More than 2,000 brokers switched firms or went to independent brokerage houses in January, the highest number of movement in six months. Several big banks saw brokers head for the exit, including Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) and UBS.
A total of 360 financial advisers left the big four banks, which includes Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo’s Wachovia Securities, Morgan Stanley’s Smith Barney and UBS advisors, according to a report by industry tracker Discovery.
Discovery said of the 360 brokers that moved, 104 switched to a rival brokerage house, while 93 either joined or launched an independent firm. UBS was hit the hardest with 98 brokers leaving, while only adding 17. Morgan Stanley followed with 102 departures and 68 additions.
Though broker movement hit its highest level in six months, the level is far below the dramatic pace of change seen during the late 2008 market meltdown, Discovery said.
The trend of brokers migrating to independent houses or those that let them work independently using the firms to execute trades has gained traction in the past year.
This was evidenced by Charles Schwab stating last month that it is in talks with 300 to 400 adviser teams that manage up to $30 billion in client assets about moving to an independent structure through its platform.
Charles Schwab said it struck deals with more than 170 adviser teams in 2009 to provide trading support and clearing services.
The retail brokerage also noted that brokers were not just coming to them from large firms, but from all traditional style brokerages.
