2026 Talent & Growth Report

DeVoe & Company has released our six annual 2026 DeVoe Talent & Growth Report, Mind the (Development) Gap.

Last year, our annual survey warned that RIA people management was sliding toward mediocrity. This year the slide stopped: incentive plans and performance reviews reached record highs, and career paths began to recover. But the systems firms have built are now running ahead of the people they’re meant to develop. RIAs are getting better at managing people, but not at developing them. That’s the development gap.

Among the key findings:

• The systems finally got built. A record 59% of firms now have a clear, methodical incentive plan (43% in 2025), and a record 49% review performance at least semi-annually (39% last year).
• But the training didn’t follow. Only 10% of firms describe junior advisor training as robust and comprehensive, a figure that has never exceeded 15% in four years.
• The succession divide is widening. A record 21% of firms aren’t considering a succession plan, up from 6% in 2025, while firms that have committed are moving faster.
• And the next generation isn’t ready. 72% lack confidence that leadership could transition smoothly today, up from 57% in our first survey in 2019. Only 28% call their next-gen candidates highly ready to lead.
• The pressure moves inside the firm. Just 14% report higher-than-normal attrition, the lowest on record, yet equity and partnership issues jumped from 21% to 30% as the top human capital challenge.

Beyond the data, the report shows how firms can close the gap by connecting career paths, training, reviews, compensation, and succession planning into a single system for developing future leaders.