Advisors on the move

The firm has been driving its expansion, pulling in talent from its competition.

Stifel says the fact that it owns a bank — instead of being owned by one — is a big appeal in recruiting.

Morgan Stanley alone lost 11 teams managing about $7 billion after its abrupt exit from the protocol pact, according to recent hiring announcements.

The wirehouses have lost teams overseeing more than $12 billion in client assets over the past month, according to recent hiring announcements.

Independent and regional firms have been maintaining strong appeal with new recruits.

Regional brokerages and firms that assist breakaway advisors have been picking off top talent at the wirehouses.

Though the wirehouse notched impressive wins, Merrill wasn't the only firm to land elite recruits recently.

The Broker Protocol is just the first step. Those entering the fiduciary world still have to proceed with caution.

HighTower and Dynasty added big platform clients as wirehouse brokers continued to flee.

The advisers oversaw nearly $900 million in combined AUM, and moved to Morgan Stanley, Raymond James and HighTower.