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DFX Advisor Movement Monitor · monthly edition

Financial advisor moves in August 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. August 2026 counts revise as late filings arrive.

1,808 financial advisors changed firms in August 2026, counted from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registration records. Independent RIAs gained a net 83 from wirehouses and broker-dealer affiliated firms: 46 arrived from wirehouses and 13 went the other way; 153 arrived from broker-dealer affiliated firms and 103 went back.

1,808

advisors changed firms in August 2026

83

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

5,799

advisors changed firms in 2026 Q3

24,415

advisors changed firms, 2025 Q4 to 2026 Q3

How much August 2026 may still rise

August 2026 reads 1,808, 17% below the March 2026 to June 2026 monthly average of 2,187. 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, August 2026

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

From Wirehouse
  • Wirehouse126
  • Broker-dealer affiliated171
  • Independent RIA46
  • Newly formed firm0
  • State-registered RIA5
From Broker-dealer affiliated
  • Wirehouse109
  • Broker-dealer affiliated460
  • Independent RIA153
  • Newly formed firm24
  • State-registered RIA28
From Independent RIA
  • Wirehouse13
  • Broker-dealer affiliated103
  • Independent RIA221
  • Newly formed firm25
  • State-registered RIA33
Source: DFX Intelligence, DFX Advisor Movement Monitor, from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registrations. 291 further moves involve firms outside these channels and are counted in the total only.
  • Wirehouse and Independent RIA: 46 moved to Independent RIA firms, 13 moved the other way, a net 33 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Broker-dealer affiliated and Independent RIA: 153 moved to Independent RIA firms, 103 moved the other way, a net 50 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Wirehouse and Broker-dealer affiliated: 171 moved to Broker-dealer affiliated firms, 109 moved the other way, a net 62 toward Broker-dealer affiliated firms.

The last six months

MonthAdvisors who changed firms
March 20262,292
April 20262,163
May 20262,087
June 20262,205
July 20262,090
August 20261,808

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, August 2026 edition (dfxintel.com/trackers/ria-movement/monitor/2026-08), 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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