Top RIAs in North Carolina
Every SEC-registered RIA with a main office in North Carolina, by regulatory AUM, from Form ADV
288 RIAs registered with the SEC are headquartered in North Carolina, the 15th most of any state, managing $3.03T in regulatory assets as of Oct 2, 2026. The largest by regulatory AUM is Captrust in Raleigh at $1.24T. 80 firms report $1 billion or more.
Data as of Oct 2, 2026, file ia100226.zip. Retrieved Oct 14, 2026.
01 · The firms
Every SEC-registered RIA in North Carolina, by regulatory AUM
The default sort is regulatory assets under management as each firm filed it, which puts asset managers and wealth managers on one list. The toggle for firms where individuals and high-net-worth individuals hold the majority of assets is what separates them, using the firm's own Form ADV Item 5.D figures.
All 288 firms in the state, by regulatory AUM as filed. Fifty at a time; the rest expand below.
| # | Firm | City | Regulatory AUM | Advisory staff | Accounts | Individual + HNW clients | Retail share | Filed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CaptrustCRD 175112 | Raleigh | $1.24T | 885 | 146,777 | 37,852 | 8% | Sep 2026 |
| 2 | Allspring Global Investments, LLCCRD 104973 | Charlotte | $475.8B | 301 | 11,055 | 9,160 | 2% | May 2026 |
| 3 | Barings LLCCRD 106006 | Charlotte | $392.8B | 465 | 417 | n.d. | 0% | Aug 2026 |
| 4 | Allspring Funds Management, LLCCRD 110841 | Charlotte | $324.7B | 3 | 10,118 | 9,145 | 3% | May 2026 |
| 5 | Brighthouse Investment Advisers, LLCCRD 107312 | Charlotte | $132.6B | 10 | 5,705 | 5,633 | 1% | Mar 2026 |
| 6 | Sterling Capital Management LLCCRD 135405 | Charlotte | $69.2B | 64 | 3,508 | 2,788 | 4% | Jul 2026 |
| 7 | Wells Fargo Investment Institute, Inc.CRD 133204 | Charlotte | $43.0B | 143 | 12,213 | 11,181 | 81% | Mar 2026 |
| 8 | Alight Financial Advisors, LLCCRD 158744 | Charlotte | $35.1B | 60 | 195,957 | 195,957 | 100% | Mar 2026 |
| 9 | Stepstone Private WealthCRD 305881 | Charlotte | $17.9B | 0 | 14 | n.d. | 0% | Jun 2026 |
| 10 | Independent Advisor Alliance, LLCCRD 168267 | Charlotte | $17.2B | 247 | 45,002 | 42,227 | 95% | Sep 2026 |
| 11 | Global Endowment Management, LPCRD 157772 | Charlotte | $12.9B | 23 | 46 | 0 | 0% | Aug 2026 |
| 12 | Churchill Investment Management LLCCRD 305060 | Charlotte | $12.1B | 16 | 8 | n.d. | 0% | Aug 2026 |
| 13 | Truebridge Capital PartnersCRD 155425 | Chapel Hill | $11.2B | 15 | 250 | n.d. | 0% | Apr 2026 |
| 14 | Adhesion Wealth Advisor SolutionsCRD 143593 | Charlotte | $11.0B | 15 | 31,684 | n.d. | 0% | Jul 2026 |
| 15 | Ridgemont Partners Management, LLCCRD 157421 | Charlotte | $10.3B | 61 | 33 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 16 | Horizon Investments LLCCRD 109552 | Charlotte | $8.5B | 23 | 1,467 | 1,438 | 6% | Mar 2026 |
| 17 | Asana Partners, LPCRD 284477 | Charlotte | $8.4B | 61 | 9 | n.d. | 0% | Apr 2026 |
| 18 | WEDGE Capital Management LLPCRD 106234 | Charlotte | $8.1B | 19 | 185 | 6 | 1% | Aug 2026 |
| 19 | Bell PartnersCRD 329611 | Greensboro | $6.1B | 69 | 30 | n.d. | 0% | Jul 2026 |
| 20 | Veratis Advisors, Inc.CRD 117892 | Cary | $6.0B | 4 | 582 | 88 | 6% | Mar 2026 |
| 21 | Pamlico CapitalCRD 157532 | Charlotte | $5.3B | 32 | 7 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 22 | Alumina Investment ManagementCRD 164273 | Charlotte | $5.3B | 2 | 1 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 23 | Bragg Financial Advisors IncCRD 108780 | Charlotte | $4.7B | 15 | 1,613 | 1,537 | 72% | Sep 2026 |
| 24 | QHP Capital, L.P.CRD 311710 | Raleigh | $4.6B | 17 | 15 | 0 | 0% | Sep 2026 |
| 25 | Franklin Street Advisors Inc.CRD 106275 | Chapel Hill | $4.5B | 18 | 1,652 | 379 | 81% | May 2026 |
| 26 | Salem Investment Counselors IncCRD 104855 | Winston Salem | $4.2B | 12 | 3,120 | 1,294 | 90% | Mar 2026 |
| 27 | Plexus CapitalCRD 310241 | Raleigh | $3.8B | 33 | 17 | n.d. | 0% | Sep 2026 |
| 28 | Falfurrias Management Partners LPCRD 163076 | Charlotte | $3.7B | 46 | 7 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 29 | Biltmore Family Office, LLCCRD 167174 | Charlotte | $3.5B | 9 | 86 | 85 | 99% | Mar 2026 |
| 30 | Colony Family Offices, LLCCRD 167017 | Charlotte | $3.4B | 4 | 1,048 | 631 | 96% | Aug 2026 |
| 31 | Verger Capital ManagementCRD 170125 | Winston-Salem | $3.3B | 7 | 11 | n.d. | 0% | Jul 2026 |
| 32 | Cornerstone Advisors, LLCCRD 300891 | Asheville | $3.0B | 7 | 2 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 33 | New Republic PartnersCRD 310907 | Charlotte | $3.0B | 21 | 107 | 80 | 30% | Mar 2026 |
| 34 | Smith Salley Wealth ManagementCRD 129614 | Greensboro | $2.9B | 15 | 3,203 | 1,093 | 93% | Sep 2026 |
| 35 | Guardian Wealth Advisors, LLCCRD 305412 | Raleigh | $2.7B | 30 | 5,387 | 2,123 | 72% | Mar 2026 |
| 36 | First Citizens Investor Services, Inc.CRD 44430 | Raleigh | $2.6B | 164 | 7,645 | 7,563 | 99% | Sep 2026 |
| 37 | Alphastar Capital ManagementCRD 157423 | Cornelius | $2.5B | 130 | 15,795 | 8,466 | 90% | Jul 2026 |
| 38 | Cornerstone WealthCRD 289971 | Huntersville | $2.5B | 50 | 2,274 | 2,373 | 98% | Aug 2026 |
| 39 | Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLCCRD 149124 | Raleigh | $2.4B | 87 | 9,862 | 6,172 | 96% | Mar 2026 |
| 40 | Tiverton Advisors, LLCCRD 305331 | Raleigh | $2.1B | 34 | 9 | 0 | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 41 | Comperio Retirement Consulting, Inc.CRD 140786 | Cary | $2.0B | 2 | 32 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 42 | Novare Capital ManagementCRD 117949 | Charlotte | $1.9B | 18 | 2,075 | 757 | 97% | Aug 2026 |
| 43 | Carousel Capital Management Company, L.P.CRD 157822 | Charlotte | $1.9B | 16 | 10 | n.d. | 0% | May 2026 |
| 44 | Halifax Investment Management, L.L.C.CRD 152789 | Raleigh | $1.9B | 16 | 8 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 45 | Eton AdvisorsCRD 289395 | Chapel Hill | $1.9B | 5 | 144 | 115 | 39% | Aug 2026 |
| 46 | Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLCCRD 138401 | Chapel Hill | $1.8B | 17 | 55 | 15 | 2% | Mar 2026 |
| 47 | Blueprint Investment Partners LLCCRD 170196 | Greensboro | $1.8B | 3 | 18 | n.d. | 0% | Jul 2026 |
| 48 | Linden Thomas Advisory Services, LLCCRD 288557 | Charlotte | $1.8B | 8 | 7,111 | 1,268 | 91% | May 2026 |
| 49 | Steele Creek Investment Management LLCCRD 170209 | Charlotte | $1.7B | 12 | 11 | n.d. | 0% | Mar 2026 |
| 50 | Ally Invest AdvisorsCRD 170301 | Charlotte | $1.7B | 8 | 79,536 | 83,199 | 100% | Apr 2026 |
02 · By city
Where in North Carolina the firms sit
Main-office city as filed. Up to the twenty-five cities with the most firms.
Counting the firms in a state is the easy part. Which of them fits a given practice depends on custody, the platform's all-in cost and what an advisor wants to own, which is the subject of how to choose an independent RIA platform and what an independent RIA platform actually costs. Advisors who looked at this channel and chose a broker-dealer instead are covered in the destination profiles.
- Charlotte93 · $1.65T
- Raleigh57 · $1.28T
- Greensboro18 · $17.1B
- Chapel Hill17 · $28.4B
- Asheville12 · $6.6B
- Wilmington10 · $3.6B
- Winston-Salem9 · $6.2B
- Winston Salem8 · $8.5B
- Durham7 · $3.6B
- Cary6 · $8.9B
- Cornelius5 · $3.5B
- Rocky Mount4 · $2.3B
- Apex3 · $460.9M
- Greenville3 · $1.4B
- Matthews3 · $1.3B
- Mooresville3 · $741.1M
- Hickory2 · $777.2M
- High Point2 · $335.4M
- Huntersville2 · $2.7B
- Pinehurst2 · $368.6M
- Shelby2 · $633.4M
- Southern Pines2 · $634.1M
- Albemarle1 · $337.8M
- Arden1 · $206.5M
- Bermuda Run1 · $1.2B
03 · Questions
Questions people ask about RIAs in North Carolina
- How many RIAs are in North Carolina?
- 288 RIAs registered with the SEC list a main office in North Carolina in the SEC's Form ADV data as of Oct 2, 2026. That count excludes state-registered RIAs, which generally manage under $100 million and register with their state, and firms whose address is suppressed on Form ADV.
- What is the largest RIA in North Carolina?
- By regulatory assets under management as filed on Form ADV, the largest SEC-registered RIA headquartered in North Carolina is Captrust in Raleigh, at $1.24T. Regulatory AUM counts all assets a firm manages, so the largest filer in a state is often an institutional asset manager.
- How many North Carolina RIAs manage more than $1 billion?
- 80 of the 288 SEC-registered RIAs headquartered in North Carolina report regulatory assets under management of $1 billion or more. The median firm in the state reports $386.8M.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the SEC's monthly Form ADV data file for SEC-registered investment advisers (ia100226.zip, data as of Oct 2, 2026). Each figure is as the firm itself reported it on Form ADV Item 5; the SEC does not verify it. Every row links to the firm's record on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure site.
Definitions and source
What each column means, in the SEC's words
- Regulatory assets under management Form ADV Item 5.F(2)(c)
- If yes, what is the amount of your regulatory assets under management and total number of accounts? Total, discretionary plus non-discretionary.
- Total accounts Form ADV Item 5.F(2)(f)
- Total number of accounts, discretionary plus non-discretionary.
- Employees Form ADV Item 5.A
- Approximately how many employees do you have? Include full- and part-time employees but do not include any clerical workers.
- Advisory employees Form ADV Item 5.B(1)
- Approximately how many of the employees reported in 5.A. perform investment advisory functions (including research)?
- Broker-dealer registered representatives Form ADV Item 5.B(2)
- Approximately how many of the employees reported in 5.A. are registered representatives of a broker-dealer?
- Individual and high-net-worth clients Form ADV Item 5.D(a), 5.D(b)
- Number of clients and amount of regulatory assets under management for individuals (other than high net worth individuals) and for high net worth individuals.
- Commissions Form ADV Item 5.E(5)
- You are compensated for your investment advisory services by (check all that apply): (5) Commissions.
- Private funds Form ADV Item 7.B
- Are you an adviser to any private fund?
Source: SEC and FINRA public filings (Form ADV, BrokerCheck, IAPD). Figures are as self-reported by each firm on Form ADV Item 5; the SEC does not verify them. Neither the SEC nor the state securities authorities have approved the information filed on Form ADV, and we can not guarantee its accuracy.
The firm pays Winthrop & Co., and the advisor never pays. Firms on this page are ordered by the figures in their own SEC filings.