Wirehouses and its advisors currently are at war for the control over clients and their assets. The fight is getting nasty as major broker-dealers are taking legal actions against advisors who leave one firm and join a competitor. Legal actions, including TROs (temporary restraining orders), are intimidating advisors and confusing clients.
Recently, regional firms such as Raymond James, Stifel, Ameriprise, and Janney Montgomery Scott have become a favored destination for many successful wirehouse advisors who have transitioned away from the wirehouses.
Branch Managers in major face great demands with dwindling resources, for many the post-merger wirehouse culture is a poor fit and the overall number of opportunities has shrunk.
In a recent market trend, top branch managers are leaving national wirehouses for smaller firms. This trend can be attributed to two distinct causes: job uncertainty and an increase in the amount of assigned advisors.
Many wirehouses have deferred compensations for their advisors. Even though the whole grids were largely left intact, compensation is inarguably more back loaded, and therefore somewhat less valuable.
According to a report from Mark Elzweig Company, Ltd., even though the stock market has caught a cold recently, the recruitment of big producers still remains firm.
