Advisor Moves

Wells Fargo pulls $722M in AUM from Merrill while Osaic adds a $540M team from Primerica (but gets sued); Stifel sells independent unit, and First Clearing names new head.

Wells Fargo also pulls from Merrill and Raymond James again from Commonwealth, while AlphaCore buys up a big RIA and the FPA gets a new CEO.

Janney also adds teams from Morgan Stanley and UBS, while LPL Financial picks up advisors from Janney for its direct employee channel.

Though advisors keep heading for the door following the sale of Commonwealth, industry analysts believe LPL Financial can still hit its post-purchase goals for retaining assets and headcount.

But Commonwealth Financial Network retains its appeal, pulling a team from Morgan Stanley, while LPL draws a large practice from RBC.

Also this week, Raymond James draws from Commonwealth again amid that firm's absorption by LPL Financial, and Osaic adds advisors with nearly $800 million in AUM.

More Commonwealth advisors choose Osaic over LPL Financial, while LPL picks up a pair of Edward Jones advisors.

Cerity Partners adds its own large RIA in New York, and Beacon Pointe acquires firms in Indiana, Washington State and New York.

Also this week, Wells Fargo recruits from LPL, RBC and TD Private Wealth, and Corient moves overseas in a deal that doubles its AUM.

Also this week in Advisor Moves, Fifth Third reels in a big team from BNY Mellon, and MAI Capital Management doubles its AUM with a big acquisition deal.