May 4, 2024
Louis Diamond Quoted
By Dan Shaw
But industry trends are only part of the story. One reason many firms no doubt have become loath to report headcounts is that their numbers have been shrinking. Wells Fargo’s decision in April 2023 to stop releasing its numbers was preceded by a series of quarters then the numbers had been heading steadily downward.
Louis Diamond, an industry recruiter and the president of Diamond Consultants, said there’s no doubt that a desire to avoid embarrassment is at least partly behind the halts in headcount reporting at some firms.
Diamond said all the wirehouses would most likely be reporting the numbers “if they could tell the narrative that we’re actually growing or that we’re about flat.”
Diamond, whose own firm publishes a report seeking to track advisor moves among firms, noted another common complaint about headcounts. Namely, the figures don’t disclose if the new advisors being recruited to a firm have anywhere near the expertise and the assets under management of teams that have departed.
“A lot of these teams are being replaced with trainees and people without much industry experience,” Diamond said.
