A J.D. Power 2018 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study found that advisors' satisfaction with their firms is improving, and identified the firms leading the pack.

The survey was intended to give insights on how firms can retain and recruit advisors to address the concerns of a growing base of customers, such as millenials, baby boomers and women, who now control 51 percent of U.S. wealth, according to the BMO Wealth Institute.

The survey tackled regulatory issues such how the DOL and the broker protocol impacted the perception that financial advisors had on their firms. The survey measured satisfaction among both employee advisors, those who are employed by an investment services firm, and independent advisors who are affiliated with a broker-dealer but operate independently.

Seven key factors were rated: client support; compensation; firm leadership; operational support; problem resolution; professional development; and technology support.      

Ratings were calculated using a 1,000-point scale. On average, among employee advisors, the score was 726, which is up seven points from 2017. Among independent advisors, the satisfaction averaged 753, which was up one point from 2017 study.

Financial advisors not in the top 10 for employee advisor satisfaction rating were Merrill Lynch with a 697 rating, Morgan Stanley with a 682 score and Wells Fargo Advisors with a 618 rating

The study took responses from 3,227 employee and independent financial advisors from January-April 2018.

These are firms rated the highest by their advisors, in ascending order, according to J.D. Power: 

10. LPL (Tie)

LPL Financial independent advisor satisfaction score was 707. The Boston-based broker dealer was founded in 1968, and serves over 16,000 financial advisors and 700 financial institutions.