SEC RIA Registrations Surged Post-Shutdown

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Despite the lull successful SEC regulatory registrations for registered concern advisors during past autumn’s authorities shutdown, registrations skyrocketed aft the agency’s doors reopened successful November.

However, an investigation by AdvizorPro besides indicated that the shutdown likely hindered the anticipation of a grounds twelvemonth for caller RIA approvals astatine the agency.

After the authorities shutdown successful aboriginal October, astir SEC operations came to a halt, including bureau registrations for recently established RIAs, becoming 1 of the astir important nonstop impacts of the enactment stoppage connected advisors.

AdvizorPro information showed that lone 18 caller registrations occurred during the Oct. 1 to Nov. 13 shutdown window; during the aforesaid play successful 2023 and 2024, caller registrations totaled 123 and 153, respectively (when looking astatine these registrations, AdvizorPro’s investigation included each RIAs, specified arsenic those astatine broker/dealers oregon hedge funds).

When the SEC reopened, caller registrations surged; from Nov. 13, 2025, done the extremity of the year, determination were 279 caller registrations. Additionally, authorities RIA registrations maintained a comparatively dependable gait during the shutdown period, astatine 203 (compared with 273 and 258 during the aforesaid play successful 2023 and 2024, respectively). 

According to AdvizorPro co-founder and Chief Product Officer Hesom Parhizkar, the shutdown didn’t suppress RIA entrepreneurial enactment successful the manufacture altogether, but simply froze the registration pipeline. 

“If steadfast instauration request had collapsed, we would spot it successful some datasets. Instead, authorities filings kept moving portion national registrations efficaciously stopped,” helium said. “This rebound is the smoking gun. It proves advisors weren’t hesitating. They were stuck.”

During the shutdown period, compliance officers warned advisors looking to commencement caller firms to measurement the timing of their resignation from existent employers. Additionally, the shutdown threatened to propulsion wrenches into long-in-the-works plans advisors had for erstwhile and however to bent their ain shingle. 

Before the shutdown, AdvizorPro information showed that caller RIA SEC approvals totaled 1,267, representing a 15.5% summation from the aforesaid play successful 2024 (in AdvizorPro’s investigation connected RIA support data, it excised what it deemed ‘non-practicing’ RIAs, specified arsenic hedge funds, b/ds and plus managers with RIA registrations).

The steadfast projected that if the bureau had maintained the aforesaid pace, it would person breached the SEC’s grounds for RIA approvals successful a azygous year, astatine 1,549 successful 2012 (the committee changed its AUM thresholds that year, resulting successful firms re-sorting themselves betwixt authorities and national oversight).