Independent advisors

As LPL fights to keep teams in the fold, competitors are making strong plays and pointing to the large brokerage's perceived blemishes. The founders of KRM Investment Counsel said they also found what they wanted at Arkadios, an employee-owned firm.

CEO Paul Shoukry also told analysts that the merger and acquisition deals coursing through the industry could open doors for firms eager to bring in advisors and net new assets.

Aneri Jambusaria, among other LPL executives, plans to offer a bevy of support services to advisors of the soon-to-be purchased Commonwealth Financial Network while maintaining its small-firm feel.

States can now adopt a model rule that will prevent brokers from holding themselves out to the public as "advisors" or "advisers."

The deal, expected to close in the second half of the year, will bring in $16 billion in client assets and 110 advisors.

Also this week, Raymond James recruits from Morgan Stanley, and Mercer Advisors and EP Wealth Advisors make big M&A deals.

The LPL CEO says Commonwealth advisors have almost nothing to lose and much to gain by joining a firm whose headcount is fast approaching 29,000. (Plus, experts say he'll be writing big checks.)

Industry experts think LPL will have to work hard to retain Commonwealth advisors who were sold on the idea that they'd be working for a "boutique" firm.

The acquisition will bring LPL as much as $285 billion in AUM and 2,900 advisors when it closes in the second half of the year.

Last year set a record for mergers and acquisitions among advisory firms. Industry experts expect more of the same in 2025, driven by a desire for client and asset growth.

Kevin Keller prides himself on the growing public awareness of the CFP mark while warning that his successor is likely to face increased competition from other groups.

In a legal response, LPL contends it has been sued at least seven times in the past year after recruiting advisors from industry rival Ameriprise.

Financial Planning announces its 2025 class of the top 40 most productive employee brokers under age 40 at regional U.S. firms.

The addition of Prudential Financial and Atria Wealth Solutions helped boost LPL's advisor headcount to a record of nearly 29,000 by the end of last year.

Like other wealth managers that have ceased reporting advisor numbers every quarter, Raymond James says the figures have lost meaning.

Stifel chief executive Ron Kruszewski said surging markets have forced firms to be particularly choosy about which advisors they try to poach from rivals. That may change this year.

Jeffrey Dobyns, the president of SageSpring Wealth Partners, says he and his colleagues were looking for greater freedom to make use of technology their clients wanted and needed.

Lack of freedom and limited investment choices may be driving advisors at broker-dealers to leave their firms this year.

Failing to have a solid succession plan is one of many risk factors that can tank an advisory practice's selling price, industry pros warn.

Michael Nathanson, CEO of the RIA aggregator, envisions a day in the not-distant future when firms like his will sit on $1 trillion or more in client assets.