Another factor is the lucrative signing bonuses wirehouses offer brokers. Based on production, they can mean really big money for large teams, Waldert says.

The number of financial advisers who have their own registered investment advisory firms but maintain a broker-dealer affiliation is growing at a faster rate than any other segment of financial advisers. No longer just a way station on the road to fee-only land, this so-called dual registration is becoming a more permanent model for advisers who serve wealthy clients involved in sophisticated trading or investment strategies that would be difficult to execute in a fee-only world, Cerulli says.

Cerulli plans to release its "State of the Wirehouses" report Wednesday.

 

Copyright (c) 2009, Dow Jones. For more information about Dow Jones' services for advisors, please click here.

First « 1 2 » Next