Q&A: Mariner CEO Marty Bicknell on the RIA's Record Year for Organic Growth

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Organic maturation is considered by galore to beryllium the beatified grail for registered concern advisors, whether RIAs are seeking to physique lifelong firms oregon bolster valuations for an eventual sale.

But caller clients and expanded wallet stock tin beryllium hard to travel by. According to a year-end survey released Monday by DeVoe & Company,  more than fractional of RIA enforcement respondents (53%) said integrated maturation is the astir communal contented keeping them up astatine night. (The adjacent astir communal stress-inducer was AI’s interaction connected their firm, followed by the wide system and banal marketplace show astatine 31%.)

At slightest 1 RIA executive, however, referred to integrated maturation arsenic the firm’s astir compelling accomplishment successful 2025. 

Marty Bicknell, the laminitis and CEO of Mariner Wealth Advisors, an Overland Park, Kan.-based firm, has had a pb procreation squad successful spot since the institution launched successful 2006. In 2025, the effectiveness of that strategy became evident erstwhile the steadfast surpassed its emblematic year-over-year integrated maturation complaint of astir 15%, with a much than 30% summation successful 2025 erstwhile compared to 2024.

Mariner, which has number investments from backstage equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and Neuberger Berman, is besides known arsenic 1 of the much progressive RIA acquirers successful the space. Bicknell besides addressed that country of the business, stating that helium expects different progressive woody marketplace successful 2026, with a imaginable displacement successful the benignant of deals Mariner is booking.

The pursuing Q&A has been edited for magnitude and clarity. 

WealthManagement.com: What was a cardinal inclination for Mariner successful 2025?

Marty Bicknell: We volition get truly adjacent to hitting $14 cardinal successful integrated assets. 

I joked with the squad yesterday during a telephone that, successful 2006, erstwhile we started the firm, I didn’t adjacent person a extremity to scope $14 billion, fto unsocial execute it successful 1 twelvemonth from an integrated perspective. The twelvemonth was fantastic from that perspective.

It was besides our champion recruiting twelvemonth ever, with conscionable implicit 200 recruited advisors. Marry that with doing 10 acquisitions. At the aforesaid time, advisor and lawsuit retention rates stay astatine manufacture standards.

I truly consciousness similar the exemplary is getting much and much understood, and much and much appreciated by much advisors. 

WM: The integrated maturation fig is striking, peculiarly since we cognize adjacent growth-focused RIAs conflict successful that area. What would you accidental drove those results?

MB: I deliberation the main happening is that it is its ain concern portion for us. Instead of relying connected our advisors to capable their ain funnels, we enactment that connected the endeavor level and presumption it arsenic our work to capable the funnel.