Osaic’s ‘Empowered Independence’ Model Hits $20 Billion Milestone as Succession Crisis Reshapes Advisor Landscape

The wealth management industry is witnessing a profound structural shift, and Osaic is positioning itself at the vanguard of this evolution. At the company’s flagship ConnectED 2026 conference, held in Atlanta from November 8–11, CEO Jamie Price revealed that Osaic’s "Empowered Independence" channel has reached approximately $20 billion in assets under management. This milestone, achieved in just a year and a half, underscores a growing appetite among financial advisors for a W-2 employment model—a trend fueled largely by the escalating difficulties of traditional succession planning.

As the industry grapples with an aging advisor demographic, the once-standard path of selling a practice to a junior partner or a successor is becoming increasingly untenable. Osaic’s strategy aims to address this bottleneck directly. By offering a model where advisors become employees of the firm while maintaining control over their daily practice operations, Osaic is providing a liquidity exit for senior partners who find themselves unable to navigate the high costs of internal succession.

The Rise of the W-2 Model in an Independent World

During the conference, Price laid out a vision for the future of the firm’s composition. He anticipates that within the next decade, one-third of Osaic’s total assets will be housed within its W-2 channels, with the remaining two-thirds distributed across its robust independent channels, including its relationships with banks, credit unions, savings and loans, and its expansive 1099 contractor business.

"We will wake up 10 years from now, my guess is we’ll have a third of our business in that W-2 channel, two-thirds of it in the independent channel," Price stated. This projection marks a significant strategic pivot for a firm that has historically been synonymous with the independent contractor model. Osaic currently serves a network of more than 10,000 advisors, the vast majority of whom operate as independent 1099 business owners.

Osaic’s W-2 footprint is currently comprised of two primary pillars: the Empowered Independence channel and CW Advisors, a fee-only RIA based in Boston. The firm’s commitment to the W-2 space is evident in the growth of these units. CW Advisors, which boasted $13.5 billion in assets at the time of its acquisition by Osaic in June 2025, has continued an aggressive growth trajectory. Following the announcement of three strategic acquisitions this week, Price expects the RIA to conclude 2026 with approximately $22 billion in assets.

Addressing the Succession Bottleneck

The fundamental driver behind this shift is the "succession pressure" currently felt by thousands of practice owners across the United States. As practices have scaled and their valuations have reached record highs, the traditional mechanism of internal succession—where younger advisors buy out their mentors—is failing. The barrier to entry for the next generation has become prohibitively expensive.

"The next-gen can’t afford to buy out their parents or their partner’s business. They just can’t do it anymore," Price explained. "We’re seeing a significant amount of advisors come to us for our empowered independence channel."

For many veteran advisors, Osaic acts as a bridge. When internal liquidity is unavailable, the firm steps in to acquire the practice. The departing senior partner receives the necessary financial liquidity, while the practice continues to operate under the Osaic umbrella, often with the same team in place. This allows the advisor to maintain continuity for their clients while offloading the ownership and administrative burdens that often complicate retirement planning.

However, Osaic is not a universal solution for every firm. Price noted that the company remains selective, opting to pass on practices whose underlying economics do not align with its capital allocation strategy.

Transitioning from ‘Accidental CEOs’ to Employees

The transition from a 1099 independent contractor to a W-2 employee is not merely a financial change; it is a psychological and operational shift. Many advisors who have spent decades running their own shops have become accustomed to the autonomy—and the burden—of being their own boss.

Cindy Hamel, who spearheaded the development of the Empowered Independence channel and is currently transitioning into a broader role as head of business operations and execution, noted that the primary hesitation among prospective recruits is the unfamiliarity of being an employee. Many advisors have not held a W-2 position for years, if ever.

"We’re here to take off some of those traditional capabilities of an ‘accidental CEO’ that they don’t have to worry about, so they can do the things that really got them into the business in the first place," Hamel said. By centralizing operations, technology, and compliance, Osaic aims to alleviate the back-office fatigue that often plagues independent practitioners, allowing them to focus exclusively on client relationships and growth.

An External Push for 2027

To date, the lion’s share of the growth within the Empowered Independence channel has been organic, stemming from advisors already within the Osaic ecosystem. However, the firm is increasingly attracting interest from outside its walls, including the recent addition of an Ohio-based RIA managing nearly $1 billion.

Hamel emphasized that the focus has been internal by design, as the transition to a W-2 model requires a specialized onboarding process that differs significantly from standard independent transitions. "We have been very focused internally first, and a lot of that is because it’s a different kind of transition," she said. "We do have some teams that have come in from the outside. I feel like we’ve strengthened our onboarding and our transition process quite a bit. So you’re going to start to see a lot more external focus out of Osaic in 2027."

As Osaic looks to broaden its external reach, the firm has identified specific criteria for potential partners. The ideal candidates are firms managing $300 million or more with a high percentage of advisory business, making RIAs a natural fit for the platform. Furthermore, the firm is prioritizing growth within the top 60 metropolitan statistical areas.

"That’s important to us because we want to be able to replace advisors if we need to as there’s succession," Hamel added, highlighting the necessity of geographic density for long-term sustainability.

While Osaic already commands a strong presence in the Northeast, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, and California, the firm’s leadership is identifying clear opportunities for further expansion. Hamel pointed to the Southeast, the Southwest, and the southern Midwest as key regions where the firm intends to focus its efforts in the coming years. By aligning its operational capabilities with the growing demand for succession solutions, Osaic is positioning its W-2 channel as a cornerstone of its long-term growth strategy.