Financial advisor movement accelerated in the first half of 2026, with the four major wirehouses posting a combined net loss of 517 experienced advisors.
Wealth Management reports that 1,449 experienced advisors left Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo during the first six months of the year, while the firms recruited 932 advisors.
The departures also included a significant number of large teams. According to Wealth Management, 41 teams managing at least $500 million in assets left a wirehouse during the first half of the year. Twenty of those teams managed at least $1 billion, and only 12 of the 41 moved to another wirehouse.
The results varied sharply by firm. Merrill Lynch posted a net loss of 404 advisors, while UBS lost 182. Wells Fargo gained 46 advisors on a net basis, and Morgan Stanley added 23, according to Wealth Management.
Merrill Lynch's losses included more than 100 advisors who moved to J.P. Morgan.Many of those advisors likely came from the Bank of America side of the business rather than the traditional Merrill population the report seeks to track. Even excluding those moves, he said Merrill still experienced substantial departures.
UBS also faced significant pressure. The departures likely are due to concerns involving culture, ease of doing business, technology and questions about the firm's commitment to its U.S. wealth management business.
The broader trend continues to favor independent firms. According to Wealth Management, 46 percent of advisors who left the four wirehouses chose an independent model, including independent broker-dealers and hybrid RIAs. Another 24 percent moved to a competing wirehouse, a substantial decline from historical levels.
Still, employee models remained the most common destination overall. Fifty-four percent of moving wirehouse advisors joined W-2 firms, with Raymond James, Rockefeller Capital Management and RBC Wealth among the largest beneficiaries, as reported by WealthManagement.
Financial Advisor Transitions consults with advisors nationwide regarding employment transition options and strategies to preserve and protect their practices during any transition.
