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DFX Advisor Movement Monitor · monthly edition

Financial advisor moves in January 2026

For RIA recruiters, wealth-firm M&A teams and advisor-industry analysts who need to see which firms are gaining and losing advisors each month.

Data read 31 October 2026. January 2026 counts revise as late filings arrive.

2,043 financial advisors changed firms in January 2026, counted from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registration records. Independent RIAs gained a net 117 from wirehouses and broker-dealer affiliated firms: 61 arrived from wirehouses and 13 went the other way; 197 arrived from broker-dealer affiliated firms and 128 went back.

2,043

advisors changed firms in January 2026

117

net advisors gained by independent RIAs from wirehouses and broker-dealer affiliated firms in January 2026

5,799

advisors changed firms in 2026 Q3

24,415

advisors changed firms, 2025 Q4 to 2026 Q3

How much January 2026 may still rise

January 2026 reads 2,043, in line with the August 2025 to November 2025 monthly average of 2,080. Late registrations can still add a few moves; the next edition prints the revised count.

Channel to channel, January 2026

Rows are the kind of firm an advisor left, columns the kind they joined. Darker cells hold more moves.

From Wirehouse
  • Wirehouse158
  • Broker-dealer affiliated177
  • Independent RIA61
  • Newly formed firm1
  • State-registered RIA1
From Broker-dealer affiliated
  • Wirehouse132
  • Broker-dealer affiliated470
  • Independent RIA197
  • Newly formed firm26
  • State-registered RIA22
From Independent RIA
  • Wirehouse13
  • Broker-dealer affiliated128
  • Independent RIA265
  • Newly formed firm31
  • State-registered RIA41
Source: DFX Intelligence, DFX Advisor Movement Monitor, from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registrations. 320 further moves involve firms outside these channels and are counted in the total only.
  • Wirehouse and Independent RIA: 61 moved to Independent RIA firms, 13 moved the other way, a net 48 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Broker-dealer affiliated and Independent RIA: 197 moved to Independent RIA firms, 128 moved the other way, a net 69 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Wirehouse and Broker-dealer affiliated: 177 moved to Broker-dealer affiliated firms, 132 moved the other way, a net 45 toward Broker-dealer affiliated firms.

The last six months

MonthAdvisors who changed firms
August 20252,073
September 20252,372
October 20252,198
November 20251,676
December 20252,187
January 20262,043

Who gained and lost advisors, last 90 days

Net advisors joined minus advisors who left each firm, from the same SEC registrations. Bulk transfers and same-firm re-registrations are left out. The newest moves, dated, are on the DFX RIA Movement Tracker.

See who in your network knows the firms gaining advisors: upload your contacts

Largest net gains

  1. LPL Financial LLC+175
    483 joined, 308 left, SCAsk DFX about this firm
  2. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC+160
    320 joined, 160 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  3. Empower Advisory Group, LLC+92
    109 joined, 17 left, COAsk DFX about this firm
  4. Advice And Planning Services+83
    98 joined, 15 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  5. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc+82
    173 joined, 91 left, FLAsk DFX about this firm

Largest net losses

  1. Commonwealth Financial Network-148
    15 joined, 163 left, MAAsk DFX about this firm
  2. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated-66
    230 joined, 296 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  3. Edward Jones-63
    84 joined, 147 left, MOAsk DFX about this firm
  4. Equitable Advisors, LLC-54
    40 joined, 94 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  5. Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC-46
    166 joined, 212 left, MNAsk DFX about this firm

+5 additional gaining firms in the top 10

Every name, record and relationship behind this count, with the source on each.

+5 additional losing firms in the top 10

Every name, record and relationship behind this count, with the source on each.

On DFX Platform you see every firm and advisor behind these moves by name, and follow the firms you recruit from or compete with. 7 days free, then $199 a month.

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Method

A move is an advisor's registration ending at one firm (CRD) and starting at another, from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registration records; same-firm re-registrations and bulk corporate transfers are excluded; complete quarters only; history before 15 September 2026 counts only people still registered, so earlier quarters are lower bounds. Not observed: why anyone moved or the client assets that moved with them.

This edition counts one complete month, by the day each advisor left. The series begins with the fourth quarter of 2024. Counted hourly from the published RIA views; the tracker's method page has the channel definitions: DFX RIA Movement Tracker.

Cite and reuse

Recommended citation:

DFX Advisor Movement Monitor, January 2026 edition (dfxintel.com/trackers/ria-movement/monitor/2026-01), CC BY 4.0.

Quarterly counts by move type: data.csv (free to reuse with attribution, CC BY 4.0).

Every month since October 2024, by the channel advisors left and joined: monthly.csv (README, CC BY 4.0).

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