2026 Research Report

The New Growth Equation

What 1,000 HNW Investors Reveal About the Modern Path to Advisor Selection

We partnered with Absolute Engagement to ask 1,000 high-net-worth investors how they actually found, evaluated, and chose their financial advisor. The findings challenge some of the most widely held assumptions about how advisory firms grow.

Download the research.

By submitting, you agree to receive insights from Ficomm. We respect your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.

This original research includes:

✓

How referral behavior shifts at the highest wealth levels, and why the pattern surprises most firm leaders

✓

The role AI tools are already playing in the advisor search process

✓

What investors say matters most in their decision to hire an advisor, and when in the process it needs to show up

✓

A five-part framework for firms ready to align their growth strategy with how investors are actually making decisions

1,000 HNW investors surveyed
$5M+ Robust representation of top wealth segment
3.1% Margin of error
5 Findings that change the growth conversation

In every conference room and strategy conversation where we've previewed this research, the same objection has surfaced: "But our clients are different. High-net-worth investors only come from referrals." The data says otherwise.

How HNW Investors Found Their Advisor, by Wealth

$500K to $999K $1M to $4.9M $5M+
Referral only 41% 44% 31%
Referral was involved 57% 56% 50%
No referral involved 43% 44% 49%
Meg Carpenter on what the data really means 60 seconds

The path your best future clients take to find you is changing.

Meg Carpenter, CEO and founder of Ficomm Partners, walks through what surprised her most in this research and why every assumption advisory firms have been operating on deserves a closer look.

Meg Carpenter Founder & CEO, Ficomm Partners

How does your firm stack up
against the new growth equation?

Take Ficomm's Growth Readiness Assessment, our 5-minute diagnostic that maps your firm's marketing infrastructure against the findings in this research. You'll get a personalized snapshot of where you're strongest, where you're exposed, and what to focus on first.

Take the Growth Assessment

Takes under 5 minutes. No email required to start.