The Most Complete Database of RIAs Built and Updated by Fundraisers.

17,393 RIAs. 46,034 verified contacts. CIO bios, investment preferences, 13F holdings, and daily updates. The fastest-growing market in wealth management, fully mapped and ready for your distribution team.

17,000+
Total RIAs
46,000+
Verified Contacts
6,000+
Wealth Manager RIAs
2,500+
RIAs Added in 2025
Daily
research updates — M&A tracked in real time
Why Dakota RIA Data Exists

The Only Database of RIAs Built by Fundraisers Who've Called On Them.

The RIA market has grown more than 5x over the past decade. From Charles Schwab's OneSource platform in 1987 through the breakaway advisor boom, the passage of fiduciary standards, and the flood of private equity into the RIA aggregator space, this market is now one of the most consequential and fastest-growing sources of capital in wealth management.

Navigating it requires more than a directory. You need to know which RIAs actually allocate to outside managers, who the decision-maker is, what they currently own, and how their strategy has been evolving. Dakota's database of RIAs was built by fundraisers who have been on the road calling on these firms since 2006, and who held every data point to the standard of someone who had to use it in front of a real allocator.

The result is a database that does not just give you names. It gives you the context to have a productive conversation before your first meeting.

The RIA market is consolidating fast. The firms that know the landscape, who is growing, who is merging, who is allocating to alternatives, win new mandates before competitors know the opportunity exists.
Gui Costin — CEO & Founder, Dakota
01
Only RIAs That Allocate to Outside Managers
Dakota separates the RIAs that actually write checks to outside investment managers from those that don't. A database full of self-directed firms wastes your team's time. Ours doesn't.
02
Updated Daily — M&A Tracked in Real Time
RIA M&A activity is reshaping the channel every week. Dakota tracks firm consolidations, breakaways, CIO changes, and title updates daily, so your team is never calling on a firm that no longer exists or a contact who left six months ago.
03
Verified to the Individual Contact Level
46,034 verified contacts across 17,393 firms, not generic info@ addresses. The specific CIO, investment director, alternatives allocator, or due diligence professional responsible for the decision you need to influence.
04
CIO Bios, Preferences & Actual Holdings
Know the professional background of every CIO before you call. Know their stated investment preferences. Know what they currently own via 13F filings. Walk into every conversation prepared, not guessing.

The RIA Market Has Grown 5x in a Decade. The Opportunity Has Never Been Larger.

Three forces are converging to make the RIA market the most important audience in wealth management distribution, and to make Dakota the most essential tool for reaching it.

The Breakaway Wave Continues
Financial advisors leaving wirehouses and broker-dealers to set up independent RIAs is a trend that has not slowed. Every advisor who goes independent is a new firm, a new contact, and a new capital allocation opportunity, and Dakota captures them as they form.
Private Markets Are Moving Into Wealth
RIAs allocating to private equity, private credit, real assets, and alternative income vehicles are doing so at a pace that was unimaginable five years ago. The market that once owned only public markets is now one of the fastest-growing LP bases for private fund managers.
Consolidation Creates New Opportunities
RIA aggregators and roll-up platforms are creating larger, more sophisticated allocators out of firms that were previously too small to engage. Every merger is an opportunity, if you know it happened. Dakota's daily M&A tracking means you always do.

Six Capabilities That Change How You Work the RIA Market.

Targeting
Verified RIA Profiles
Firm-level data segmented by AUM, geography, and structure, independent vs. BD-affiliated. Build and prioritize targeted prospect lists in minutes rather than hours of manual research.
Contacts
Decision-Maker Contacts
46,034 verified contact, the specific CIOs, investment directors, and allocators responsible for outside manager decisions. Eliminate hours of research trying to find the right person at every firm.
Intelligence
Capital Raising Intelligence
Identify RIAs allocating to private markets, alternatives, and hybrid vehicles. Access detailed firm profiles to prepare for meetings with genuine knowledge of what a firm owns and what they are looking for.
Monitoring
Market & Trend Tracking
Stay ahead with insights into capital flows, investment preferences, and organizational changes across the RIA landscape. Dakota News tracks FA/RIA M&A so you know about every merger, acquisition, and breakaway as it happens.
Territory
Geo-Specific Searchability
Zero in on firms by metro area or region to align outreach with your territory. The Map It feature lets wholesalers and distribution teams plan travel around concentrations of target accounts.
Workflow
CRM Integration & Customization
Salesforce, HubSpot, DealCloud, Dynamo, Altvia, and more. Dakota lives inside the tools your team already uses, so the intelligence is available at the point of every client conversation.

17,393 RIAs. 46,034 Contacts. Every Segment Covered.

Largest Segment
17,000+
Total RIAs in Dakota
Every registered investment advisor that actively allocates to outside managers, the complete RIA universe with no noise, verified and updated daily by our research team.
Wealth Management
6,000+
Wealth Manager RIAs
34,721 verified contacts across the wealth manager RIA segment, the fastest-growing category and the primary channel for alternatives distribution into the wealth market.
Total Contacts
46,000+
Verified RIA Contacts
Individual-level contact data, CIOs, investment directors, portfolio managers, alternatives allocators, and due diligence professional, at every firm in the database.
Actively Growing
2,500+
RIAs Added in 2025
New RIA formations, breakaways from wirehouses, and newly registered firms added to the database in 2025 alone, the universe is growing and Dakota is capturing every entrant.
Holdings Intelligence
13F
ETF, BDC & Closed-End Holdings
See exactly what every RIA owns in ETFs, BDCs, and closed-end funds via 13F filings, mapped to the firm and contacts, updated quarterly as new filings hit the SEC.
CIO Intelligence
Detailed
CIO Bios & Investment Preferences
Professional backgrounds, career histories, investment philosophy, and stated allocation preferences, for the decision-makers at every RIA in the database.

See What Every RIA Actually Owns — Not Just What They Say They Do.

Dakota's 13F intelligence layer transforms RIA contact data into actionable distribution intelligence. Every quarter, registered investment advisors with $100M+ in AUM must file their long positions in ETFs, BDCs, and closed-end funds with the SEC. Dakota maps every filing back to the firm and the decision-maker, giving you a verified picture of what each RIA actually holds.

ETFs
Exchange-Traded Fund Holdings
See exactly which RIAs hold your ETF, how the position has moved quarter over quarter, and which competing products they hold alongside yours.
BDCs
Business Development Company Holdings
Identify RIAs with existing BDC positions as a signal of appetite for alternative income and private credit strategies, the natural audience for your product.
CEFs
Closed-End Fund Holdings
Track closed-end fund ownership across the RIA channel, identifying concentration, new entrants, and RIAs building systematic alternatives allocations.

Four Audiences. One Database.

ETF & Closed-End Fund Issuers
Know Your Holders — Then Find Your Next Ones
Identify exactly which RIAs hold your product, how their position has changed, which competitive products they own alongside yours, and who to call at each firm. Turn 13F data from a regulatory filing into a distribution roadmap.
Alternative Asset Managers
Find the RIAs Building Alternatives Programs
Filter for RIAs with stated alternative investment preferences, existing BDC or private credit positions, and CIOs with institutional investment backgrounds, the firms most likely to allocate to your strategy.
Wholesalers & Distribution Teams
Build Your Territory Coverage Systematically
Map every target RIA in your territory by AUM, firm type, and investment focus. Use geo-specific search to plan travel efficiently. Walk into every call knowing what the firm owns, who the decision-maker is, and what they are looking for.
GP Fundraisers & Placement Agents
Access the Fastest-Growing LP Market
RIAs are now among the most active participants in private equity, private credit, and real assets fund raises. Dakota identifies the RIAs with the AUM, the mandate, and the appetite to be genuine fund investors, before your competitors reach them.

See Dakota's Database of RIAs for your team.

A member of the Dakota team will follow up within one business day. No lengthy procurement cycles. No six-month onboarding. Most teams are productive within the first week, with immediate access to 17,000+ RIAs, 46,000+ verified contacts, and 13F holdings data updated every quarter.

Book a Live Demo →