November 30, 2022
Louis Diamond Quoted
by Julie Daclag
A roundup of key updates from major broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, custodians and other distributors.
Despite the lack of protocol protection, advisors are not afraid to move to non-protocol firms such as UBS and Morgan Stanley, according to advisor-recruiting firm Diamond Consultants.
“What’s different about recruiting now versus when Morgan Stanley and UBS were in the protocol is that we’ve seen both firms be a bit more selective in pursuing teams,” said Louis Diamond, president of Diamond Consultants.
Across the industry, firms are enticing advisors with lucrative deals with payouts of as much as 250% to 350% of trailing 12-month production to join an employee channel. Some broker-dealers are even exceeding that threshold.
“UBS sat on the sidelines a little longer and only recently really started to get back on a larger scale,” said Diamond. “Morgan Stanley is very aggressively back in the market. Morgan wants high-quality businesses, but it doesn’t necessarily matter what the end client looks like, although high net worth likely benefits from the platform more.”
Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo remain protocol members.
Unlike its rivals, Merrill appears to have shifted its focus to early-career recruits through its accelerated growth program and a new advisor development program launched last summer.
Last month, Merrill wealth management chief Andy Sieg said that the firm is working on bringing in more experienced advisors.
Merrill’s distinct recruiting strategy compared to other wirehouses is focused on attracting private bankers and junior-level trainees in addition to more selectively recruiting traditional teams, Diamond added.
