Recruiting

Advisor attrition is up at the beleaguered firm, but it doesn't have to be.

The regional firm has opened five new branches and hired at least 73 advisors year-to-date.

Six of the top 10 advisor recruits — managing roughly $13.2 billion in client assets — have walked out of the wirehouse so far this year.

These mega brokers managed $18 billion in assets at their previous firms.

Wirehouse policy changes are bearing fruit and leaving advisor career options in flux.

Here’s what the two seemingly contradictory trends mean for advisors.

The recruits oversaw more than $200 million in client assets.

Jim Senderling and John Robbie had been with Merrill Lynch for 27 and 25 years, respectively.

Kestra grabbed a practice from the No. 1 IBD, but it gained another one while preparing for a top executive’s departure.

Total broker head count dropped by 173 from the prior quarter, according to the wirehouse.

2017 was a banner year for RIAs, but marketing, hiring and operations are seen as key to future growth, according to a Schwab study.

Bruce Keebeck Lee has repeatedly been ranked as a top advisor by both Barron’s and The Financial Times, but he was fired in April for a failure to file compliance paperwork.

The practice has spent 22 years with the No. 1 IBD, but it will be at least the eighth practice of its type to leave amid changes to the firm’s policies.

Five of the regional BD's new hires come from Wells Fargo.

The firm's two new hires are the latest in aggressive recruiting efforts and joined from rivals RBC and Wells Fargo.

The wirehouse has lost at least 123 advisors managing $15.7 billion in client assets year-to-date, according to other firms’ hiring announcements.

Industry changes and ongoing bank scandals have tilted the playing field in favor of smaller brokerages.

The decision, involving advisors who jumped to Morgan Stanley from an RIA, holds that those who agree to give their employers advance notice before quitting aren’t absolved of that duty by the terms of the protocol.

Simple readiness strategies can insulate you from protocol fallout.

Experts cite a variety of reasons for the industry’s grim jobs forecast for advisors, but the data reveals much more complexity.