The number of advisers moving from one wirehouse to another reached a nine-month low last month, according to data compiled by the Discovery-RR Database.
Aggressive hiring by regional broker-dealers is likely to continue for the rest of the year, coming mostly at the expense of the wirehouses, according to industry executives and analysts.
Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America Corp.'s embattled chief executive, gave a trenchant analysis of the state of banking — and the brokerage business, in particular— last week when he announced that former Smith Barney boss Sallie Krawcheck will run the bank's global wealth and investment management sector.
Aggressive hiring by regional broker-dealers is likely to continue for the rest of the year, coming mostly at the expense of the wirehouses, according to industry executives and analysts.
Wirehouses lost approximately $1.5 trillion worth of market share last year, according to a report from Cerulli Associates Inc. of Boston.
The chief driver of satisfaction, according to the study, is the financial adviser, comprising 30% of the total — an increase from 22% in 2008. In contrast, investment performance declined in importance — accounting for only 15% of overall satisfaction, compared with 24% in 2008.
Even though independence is losing its stigma as a sign of failure among wirehouse brokers, they continue to move at only a moderate pace to independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisory firms, a panel of experts said last week.
Assets in broker-managed ac-counts reached the levels of traditional wrap fee accounts in the first quarter of the year, a milestone in the fee-based business at major brokerage firms.
The steady exodus of registered reps from wirehouses is expected to accelerate dramatically over the next 18 months, according to a report from TowerGroup.
The Charles Schwab Corp. edged out Fidelity Investments during the first quarter in the battle to service the small but growing number of stockbrokers who are leaving their Series 7 licenses behind to become independent investment advisers.
Unlike most bank executives, John Taft — director of Royal Bank of Canada's U.S. wealth management business — can make a compelling case for the economic crisis being good for business.
Raymond James Financial has attracted a number of recruits in recent months and is on track to add advisers with more than $100 million in production this year.
While new assets heading into The Charles Schwab Corp.'s adviser business slowed in the first quarter, executives for the San Francisco-based company noted that they've had contact with hundreds of advisers — with billions in assets — who are considering going independent.
As part of a massive overhaul of its U.S. wealth management business, UBS AG is set to shed up to 2,000 jobs, shrink its regional operations and consolidate a number of branches here over the next several months.
In a customer service satisfaction survey of 17 brokerage firms, discount-brokerage firms scored better in terms of navigating clients through the market downturn last year, compared with larger, full-service brokers, according to Consumer Reports.
Legislation approved Wednesday by the House of Representatives that would limit bonuses at government-aided firms may lead more wirehouse brokers to become independent investment advisers, said an attorney who specializes in helping breakaway brokers start their own advisory firms.
An investor has filed a class action against Prudential Financial Inc. and a slate of its executives, alleging that the insurer violated federal securities laws in a June 2008 public offering of junior subordinated notes.
Two ex-Smith Barney brokers have been cleared of allegations that they took private client information to their new firm.
Smith Barney, facing a rising number of broker departures from its branches, this month hit four ex-reps and a rival broker-dealer with a lawsuit.
In a nod to today's touchy political environment regarding executive compensation, financial advisers at the firm born out of a joint venture between Morgan Stanley and Smith Barney will not receive retention bonuses.
