The appeal of independence has never been stronger for financial advisors looking to escape wirehouse bureaucracy and build their own practices. But 2026 is testing whether breakaway advisors can maintain competitive investment capabilities without the institutional infrastructure they left behind.
The challenge isn't just about having good ideas — it's about having the resources to execute them. As opportunities spread across different sectors and regions, the research demands on independent practices are intensifying. At the same time, the costs of building analytical capabilities keep climbing.
According to Deloitte's 2026 Investment Management Outlook, investment management firms are increasingly seeking specialized talent. Job postings for skills like process optimization and fundraising now appear in roughly one out of every four positions.
For advisors running lean operations, competing for this talent against well-funded asset managers isn't realistic. Instead, many are turning to active ETFs to access institutional-grade research without institutional overhead. According to Deloitte, assets in these products jumped 68% over the past year to $843 billion.
When Research Needs Outpace Resources
Deloitte's analysis suggests that advisors leaving wirehouses often underestimate what they're giving up. The analyst coverage, proprietary research, and data infrastructure that seemed like background noise suddenly becomes a competitive necessity.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management's January outlook described 2026 as a year where concentrated market leadership is ending. The firm expects cyclical acceleration in the first half of the year, with credit risks becoming increasingly "localized and idiosyncratic" as the Federal Reserve continues easing. For independent advisors, Goldman Sachs noted, these market dynamics create both opportunities and challenges in delivering client insights.
Deloitte's research suggested that meeting these demands requires resources most independent practices simply don't have.
Building research capabilities internally isn't just expensive. It's becoming prohibitively so, according to Deloitte's research. Investment firms are competing for increasingly specialized talent. Mentions of artificial intelligence in industry job postings jumped nearly 25% from 2022 to mid-2025. Firms are seeking professionals who blend technical expertise with investment knowledge, from data scientists who can deploy AI tools to specialists in private markets.
"The operational bar has been raised," according to Deloitte's analysis. Even if an independent advisor could afford to hire a dedicated analyst, that person would need skills spanning multiple areas: data science, AI tools, and expertise across different asset types. That's hardly realistic for a single hire.
The alternative? Outsourcing research through active managers lets advisors access these capabilities at scale.
How Advisors Are Adapting
The growth in active ETF assets suggests advisors are recognizing that some investment decisions are better delegated to specialists with deeper resources, according to Deloitte's analysis.
Active ETFs have emerged as a practical solution. These products provide professional management with the tax efficiency and transparency that clients appreciate, while giving advisors access to institutional research platforms. According to Deloitte, the number of active ETF launches has surged in recent years, reflecting asset managers responding to this demand.
This doesn't mean passive strategies disappear from advisor portfolios. Goldman Sachs projected mid-to-high single-digit returns across developed markets, and core passive allocations remain appropriate for many clients. But in areas where Goldman Sachs noted individual security selection matters, like corporate credit or emerging markets positioned to outperform, Deloitte's data suggested advisors are increasingly turning to active managers.
The successful independent advisor in 2026 looks different than the breakaway model of five years ago, according to Deloitte. Rather than trying to do everything in-house, these advisors are building what Deloitte called "networked firms." These are practices that replace overhead with strategic partnerships.
For client-facing advisors, Deloitte's analysis suggested that this model makes sense. Their value centers on financial planning, relationship management, and coordinating across their clients' complex financial lives. Investment selection is important, but it doesn't have to be entirely proprietary to be valuable.
Goldman Sachs noted that even in expensive markets, opportunities exist for selective managers. Independent advisors who can identify where active management adds value, and which managers to trust, are positioning themselves to deliver competitive results without unsustainable overhead, according to Deloitte.
The breakaway trend will continue. But Deloitte's outlook suggested that the advisors who thrive will be those who understand that independence doesn't mean isolation. It means having the freedom to build the right team, even when some team members work at asset management firms rather than down the hall.
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