Wirehouses

Giant financial institutions and wirehouses that spent fortunes attracting and retaining top-producing brokers and wealth managers over the past few years may be about to get socked with a big wave of departures this year and, especially, in 2012.

Last year, wirehouses were hot. This year, they are not. At least not with banks trying to recruit additional registered representatives.

The wirehouse says we’re in the middle of a multi-year bull cycle for equities.

The business-cycle recovery in the global economy that began in the summer of 2009 is now an expansion, says MSSB.