Recruiting

The up-and-coming IBD Arkadios recruits an entire Morgan Stanley team and a significant share of Merrill's headcount in Dothan, Alabama.

The tide is in the wirehouse's direction in its fights with advisors who've left for rival firms.

Also this week, Raymond James picks another team from Commonwealth amid its purchase by LPL, and Cetera recruits from B. Riley Wealth Advisors.

Recruiters say firms routinely cover advisors' lost deferred compensation in offer packages. Those deals are complicating efforts by advisors who contend they're still owed backpay.

The numbers don't reflect much change in the low representation of female wealth management professionals, but there are some signs of progress.

Only about 4% to 6% of advisors switch firms in a given year, for any number of reasons. Here's how growing advisory teams add to their ranks.

A group of former Ameriprise brokers argue they had no say in a court agreement requiring them to hand over their cell phones and other devices to a third-party forensic examiner.

Plus, UBS loses a pair of advisors from a prominent team to Morgan Stanley, while SageView and Corient make big acquisition deals.

Each of the biggest firms in the channel grew substantially in 2024, but LPL's giant M&A deal to buy Commonwealth for $2.7 billion has further consolidated the ranks.

The win for Morgan Stanley comes after a recent string of victories against brokers who left for rival firms. But as the outcome in the JPMorgan case shows, firms don't always prevail.