Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
The average RIA now holds nearly 90 unique ETFs in client portfolios, and that number is still climbing. According to AdvizorPro's Q1 2026 RIA ETF Holdings Report, the average firm held 89.7 ETFs as of Q1 2026, up from 85.9 at the end of 2025 — and more than half of the 5,304 firms tracked added net new ETFs during the quarter.
This isn't experimentation. It's portfolio construction at scale. RIAs have moved from using ETFs as a cheap passive wrapper to deploying them as the primary implementation vehicle across equity, fixed income, real assets, and increasingly active strategies. Understanding how that construction actually works matters for any fund manager trying to compete for a sleeve inside an RIA portfolio.
In this post, we cover how RIAs are structuring ETF allocations today, where the growth is concentrated, what the shift toward active ETFs means for distribution, and how Dakota Marketplace tracks 167,934 ETF positions across 8,486 RIAs to give wholesalers and distributors the holding-level intelligence they need.
The Scale of RIA ETF Ownership
RIAs now hold nearly $4 trillion in ETF assets, representing 38.5% of total U.S. ETF assets, according to ISS Market Intelligence (2025). That share is even more pronounced in active ETFs: RIAs held $433.8 billion in active ETF assets as of Q2 2025, representing 48.5% of total active ETF assets in the market (ISS Market Intelligence, August 2025).
Dakota Marketplace tracks 167,934 ETF positions held by RIAs with a minimum fund balance of $1 million. The universe spans 8,486 firms with an average AUM of $2 billion. The top positions by fund balance include iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND), Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI), Vanguard MSCI EAFE (VEA), SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), and SPDR Barclays 1-3 Month T-Bill (BIL) — a lineup that tells a clear portfolio construction story: broad passive equity at the core, diversified fixed income, international developed market exposure, and tactical defensive positions layered on top.
How RIAs Actually Structure ETF Portfolios
RIA portfolio construction with ETFs tends to follow a consistent architecture, even though implementation varies by firm size, client profile, and investment philosophy.
The passive core. The most widely held ETFs in Dakota's database are broad market index funds: IVV for large cap U.S. equity, VTI for total stock market exposure, BND for aggregate fixed income. These are the foundation of most RIA model portfolios. Low cost and high liquidity make them the default building block for the bulk of most client allocations. Among the 60% of advisors who would choose ETFs over mutual funds or SMAs given the same strategy, cost efficiency is the primary reason — cited by 85% of advisors as a top-three driver (ISS Market Intelligence, September 2024).
International and fixed income diversification. VEA (developed international) and IEMG (emerging markets) appear consistently across the top holdings in Dakota's data. On the fixed income side, BND, SHY (short-term Treasuries), and VTIP (short-term inflation-protected) show up as the most common fixed income positions, reflecting the rate uncertainty that has driven demand for duration-managed fixed income vehicles throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Tactical and thematic overlays. The fastest-growing ETF categories in Q1 2026 were not core equity or broad fixed income. According to AdvizorPro's Q1 2026 report, Equity Energy was the fastest-growing category by net new RIA count, gaining 265 advisors and growing 14% from Q4 2025 levels. Natural Resources added 145 net new RIAs and Commodities Broad Basket added 118 — a combined real asset gain of 528 net new RIAs across three categories in a single quarter. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) appearing in Dakota's top holdings aligns directly with this trend.
The active ETF layer. This is where the market is moving fastest. Active ETF assets in RIA portfolios grew from $27.7 billion in Q1 2021 to approximately $396.5 billion by Q4 2025, according to FINTRX data (April 2026). The average RIA portfolio now holds 17 active ETF tickers, up from roughly two in early 2021. Active ETFs crossed 10% of total RIA portfolio allocation in 2024 and reached 13.45% by Q4 2025.
Hans Krippaehne, a CIO at an independent RIA, described the shift directly: "The proliferation of active ETFs is a very interesting development that allows us as allocators to potentially deliver a similar type of experience with lower fee and potentially better tax efficiency than a mutual fund." He noted that the truly active end of the spectrum is still maturing — trading volumes on some strategies haven't yet reached the depth needed for efficient allocation — but said the direction is clear.
The Shift from Experimentation to Deliberate Construction
The headline trend in AdvizorPro's 2026 Annual RIA ETF Trends Report is not growth in ETF count — it's a change in how advisors are using them. The average number of ETFs per firm increased 13.7% year over year in 2025, but turnover declined: the average turnover ratio was 36.3% for the year, down from earlier periods, suggesting portfolios are stabilizing.
"RIAs are no longer just increasing ETF usage," AdvizorPro wrote in its Q1 2026 report. "They are refining how ETFs are used, selecting funds more intentionally, and integrating them as core building blocks of portfolio construction."
The practical implication for ETF distributors is that new placements are harder to come by and more valuable when they happen. With 71% of RIA firms increasing their ETF count year over year, the market is still growing — but the firms already embedded in portfolios are winning on retention, not just acquisition. For firms trying to enter an RIA's portfolio, the question is no longer "does this RIA use ETFs" but "which sleeve can you displace and why is your vehicle better for that role."
What This Means for ETF Distributors
The holdings data inside Dakota Marketplace reframes how ETF wholesalers should approach RIA distribution. A raw list of RIAs is not a prospect list. A list of RIAs holding a competitor's fund in your category, with the position size, filing date, and confirmed contact for the allocation decision-maker — that is a prospect list.
Dakota tracks 167,934 ETF positions across 8,486 RIAs with $1M+ fund balances. Every position is tagged by investment strategy, ticker, asset class, and sub-asset class. Every account is linked to confirmed, active contacts: the CIO, the portfolio manager, and the due diligence professionals who own the allocation decision. Filing period data shows whether a position is growing, stable, or being trimmed quarter over quarter.
For a wholesaler running a large cap blend ETF, that means being able to filter to every RIA holding a competing ticker in the same Morningstar category, rank them by position size, and call the right person with a specific reason. That preparation is the difference between a cold call and a prepared position.
The Dakota Marketplace RIA ETF Database
Dakota Marketplace tracks 167,934 ETF positions across 8,486 RIAs with a $1M+ fund balance. Every position is linked to confirmed contacts at the firm — the CIO, portfolio manager, and due diligence professionals who own the allocation decision.
Filter by ETF ticker, asset class, filing period, fund balance, and RIA AUM to build a working prospect list for your distribution team.
Book a Demo to see RIA ETF holdings data in action.
