Independent wealth managers closed more big recruiting and M&A deals in 2022 than a year ago, to the tune of a thousand additional financial advisers and $50 billion in additional client assets.
Listed in a slideshow below and compiled by Financial planningAccording to company announcement tracking, the 17 largest FINRA affiliation or ownership changes among independent brokers in 2022 saw 3,322 advisers and $229.6 billion in client assets find new homes. Last year, the top 17 M&A moves and deals in the independent brokerage channel comprised of 2,176 advisors with $174.4 billion in client assets. Additionally, individual moves involving at least $1 billion in client assets increased by a year-over-year transition to 29 in 2022.
Besides the household names of industry giants such as LPL Financial, Advisor Group, Mariner Wealth Advisors, Creative Planning, Cetera Financial Group and Raymond James Financial Services, a theme of complexity and consolidation appeared in many of the most important movements. The giants are showing how their resources allow for more flexibility than they might have in the past in terms of issues such as brokerage affiliation, equity structure and capital injections. The dominance of LPL recruitment among wealth management programs based on banks and credit unions continues to move advisors and assets into its fold as it builds on its industry-leading workforce. However, Advisor Group supplanted LPL with the highest-ranked deal on the list this year.
Among larger teams, the “increasing complexity of advice” and the “evolving needs” of advisors and clients often act as driving factors when large teams change companies, according to Bill Morrissey, head of independent channel at Atria WealthSolutions. High valuations and buying multiples also play a major role for big teams, he said in an interview.
“They’re looking at the landscape, they’re looking ahead,” Morrissey said. “They want to align themselves with a company or strategic partners that will help them grow.”
At least five of the biggest deals or moves this year involved brokers closing or joining a larger parent company. A sign of the complicated nature of today’s wealth management industry, however, at least two of them have given rise to well-known brokerage firms whose parent companies see their BD as giving them a competitive edge in an era. accelerating change in the field.
To see the ranking of the biggest recruitment moves and M&A deals involving independent brokers in 2022, scroll through the slideshow. For last year’s list, Click here. To see the biggest moves and deals of 2020, follow this link.
Remarks: The figures below reflect recruitment and M&A announcements by independent wealth management firms, which do not always disclose every transaction or all relevant details and quote figures which may not be verifiable in all cases. . To make the list, the announcement had to involve a team leaving, joining, or remaining in the independent brokerage channel.
Movements and transactions involving only employee brokerages whose advisers are direct W-2 employees or registered investment advisers unrelated to the brokerages are not eligible. Dates of transitions refer to technical changes on FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC’s Investment Adviser’s public disclosure website, or the best available information from company announcements and newsletters.
Moves or deals that are expected to close in 2023 or have not yet been registered in official regulatory databases will have to wait until next year to possibly be included in the list. This left the impending release of Concurrent Advisors to Raymond James Financial Services and incoming LPL recruits Commercial Financial Advisors and the acquisitions by LPL of Financial Resources Group Investment Services and Boenning & Scattergood out of this year’s ranking but with a high probability of being part of the group in 2023.