Wirehouse advisors

The Swiss banking giant sees its net new assets fall off again, largely owing to tax withdrawals, CEO Sergio Ermotti said. But ongoing advisor departures are also a culprit.

The well above-average advisor graduation numbers, paired with Merrill's recruiting efforts, suggest the wirehouse is serious about adding lots of talent.

As large wealth managers struggle to retain advisors seeking greater independence, Wells Fargo has taken a distinct approach with its FiNet channel. But is the loss of profit margin worth the retention gains?

Many clients avoid consolidating their assets at a single firm because they don't want the hassle. Advisors say it's important when to know not only when they're most likely to want to move assets, but also what to say.

Clients have many reasons for not divulging details on the assets they have at, including embarrassment. Advisors say it's still important to understand their total financial picture and, above all, not be judgmental.

The big moves hit the Swiss firm as it continues to lose advisors on a net basis — though now it's reportedly sweetening its recruiting offers.

Large wealth managers are chasing a multitrillion dollar opportunity to manage more of their clients' assets. But many high net worth investors give their business to multiple firms, whether out of a desire for protection, habit or a need to shop around for the best returns.

Median total compensation for certified financial planners climbed to $195,000 last year. But pay varied widely, depending on factors like experience and type of firm worked at.

Firms with big recruiting loan balances are often the ones with the most success hiring advisors from industry rivals. But the numbers also suggest they're offering increasingly generous deals.

In Wells' latest big recruiting deal, two separate groups at Merrill are coming together to form Twin Harbors Private Wealth at Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet.

Principality Private Wealth adds to the 115 teams &Partners has onboarded since its founding in 2023.

Wealth head Andy Sieg sees bank-based advisors as key to securing more of the $3 trillion its U.S. banking customers hold elsewhere. But he's also looking to AI.

Bartoli Private Wealth Management Group comes to Wells Fargo following two other large advisory practices that recently joined from Morgan Stanley and UBS.

Wells' latest advisor recruiting coup comes just days after it pulled over a 19-person team formerly managing nearly $6 billion at Morgan Stanley.

The Taylor Group of Wells Fargo Advisors is led by nine advisors, all of them relatively young and many of them siblings.

After experiencing $14 billion in assets outflows in the last quarter of 2025, UBS brought in more than $5 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Compensation differences between wirehouses and regional firms become pronounced at the $2 million production level, with regionals rising to the top of the pay scale and wirehouses grouping together at the bottom.

When it comes to compensation, firms really start to distinguish themselves at the $1 million production level. Janney has become one of the lower payers in recent years, while RBC and UBS have signaled a greater willingness to work with these advisors.

CEO Brian Moynihan said the firm recruited twice the number of advisors it did a year ago and is making progress fighting advisor attrition.

Chief Financial Officer Sharon Yeshaya says financial advisors have $400 billion in assets since 2020 from clients who first came to Morgan Stanley either through its workplace or E-Trade businesses.