June 2, 2018 – Louis Diamond Quoted – By Tobias Salinger, Financial Planning – The number of financial advisors dropped by the largest independent broker-dealers has not exceeded the number gained in any of the past five years, in a signal that forecasts of shrinking head counts have not come to fruition. Advisors would still be wise to prepare for the belt-tightening, though.

January 17, 2018 – Louis Diamond Quoted – By Bruce Kelly, InvestmentNews – Despite cutting back on recruiting experienced financial advisers, Merrill Lynch increased its adviser headcount by 2% in 2017, adding 333 people for a total of 14,953 at the end of last year, according to Merrill’s parent company, Bank of America, which released its fourth quarter earnings Wednesday. “Those numbers validate what Merrill’s goal was, to deemphasize experienced adviser recruiting and emphasize training,” said Louis Diamond, vice president and senior consultant at Diamond Consultants, an industry recruiter.

November 23, 2015 – Mindy Diamond Quoted – By Ralph R. Ortega and Paul Hechinger, OnWallStreet – The total number of financial advisors in the U.S. increased by 1.1% last year, the first uptick in nine years, according to a new report by Cerulli Associates.