Key Takeaways
Most ETF issuers still treat wirehouses as their first distribution priority. In Cerulli's 2025 survey of issuers, 38% ranked wirehouses as their top channel for growth, against 29% for independent and hybrid RIAs. The ownership data points the other way. RIAs account for 63% of active ETF ownership within advised channels. That gap decides what a cold email to RIAs can achieve next to the same email sent to a wirehouse advisor.
An RIA advisor who likes a fund can usually act on it. A wirehouse advisor generally needs the home office to approve the fund first. Most new ETFs are not on that list yet. So the choice of recipient decides how many replies can turn into allocations, before anyone writes the copy.
We build cold email campaigns for ETF issuers across more than 200 funds. The recipient list is the first decision in each one. This post covers why RIAs hold the assets, what stops wirehouse advisors, when wirehouse outreach still makes sense, and how to build an RIA list. It is written for ETF teams at financial services firms.
Why Do RIAs Hold Most of the Active ETF Assets in Advised Channels?
RIAs hold most active ETF assets because the ETF suits how they are paid. According to ISS Market Intelligence's February 2026 analysis of 13F filings, RIAs account for 63% of active ETF ownership within advised channels. They also hold nearly half of index ETF ownership. In a fee-based practice, lower fund costs benefit both the client and the advisor's business. That makes the ETF a natural fit.
The channels also use ETFs for different jobs. ISS found that RIAs use ETFs as core portfolio building blocks, particularly factor-based equity, core bond and ultrashort exposures. Wirehouses lean on index ETFs and turn to active ETFs for specific needs such as income, options-based strategies and hedging. Independent broker-dealers favor packaged trades, including defined outcome and option-income ETFs.
The RIA channel is growing while wirehouses shrink. Cerulli projects independent RIA headcount to grow 4% a year through 2028 and reach 56,103 advisors. Over the same period, wirehouse headcount falls 1.9% a year to 39,448, according to WealthManagement.com's February 2025 report on the study.
These are channel tendencies, not rules for every firm. Large RIAs with formal investment committees run their own diligence process. Approval rules also vary from one broker-dealer to the next.
What Stops Wirehouse Advisors From Acting on Cold Email?
Platform approval stops them. A wirehouse advisor generally recommends from the funds the home office has approved, and new ETFs struggle to get there. 71% of ETF issuers told Cerulli in October 2025 that shelf space for active ETFs on broker-dealer platforms is difficult to attain. Until a fund is on the platform, an interested advisor usually has no way to recommend it.
The screens are mechanical. CFRA's Aniket Ullal told WealthManagement.com in November 2025 that broker-dealers typically want roughly $50 million to $100 million in fund assets before listing an ETF. Not every issuer reaches that within a year of launch. Platforms also often require a performance track record.
Regulation Best Interest adds caution. A broker-dealer has to understand the risks and rewards of any product it recommends to retail clients. That makes home offices slow to approve strategies without a long record. In the same Cerulli survey, 96% of managers called home-office approval for models and lists a moderate challenge.
"Active ETFs should find more space once they prove their staying power." Bryan Armour, director of ETF and passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar, speaking to WealthManagement.com
This applies to funds that have not yet cleared the platform. Once a fund is approved at a wirehouse, its advisors become ordinary prospects. Email then works there the way it does in any other channel.
Why Does Cold Email to RIAs Reach the Decision-Maker?
Cold email to RIAs reaches the person who decides. At an independent RIA, the advisor or a small investment committee chooses the funds. A reply can lead straight to a conversation about allocation. Nothing has to be approved by a separate platform team first. A reply from an RIA can become an allocation. A reply from a wirehouse advisor about an unlisted fund can only become a request to the home office.
Email also fits the shape of the channel. Cerulli expects more than 56,000 independent RIA advisors by 2028, spread across many small firms. No wholesaler team can cover that many offices in person. Email carries the first contact, and the sales team handles the conversations it produces.
Defiance Analytics campaigns average 82.8% open rates across 21,795 sends, and the best-performing campaign reached a 25% positive reply rate. Those numbers become allocations only when the person replying has the authority to allocate. That is also why the strongest advisor emails ask for a reply rather than a click. A reply from an RIA is already the start of a sales conversation.
When Is Cold Email to Wirehouse Advisors Worth Sending?
Wirehouse outreach is worth sending in two situations. The first is when the fund is already approved on the platform. The second is when the issuer is preparing a platform request and needs evidence of advisor interest. Outside those situations, the same budget usually does more in the RIA channel, where a reply can become an allocation.
- The fund is already on the platform. Wirehouse advisors then become ordinary prospects, and the email can ask for an allocation conversation.
- The issuer is preparing a platform request. Documented advisor interest at the firm can support the national accounts team's case to the home office.
Advisors also move between channels, and that changes who can act. Cerulli projects wirehouse headcount to fall 1.9% a year through 2028, and the trend it describes runs toward RIA independence. An advisor who leaves a wirehouse for an independent RIA can choose funds without platform approval once the move is complete. Tracking advisors by their CRD number rather than their firm email keeps that advisor on the list through the move.
How Should ETF Issuers Build a List for Cold Email to RIAs?
Build the list from registration data first and contact data second. An advisor's registration record shows whether they work at an RIA, a broker-dealer or both. That tells you whether they can allocate without platform approval. Holdings filings, committee roles and recent firm changes then narrow the list to the firms most likely to use the fund.
Three checks do most of the work. Registration type separates RIA-only advisors from dual registrants and broker-dealer representatives. Both FINRA's BrokerCheck and the SEC's adviser disclosure site show it. Firms with investment discretion over $100 million or more in 13(f) securities file a 13F holdings report every quarter. Those filings show whether a firm already holds ETFs in your category. Larger RIAs often name their investment committee members, and those people belong on the list beside the lead advisors.
Firms already researching your fund are the strongest starting point. Site traffic identification resolves anonymous visits to the firms behind them. Outreach can then reach a firm while it is still evaluating.
This order assumes the fund suits fee-based portfolios. A product built for packaged trades, such as a defined outcome ETF, may find its first buyers among independent broker-dealers instead. ISS found that channel uses those structures most.
Conclusion
The case for cold email to RIAs rests on who can act. RIAs hold 63% of active ETF ownership in advised channels and decide on funds themselves. Their numbers are also growing while wirehouse headcount falls. Wirehouse advisors usually need platform approval first. Platforms often want $50 million to $100 million in assets and a track record before they list a fund.
That makes wirehouse outreach a job for later in a fund's life, or a source of evidence for a platform request. Our campaigns for ETF issuers start from registration data, so the list is built around advisors who can allocate. Book a demo to see how many RIAs in your category you can reach now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do RIAs respond to cold email from ETF issuers? They can, when the email fits how they build portfolios. RIAs choose their own funds, so a reply can lead directly to a diligence call. An email about a strategy the firm never uses will be ignored.
Can a wirehouse advisor recommend an ETF that is not on the firm's platform? Generally not. Wirehouse advisors recommend from the firm's approved list, and a new fund usually needs home-office approval first. Platforms often look for $50 million to $100 million in fund assets and a track record before listing an ETF.
How do you tell whether an advisor works at an RIA or a broker-dealer? Check the registration record on FINRA's BrokerCheck or the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site. Each shows whether a person is an investment adviser representative, a broker-dealer representative, or both. Dual registrants usually work in the hybrid channel.
What share of active ETF assets do RIAs hold? ISS Market Intelligence's February 2026 analysis of 13F filings found that RIAs account for 63% of active ETF ownership within advised channels. They also hold nearly half of index ETF ownership, ahead of wirehouses, banks, independent broker-dealers and TAMPs.
Bottom Line
- RIAs account for 63% of active ETF ownership within advised channels, and no platform team stands between their reply and an allocation.
- Wirehouse advisors usually need a fund approved first, and platforms often want $50 million to $100 million in assets before listing it.
- Cold email to RIAs works best when the list is built from registration data, so replies come from people with the authority to allocate.
Continue Learning
In This Series:
- How ETF Issuers Get Into Model Portfolios: Who the home-office and model gatekeepers are, and what they screen for.
- Advisor Retirements and RIA Consolidation Marketing Playbook: How succession and consolidation are changing the RIA firms issuers write to.
For the full set of 2026 benchmarks behind these campaigns, see Cold Email Open Rate Benchmarks for Financial Services in 2026.
