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The intelligence advisors rely on to navigate billion-dollar transitions, independence strategies, and the shifting power dynamics of wealth management.

CASE STUDY: How a Billion-Dollar Merrill Team Negotiated an Extraordinary Recruiting Package

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Merrill Lynch

UBS

CASE STUDY: How a Billion-Dollar Merrill Team Negotiated an Extraordinary Recruiting Package

There are billion-dollar advisory teams all over Wall Street. Very few receive the kind of recruiting package that John Pham and Jimmy Yip ultimately secured. After more than four years of evaluating firms, negotiating with multiple platforms, and seemingly getting close to moving more than once, the Merrill Lynch team last week joined UBS with approximately $7.5 million in annual revenue and $1.2 billion in client assets.

09/28/2026

6 min read

Ameriprise

Rise Private Wealth Management

Fathom Advisors

Ameriprise Losses Continue to Mount as Two Teams With $5.6 Billion Exit

The departures of Rise Private Wealth Management and Fathom Advisors highlight a growing challenge for legacy 1099 platforms: retaining large practices seeking greater control over their businesses.

09/18/20264 min

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The Illusion of Independence: Who Really Controls Your Business?

"Independence" has become one of the most overused words in wealth management, from trade coverage to firm marketing. Every model is promising advisors greater flexibility, better economics, and more control. But these independent firms are not all created equal. Advisors evaluating their current or future firm must understand who really controls the business.

For Wirehouses, ‘Small’ Accounts Are Now $500K, And The Line Keeps Moving

It started at $100,000, moved to $250,000, and is now $500,000. At the largest wealth management firms, the definition of a "small" household keeps getting larger. And with inflation and efficiencies created by artificial intelligence, there is little reason to believe it will stop there.

NewEdge Scores $2.2B Bernstein Team in Houston

NewEdge Wealth has recruited an AllianceBernstein Private Wealth team led by Jeffrey W. Thompson, who had managed $2.2 billion in client assets.

Wells Fargo Wins Over $450M Merrill PBIG Advisor in Texas

There’s little doubt that Wells Fargo can dance the two-step with the top firms on the Street. When Felix Erbring, a Merrill Private Wealth advisor in Austin, Texas, began considering a move, Wells Fargo was not on his list. Erbring, who manages around $450 million and generates $3.8 million in annual revenue, was interested in name-brand cache, including firms like Morgan Stanley and Rockefeller.

08/05/20263 min

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Why It’s So Hard to Stand Out Inside a Big Firm

One of the least talked about realities of working at a major brokerage firm is this: It’s incredibly difficult to differentiate yourself. No matter how much talent you have, the system isn’t designed to be centered around superstars or dynasties. Over time, this becomes one of the biggest constraints on growth.

08/03/20263 min

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Rockefeller

Inside Rockefeller’s Historic Recruiting Run

Rockefeller Global Family Office’s hot streak has continued. After adding billion-dollar teams nearly weekly through the early summer, it last week picked up an $800 million UBS team.

Wells Fargo Lands $1.7 Billion RBC Team as Recruiting Momentum Continues

Wells Fargo Advisors continues to build on what has become one of the industry's strongest recruiting stories of 2026 with another splashy billion-dollar hire.

Merritt Point Wealth Advisors

Merchant

How FiNet Is Turning Dream Teams Into Wealth Management Empires

A $1 billion team’s move from Truist to Merritt Point Wealth Advisors might look like another pre-holiday breakaway story, but it’s much more significant to those who have been watching FiNet over the past few years.

Ameriprise Loses Yet Another Massive Team

The steady drumbeat of large defections from Ameriprise continues to grow louder as another tenured, high-producing group left to start an independent RIA.

The $100B Question: Why Are the Majority of All $10M+ Wirehouse Teams Landing at Wells Fargo?

Something significant is happening in the upper echelons of wealth management, and the numbers don't lie. Of the last 25 teams managing $10M or more in trailing-12-month production to make a move, 15 of them, a full 60%, landed at either Wells Fargo Advisors or Wells Fargo FiNet.

Morgan Stanley Nabs $1.5B JPM Team in NYC

Recent moves suggest that Morgan Stanley may be getting more aggressive in recruiting experienced teams.

06/01/20262 min

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