Boutiques

Ron Kruszewski talks with On Wall Street about Stifel’s recent acquisitions and why there has been some advisor attrition at Barclays' U.S. brokerage unit ahead of its acquisition by Stifel.

J.P. Morgan recruited a veteran advisor from Credit Suisse, which recently struck an exclusive recruiting deal allowing Wells Fargo to pick up the Swiss firm's U.S. advisors.

The super regional may have an opportunity to significantly boost its presence in key markets by adding the boutique – but at a cost of up to $900 million, one analyst says.

Chip Packard, who coheads the German bank's wealth management unit in the U.S., says it’s not clear the firm's UHNW clients wants to replace advisors with automation in the states.

The German bank has faced questions and criticism in recent years about its internal controls.

An advisor who moved to a wirehouse from a boutique offers guidance on finding a firm that will offer greater job satisfaction and also benefit clients.

If you take only one message from a rather tumultuous 2015, you might want to consider this: Build your practice with a firm where retail wealth management is a core business.

Barclays lost a team to RBC, the latest defection since the British-owned firm agreed to sell its brokerage unit to Stifel. This is the first to go to a regional brokerage instead of a wirehouse or high-profile boutique.

CEO Tidjane Thiam said he plans to allocate more resources to wealth management and strengthen the bank's position in Asia, while scaling back the investment bank, mirroring an approach of UBS.

Credit Suisse's losses include a three-member team that generated $7.2 million in annual revenue, which joined UBS.