January 29, 2026

Study finds more households move investable assets across firms

Illustration showing two financial firms with an arrow pointig from one to the other. Study-finds-more-households-move-investable-assets-across-firms.

An increasing number of households in the U.S. are moving investable assets across their financial stores, according to a market intelligence report by Hearts &Wallets. These totaled an estimated $1 trillion in rollovers last year, with new employer plans being an increasingly attractive rollover destination.

The report notes that 74 million U.S. households have recently moved or are considering moving their investable assets across their financial institutions, up 15 million households from the 4-year norm of approximately 60 million households in any 12 months. Of the 74 million households, 21.8 million moved money last year and don’t plan additional moves, 40.9 million moved money and are considering more, and 11 million have not moved money yet, but are thinking of doing so. Rollovers have the largest balances of the four money movement transaction types, and one in eight rollover transactions (16%) exceeds $100,000. 12% of transfer of asset transactions are over $100,000.

For purposes of this study, a transfer of assets (TOA) is the transfer of all or part of an account from one financial firm to another, and does not include rollovers, a different type of money movement, explained Laura Varas, CEO and founder of Hearts & Wallets. Examples of TOAs include moving investment accounts from one firm to another or moving banking accounts from one firm to another. Hearts & Wallets tracks 4 types of money movement transactions: rollovers, TOAs, new accounts funded with new deposits, and cashouts, she added.

Reasons for more money movement

So why are more households moving their investable assets? Involvement in money movement is accelerating across all asset ranges with an increasing number of transactions now than in the past, Varas explained. “U.S. households that use many financial retail firms (stores) – as higher-asset households do – are most active in money movement and plan more transactions. In 2025, of the 48% of households that moved money, nearly half (23%) did 3-plus transactions,” she said.

Households with 4-plus financial stores are the most active in money movement and plan more transactions, often expressly to “consolidate accounts with fewer providers, Varas added. Of the nearly 1 in 10 households with 6-plus stores, 2 out of three of them (67%) have moved money, and nearly 1 in 5 (19%) have done 6-plus transactions, she said. Looking specifically at rollovers, the #1 motivating factor is to “consolidate for better planning,” followed by “simplify” and “better investment results” for bigger rollovers of $100,000 or more.

“Simplify my finances” is currently the #1 factor motivating rollover transactions of all sizes at the national level, playing a role in nearly 4 in 10 rollovers, Varas added. “Consolidate for better planning” and “better service” are trending up. Advisor influence is rising, but “advisor suggested it” or “advisor changed firms” motivates only 1 in 5 rollovers,” Varas added.

Strategies to attract or retain clients

So, what are some of the ways advisors can use the survey’s data to plan strategies and messaging in order to attract or retain clients who are moving their assets?

The following are some of the tips shared by Varas:

With more households active in money movement than in the past, get more specific about your value propositions. “What kind of consumers are your solutions for? How do they compare to other alternatives?” she asked.
Get customer experience in money movement transactions – rollover, transfers of assets and new accounts – right. “Whether on the losing (source) or winning (destination) side of a transaction today, good service increases the chances of being on the winning end in the future,” she said.
Set business goals for TOAs in addition to rollovers.
Build “flags” to identify individual customers involved in money movement into sales and marketing systems. “A first transaction is likely a sign of more to come,” Varas said.
Lead with “better planning” to attract big rollovers. Check that your advice experiences are in the right categories and not overpriced.
“Keep building out rollover transfers to new workplace plans, especially for Late Careers (ages 53 to 64),” she added.
Offer “toe-dipping” by empowering new customers to try a service model with a smaller balance for a limited period.

Stores with the highest net flows

The report also shared the financial stores that have the highest net flows in rollovers. They include Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, Vanguard, Raymond Jones and LPL. In TOAs, Charles Schwab, Vanguard, JP Morgan Chase, Coinbase, Citibank and LPL appear net positive. And in trial by new accounts with new deposits, American Express and Bank of America Merrill are gathering the most money, but leading brokerage companies are close behind.

The Hearts & Wallets report, Money Movement 2025: Sizing & Seizing the Biggest Opportunities in Competitive Rollover, Transfers and Trial, examines money movement to allocations of investable assets across financial stores either through rollovers, transfers of assets (TOAs), or trial of new stores through new deposits, drawing from fields within the Investor Quantitative (IQ) Database. The latest wave was fielded Jul. 17-Aug. 9, 2025, with 5,981 households.