(Dow Jones) In their quest for a quick boost in pay, financial advisors can make the mistake of overlooking the long term.

Many move among brokerage firms in return for big signing bonuses or a somewhat higher payout tied to their annual production. But the place where an advisor can ultimately make the most money depends on more than that.

"The real question is...where can you best grow your business," says Andy Tasnady, a financial advisor compensation consultant with Tasnady & Associates. And the answer, he says, is different for every advisor, depending on the technology and training they need, the level of competition at the branch, the relationship with the manager and possibilities for marketing.

Advisors have several types of firms to move around to, including the biggest brokerages known as wirehouses, mid-size and regional firms, independent contractors and boutique registered investment advisors. When they get blinded by a wirehouse's million-dollar signing bonus, or the allure of a smaller firm's more generous payout grid, it doesn't always work out as they hoped.

"Regionals are full of ex-wirehouse brokers who left to make a little more money," Tasnady says. What many didn't consider: "The compensation grid difference between the brokerage channels isn't as great as your ability to grow your business is."

For example, if an advisor whose yearly production is $250,000 in fees and commissions moves from a firm that pays him 35% to another that pays 40%, his income goes up from $87,500 to $100,000. But if he stays in the original company, and it helps him build his production up to $350,000, he'd be taking home $122,500.

"An advisor who moves only for the up-front money is much more likely to lose money in the end," says Mindy Diamond, a financial advisor recruiter with Diamond Consultants.

Typical wirehouse advisors are more in the $400,000 to $800,000 range, and take home about 40% of the fees and commissions they generate from clients, known as their production. The higher the production, the higher the percentage they get to keep.

Smaller and regional brokerages allot advisors, especially the lower-tier ones with less than $300,000 in production, a bit more than the wirehouses. The wirehouses' grid pay is punitive, moving those who stay at lower production levels after multiple years with the firm to a lower payout percentage.

Independent contractors and RIAs have the highest payouts-typically around 90% of their production-because they have to pay their own business costs.

Diamond says some advisors need the support of the big brands to grow their businesses, even if it means taking home less of their production in the beginning.

These big brokerage houses give advisors more time to be out connecting with clients and prospects, hosting seminars and special events in their communities. The company's staffs and technology help take care of day-to-day operations. "From a growth perspective, at a wirehouse you're freer to put your head down and do what you do," Diamond says.

Also, they can leverage the brand recognition of Bank of America's Merrill Lynch or Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, and also get referrals from partnering bank branches.

The next level of brokerage in size, the regionals, don't offer big bonuses but can have their own advantages, in that they have a similar support structure with a more personal feel. They can also be less bureaucratic and more flexible about approaches to risk, for instance, or use of social media. And these can be tools for growing business that ultimately may mean more than a signing bonus.

Advisors who pride themselves on their unique investment ideas and portfolio management are more likely to thrive and grow in the autonomy and sophistication offered by many independent RIA's.

Barnaby Levin is hoping to be a case in point. At Smith Barney for a decade and other major firms for 12 years before that, he took the leap to join an independent RIA, HighTower Advisors, last spring. He thought he could be more successful under his new set-up because it would give him more freedom to hedge his clients' investments.

Being his responsibilities for managing his own business are greater, and that squeezes the time he can spend with clients, "You clearly have to be very entrepreneurial. It's a different world," Levin says.

And if an advisor needs a manager's pressure to stay motivated and build business, the increased independence can backfire, higher payout notwithstanding. They also can miss out on corporate training programs that allow them to add important professional designations.

Another factor an advisor who is just thinking about the immediate money can overlook: The competition within a branch. "If you're going to be competing with 30 other guys who have the same business card, you're not going to have as many chances to get new clients," says Jeff Spears, a former wirehouse broker who is now chief executive of Sanctuary Wealth Management in San Francisco.

The personalities and skill mix in the office, including those of the manager and the other advisors, is key, too. "You have to make sure your personality and your business fit in with the local management and other people you'll be working with on a daily basis," Tasnady says. "These broker-dealers aren't like McDonald's. The service and expertise is much more varied based on the specific office you're in."

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