Wealth management firms continue to spend aggressively on recruiting and retaining financial advisors as competition across the industry intensifies, according to an analysis by Financial Planning.
Recruiting loan balances across major brokerage and independent firms reveal how costly advisor movement has become. While wirehouses and independent broker-dealers continue fighting for top-producing advisors, many advisors still leave traditional firms in search of greater independence, ownership opportunities, and operational flexibility.
Financial Planning reports that recruiting loans, commonly structured as forgivable loans, remain one of the primary incentives firms use to attract advisors from competitors. Advisors generally do not repay the loans if they remain with the recruiting firm for a designated period, often between seven and 12 years.
According to Financial Planning, wirehouses previously offered recruiting deals worth approximately 200% of an advisor's trailing 12-month revenue. Today, those packages often range from 300% to more than 400%, with some firms reportedly exceeding 500% for select teams.
LPL Financial posted one of the largest increases in recruiting loan balances. The firm's balance for forgivable loans rose more than 70% year over year to approximately $3.3 billion in 2025. Financial Planning reports that LPL's recruiting debt has increased more than 1,300% since 2018.
The surge coincided with LPL's efforts to retain advisors following its acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network. Commonwealth had approximately 3,000 advisors at the time of the acquisition, though many later departed for competitors, including Raymond James and Kestra.
Other independent broker-dealers also experienced increases in recruiting-related liabilities. Ameriprise's recruiting loan balance rose approximately 200% between 2018 and 2025, reaching $1.67 billion, while Raymond James reported an 80% increase during the same period.
Among wirehouses, the data reflected mixed results. Morgan Stanley increased its recruiting loan balance by 42% since 2018, reaching nearly $4.86 billion in 2025. UBS moved in the opposite direction, with its balance declining 35% over the same timeframe.
Financial Planning notes that Merrill Lynch showed signs of reentering the recruiting market more aggressively after several years of reduced activity. Merrill's recruiting loan balance increased nearly 50% in 2025, though it remained below prior levels from earlier years.
Recruiters emphasized that rising loan balances do not necessarily reflect recruiting success alone. Larger transition packages also contribute significantly to growing liabilities.
Industry observers expect recruiting costs to continue rising as firms backed by private equity, RIA aggregators, regional brokerages, and wirehouses all compete for the same advisor talent pool.
Financial Advisor Transitions consults with advisors nationwide regarding employment transition options and strategies to preserve and protect their practices during any transition.
