Thrivent bucks the AI layoff trend and plans to add 600 financial advisors this year: This is ‘how we grow our business’
Good morning. Just as more than 100,000 U.S. financial advisors are expected to retire over the next decade, Thrivent is racing to hire the next generation.
The Minneapolis-based financial services company announced this week plans to hire 600 financial advisors in 2026 as part of an effort to expand its workforce. The company exceeded the same hiring target in 2025 and said continued recruitment will help meet rising demand for purpose-driven financial advice.
“This is part of our growth plan,” Nick Cecere, Thrivent’s chief distribution officer, told me. “Adding new advisors is how we continue to grow our business.”
Thrivent recruits advisors through both its traditional field network and a newer Virtual Advice Team, an employee channel where advisors serve clients remotely rather than through a traditional in-person practice. Participants typically spend 12 to 24 months in the program before joining an established advisor team or launching their own practice.
The program attracts both early-career professionals and second-career candidates, Cecere said, like teachers, coaches and business professionals, for example, seeking a career focused on helping clients.
The hiring push also reflects a broader talent shortage in the financial advice industry, as many veteran advisors approach retirement. According to McKinsey, addressing this gap requires changing the advisor operating model to increase productivity (lead generation, teaming, and an AI- and technology-enabled shift toward value-adding activities) and also attracting new talent to the industry faster than before.
Thrivent, No. 388 on the Fortune 500, is led by CEO Terry Rasmussen. It has more than $212 billion in assets under management and advisement, more than 4,500 employees, and serves 2.4 million clients. Thrivent was founded in 1902 as an aid association for Lutherans, and its banking and investment services are open to nonmembers, regardless of religious affiliation, according to the company.
It operates regional hubs in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Milwaukee that support the virtual advice program, and the company is considering further expansion.
Thrivent is investing in AI to support, not replace, its advisors. “We’ve made the strategic decision to hire more financial advisors because it will enable us to serve even more people,” according to David Royal, Thrivent’s EVP and chief financial and investment officer.
The personal relationships and trust between Thrivent’s advisors and clients are “deeply important” for planning the future, building legacies, and improving their communities, Royal said. Technology, including AI, helps modernize the business and “gives our teams better tools so they can focus on high‑value, purpose‑driven work,” he said.
Strong advisor retention and client satisfaction remain central to Thrivent’s long-term growth strategy, Cecere said, as the industry adapts to changing demographics and new digital tools.
Have a good weekend.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com
