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DFX Advisor Movement Monitor · monthly edition

Financial advisor moves in February 2026

1,761 financial advisors changed firms in February 2026, counted from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registration records. Independent RIAs gained a net 96 from wirehouses and broker-dealer affiliated firms: 40 arrived from wirehouses and 11 went the other way; 183 arrived from broker-dealer affiliated firms and 116 went back.

1,761

advisors changed firms in February 2026

96

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

5,766

advisors changed firms in 2026 Q3

24,351

advisors changed firms, 2025 Q4 to 2026 Q3

How much February 2026 may still rise

February 2026 reads 1,761, 16% below the September 2025 to December 2025 monthly average of 2,107. Moves are dated by the day the advisor left, and the new firm's registration can be filed weeks later, so part of that gap may close as late filings arrive; seasonal swings account for some of it too. The next edition prints this month's revised count.

Channel to channel, February 2026

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

From Wirehouse
  • Wirehouse94
  • Broker-dealer affiliated125
  • Independent RIA40
  • Newly formed firm1
  • State-registered RIA2
From Broker-dealer affiliated
  • Wirehouse91
  • Broker-dealer affiliated480
  • Independent RIA183
  • Newly formed firm31
  • State-registered RIA30
From Independent RIA
  • Wirehouse11
  • Broker-dealer affiliated116
  • Independent RIA232
  • Newly formed firm39
  • State-registered RIA31
Source: DFX Intelligence, DFX Advisor Movement Monitor, from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registrations. 255 further moves involve firms outside these channels and are counted in the total only.
  • Wirehouse and Independent RIA: 40 moved to Independent RIA firms, 11 moved the other way, a net 29 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Broker-dealer affiliated and Independent RIA: 183 moved to Independent RIA firms, 116 moved the other way, a net 67 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Wirehouse and Broker-dealer affiliated: 125 moved to Broker-dealer affiliated firms, 91 moved the other way, a net 34 toward Broker-dealer affiliated firms.

The last six months

MonthAdvisors who changed firms
September 20252,370
October 20252,200
November 20251,676
December 20252,182
January 20262,041
February 20261,761

Who gained and lost advisors

The firms with the largest net gains and losses over the last 90 days, and the newest moves, dated, are on the DFX RIA Movement Tracker.

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, February 2026 edition (dfxintel.com/trackers/ria-movement/monitor/2026-02), CC BY 4.0.

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

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