Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo
We are pleased to present the Monthly Report of Recently Registered RIAs - August 2026.
We are continuously blown away by the large number of newly independent wealth management RIAs and investment firms from the SEC report with a total of 126.
As part of our monthly process, our data team reviewed and scrubbed this month’s raw file of new filings, identifying 94 wealth manager RIAs. We then researched the appropriate contacts and related information before uploading everything to Dakota Marketplace.
Over the past decade, the RIA market has grown fivefold, and Dakota’s real-time database of 17,000+ RIAs delivers the insights and connections firms need to stay ahead in a rapidly expanding investment landscape.
In this article we’re giving you 10 noteworthy and newly independent RIAs that we’ve added to our marketplace.
To view all newly independent wealth management RIAs and key contact information, book a demo of Dakota Marketplace here.
Top 10 RIAs from August 2026
1. Pearson Financial Services
- AUM: $885M
- Metro Area: Boston, MA
Pearson Financial Services is an independent, individually owned RIA led by a principal group that includes Bryan Bastoni, CFP, and Kathleen Fowler, JD, serving individual and private clients across New England and Florida with comprehensive financial advice and planning. The firm is not affiliated with any larger institution or aggregator and uses a flexible fee model that mixes asset-based fees, fixed fees, and commissions rather than a single fee-only structure. Services span retirement planning, estate planning, and tax-aware financial planning, delivered through a small team of about eight employees, including six advisory representatives, for a roster of roughly 500 clients.
2. Access Retirement Solutions LLC
- AUM: $466.2M
- Metro Area: Boston, MA
Access Retirement Solutions LLC is an RIA operating within the Boston metro area. The firm specializes in retirement-plan solutions, primarily focusing on Pooled Employer Plans that enable unrelated employers to participate in a shared 401(k) structure. Founded in 2020 by Heath Miller and Michael Halloran, Access Retirement Solutions aims to reduce employers' administrative workload, fiduciary exposure, and retirement-plan costs through its proprietary platform.
3. Baird Walker Wealth Strategy Group
- AUM: $207.9M
- Metro Area: Los Angeles, CA
Baird Walker Wealth Strategy Group is an RIA operating in the Los Angeles metro area. The firm specializes in investment advisory services alongside retirement, estate, insurance, and tax planning, and is led by registered representatives Kevin Baird and David Walker, who also do business as Seagull Lane Asset Management. It is affiliated with United Planners for brokerage and advisory services, a hybrid structure that supports both commission and fee-based compensation, with advisors building portfolios around each client's risk tolerance, time horizon, and goals while coordinating with outside professionals like attorneys and CPAs.
4. Axia Wealth Management, Inc.
- AUM: $148M
- Metro Area: Portland, OR
Axia Wealth Management is an independent, fee-only RIA operating in the Bend and greater Portland, OR market. The firm specializes in evidence-based investment management and comprehensive financial planning, with a principal group that includes Richard Ambrose, CPA, and markets its fiduciary, fee-only status against commission-based advisors. Axia builds diversified, data-driven investing plans unique to each client rather than relying on Wall Street forecasts, with services including investment management, financial planning, and 401(k) and corporate retirement plan management.
5. Peterson Investment Management, Inc.
- AUM: $146.1M
- Metro Area: Seattle, WA
Peterson Investment Management is an independent, fee-only RIA operating in the Spokane, WA area (Seattle metro). The firm specializes in concentrated, research-driven equity portfolios for individuals with over $1 million invested, and was founded in 1977 by John Peterson, who was later joined by his son Robb Peterson in 1993. Peterson charges a graduated fee schedule capped at 1% annually, with no performance fees or product-based conflicts of interest, conducting its own in-house equity research and hand-selecting blue-chip stocks rather than using mutual funds or model portfolios.
6. North Compass Financial Advisors, LLC
- AUM: $146M
- Metro Area: Grand Rapids, MN
North Compass Financial Advisors is an RIA operating in the Grand Rapids, MN area. The firm specializes in comprehensive financial and retirement planning for local clients, led by advisor Ray Nikkel, and markets roughly three decades of operating history rather than a specific founding date or founder story. Its fee structure is not publicly disclosed, and services span financial and strategic planning, portfolio and investment management, retirement and estate planning, insurance, tax planning, and business owner services.
7. Heaton Financial, PC
- AUM: $140.1M
- Metro Area: Las Vegas, NV
Heaton Financial is an independent, fee-only RIA operating in Cedar City, UT (Las Vegas metro). The firm specializes in retirement, estate, investment, insurance, and tax planning for Southern Utah clients, and was established in 2005 by advisors who now include Mitch Mortensen and Kimber W. Heaton. Heaton receives no commissions or product-sale benefits and has no selling agreements tied to particular financial products, emphasizing local, in-person management and a customized rather than standardized planning approach.
8. Howland and Associates, LLC
- AUM: $138.7M
- Metro Area: Tampa, FL
Howland and Associates is an independent, fiduciary RIA operating in St. Petersburg, FL (Tampa metro). The firm specializes in personalized portfolio management for families, professionals, retirees, and business owners navigating major life transitions, and was founded in 1992 by President Dee S. Howland, CFA, who now also works alongside Vice President and Portfolio Strategist Robert C. Howland, CFP. Howland publishes a "Simple Fees" schedule and built its process around an intelligence-based, quantitative stock analysis strategy, with services spanning tax-efficient investing, retirement transitions, trust and estate distribution guidance, business sale and liquidity event planning, and divorce and inheritance-related asset planning.
9. Brighton Wealth Management, Inc.
- AUM: $131.9M
- Metro Area: Salt Lake City, UT
Brighton Wealth Management is an RIA operating in Cottonwood Heights, UT (Salt Lake City metro). The firm specializes in generational wealth management for families, led by President Eric Stats, CFA, who brings more than 30 years of experience in investment management and entrepreneurship. Brighton builds customized investment programs around two proprietary tools, its Wealth Confidence Allocation and Ulcer Performance Index, and offers a "True Wealth Assessment" evaluating a family's finances, time, family, purpose, and legacy together, with services including retirement income planning, business exit planning, inheritance and wealth management, and family legacy planning.
10. Uplevel Wealth
- AUM: $131.4M
- Metro Area: Portland, OR
Uplevel Wealth is an independent, fee-only RIA operating in Portland, OR. The firm specializes in financial planning for professionals at the top of their field, and was co-founded by Amanda Harvey, CFP, and Anika Hedstrom, MBA, CFP, as a boutique practice built partly in response to the underrepresentation of women in financial advising. Uplevel builds thoughtful, clear, and intentional financial plans for each client rather than competing on scale, with a planning-first process aimed at helping clients manage money today while building toward long-term goals.
To view all wealth management RIAs in Dakota Marketplace and access key contact information, book a demo here!
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