That behavioral data is incredibly valuable.
— Zack Snyder, VP of Product and Enterprise Solutions
AVAILABILITY
The full report is available at advisorfinder.com/for-financial-advisors/discovery-report-2025. AdvisorFinder plans to publish updated annual reports tracking evolving consumer search behavior in the financial advice market.
ABOUT ADVISORFINDER
AdvisorFinder is a growth platform that connects financial advisors with high-intent prospects actively searching for financial guidance. Unlike traditional lead generation services that sell prospects to multiple advisors simultaneously, AdvisorFinder provides advisors with exclusive access to prospects through a client-driven discovery process. Founded in 2023, AdvisorFinder serves approximately 280 active financial advisors and maintains partnerships with wealth management firms nationwide. The company is based in Richmond, Virginia.
For more information, visit advisorfinder.com or contact Drew@AdvisorFinder.com.
MEDIA NOTE: High-resolution charts and data visualizations from the report are available for editorial use. Contact Drew@advisorfinder.com for media kit.