Skip to content

DFX Advisor Movement Monitor · monthly edition

Financial advisor moves in October 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 as of 11 November 2026.

1,752 financial advisors changed firms in October 2026, counted from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registration records. Independent RIAs gained a net 43 from wirehouses and broker-dealer affiliated firms: 36 arrived from wirehouses and 6 went the other way; 111 arrived from broker-dealer affiliated firms and 98 went back.

1,752

advisors changed firms in October 2026

43

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

5,942

advisors changed firms in 2026 Q3

24,655

advisors changed firms, 2025 Q4 to 2026 Q3

How much October 2026 may still rise

October 2026 reads 1,752, 15% below the May 2026 to August 2026 monthly average of 2,068. 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, October 2026

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

From Wirehouse
  • Wirehouse108
  • Broker-dealer affiliated101
  • Independent RIA36
  • Newly formed firm21
  • State-registered RIA2
From Broker-dealer affiliated
  • Wirehouse58
  • Broker-dealer affiliated443
  • Independent RIA111
  • Newly formed firm53
  • State-registered RIA15
From Independent RIA
  • Wirehouse6
  • Broker-dealer affiliated98
  • Independent RIA250
  • Newly formed firm36
  • State-registered RIA16
Source: DFX Intelligence, DFX Advisor Movement Monitor, from SEC Form ADV and IAPD registrations. 398 further moves involve firms outside these channels and are counted in the total only.
  • Wirehouse and Independent RIA: 36 moved to Independent RIA firms, 6 moved the other way, a net 30 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Broker-dealer affiliated and Independent RIA: 111 moved to Independent RIA firms, 98 moved the other way, a net 13 toward Independent RIA firms.
  • Wirehouse and Broker-dealer affiliated: 101 moved to Broker-dealer affiliated firms, 58 moved the other way, a net 43 toward Broker-dealer affiliated firms.

The last six months

MonthAdvisors who changed firms
May 20262,094
June 20262,224
July 20262,114
August 20261,838
September 20261,990
October 20261,752

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+200
    499 joined, 299 left, SCAsk DFX about this firm
  2. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC+154
    314 joined, 160 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  3. Advice And Planning Services+87
    101 joined, 14 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  4. Empower Advisory Group, LLC+85
    100 joined, 15 left, COAsk DFX about this firm
  5. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc+80
    174 joined, 94 left, FLAsk DFX about this firm

Largest net losses

  1. Commonwealth Financial Network-142
    13 joined, 155 left, MAAsk DFX about this firm
  2. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated-61
    246 joined, 307 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  3. Equitable Advisors, LLC-55
    39 joined, 94 left, NYAsk DFX about this firm
  4. UBS Financial Services Inc.-53
    88 joined, 141 left, NJAsk DFX about this firm
  5. Edward Jones-42
    96 joined, 138 left, MOAsk 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.

See DFX Platform

Not ready for a plan? A free account opens 5 full records a month. No card. Create a free account

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, October 2026 edition (dfxintel.com/trackers/ria-movement/monitor/2026-10), 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).

Previous edition