$356B in assets, 8,780 advisors: Top IBD moves and M&A deals of 2024

The mega recruiting moves and M&A deals in the independent brokerage channel of wealth management are getting bigger and more plentiful.

For at least the fourth year in a row, Financial Planning's list of the biggest transitions to new brokerages, parent firms or investors is putting those of the prior 12 months in a much smaller context. The rankings, including deals made by Osaic and LPL Financial, involve firms managing $356.3 billion in client assets with at least 8,783 financial advisors. That's a more than 20% rise in assets and a 34% jump in advisor headcount from FP's 2023 list, which spanned firms with $295.3 billion in assets and 6,545 advisors. As an additional measuring stick, the list for 2020 amounted to a mere 300 with $28.3 billion. Last year, FP compiled 41 transition announcements involving firms with at least $1 billion in assets; this year, the number was 51.

Continuing consolidation, flexibility in affiliation models, offices of supervisory jurisdiction moves and stock-market appreciation are fueling the trend toward mega-moves, according to Jodie Papike, CEO of independent advisor recruiting and executive placement firm Cross-Search. When individual advisors or teams decide whether to stay at a new brokerage or parent firm, the possible bonus is "important, but it's not the most important" factor, Papike said in an interview.

"Consolidation always creates movement, and we've seen a ton of that this year. A lot of times when a firm is absorbed or purchased, advisors look at that new ownership and say, 'Is this a good fit for me?'" said Papike, citing considerations such as product mix, business model or client niches. "It doesn't matter how much money they're being offered to go to that new firm. If it's not a good fit, they're not going."

To see the rankings of the largest recruiting moves and M&A deals involving independent broker-dealers in 2024 in terms of client assets, scroll down the slideshow. For last year's list, click here. And find the rankings for previous years: 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Notes: The below figures reflect those at the time of recruiting and M&A announcements by independent wealth management firms; these firms don't always disclose every single deal or all the relevant details, and they cite numbers that may not be verifiable in every case. To be included on the list, the announcement needed to involve a team either leaving, joining or staying in the independent brokerage channel through a recruiting move or M&A transaction.

Moves and transactions involving only employee brokerages whose advisors are direct W-2 employees or registered investment advisors without any ties to brokerages aren't eligible. The dates of the transitions refer to the technical changes on FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website, or the best available information from company announcements and news reports.

Moves or deals that are expected to close in 2025 or had yet to be announced as of Dec. 10, 2024, didn't make the list. That means pending moves and transactions such as Kestra Holdings' recapitalization through funds managed by Stone Point Capital, Wealth Enhancement Group's departure from LPL, LPL's purchase of The Investment Center, Cetera Financial Group's deal to buy Concourse Financial Group Securities and Wintrust Investments' transition to LPL must wait until next year.