LPL Financial

The surprise announcement of their exit distracted from some record metrics and the firm's indication that it will be keeping its cash sweep yields the same.

The family-run Investment Advisors Financial Group team brings $1 billion in assets.

The latest legal action over the industry's handling of clients' uninvested cash suggests sweeps are a bigger profit generator than most firms let on.

A look at which firms had the biggest loan balances and revenue numbers and the relationship between the two.

Firms that haven't been afraid of generous recruiting offers have shown the greatest growth in recent years.

LPL accuses its rival of hindering "competition in the financial services space" through its "cynical" attempts at frightening advisors into staying put.

The Atlanta-based independent broker-dealer thinks some advisors will always feel ill at ease at big firms that keep getting bigger. That's where it sees its opportunity.

The partners at Pilot Financial have been through only one acquisition in their firm's history — the recent sale of Lincoln Financial's wealth groups to Osaic — and they're not eager to repeat the experience.

Despite the apparent decline, the independent broker-dealer giant remains one of the leaders in advisor recruiting and merger and acquisition deals.

Higher expenses from the record headcount of financial advisors and a continuous stream of recruits and acquisitions are investing in the firm's future earnings, though.