Independent broker-dealers lose three teams in one day

Aug. 17, 2026, was a busy day for advisor moves. Cetera's Summit Financial Networks pulled two teams out of Commonwealth Financial Network, and Hightower Advisors added a $275 million team from Valley Financial Group. The three moves put at least $695 million of disclosed client assets into new homes.

Jim Tucker and Tucker Bria Wealth Strategies moved to Cetera's Summit Financial Networks with $420 million in client assets. Rick Bergstrom and The Bergstrom team made the same move the same day, though no asset figure was disclosed for Bergstrom's practice. The two arrivals give Summit a quick foothold among former Commonwealth advisors.

The same-destination, same-day pattern suggests Summit has been running an active recruiting effort aimed at Commonwealth. The terms of the transitions were not made public, so the mechanics are unconfirmed. What is on record is the result: a rival broker-dealer took two established Commonwealth practices in a single day.

Hightower's move was separate but landed the same day. Kevin McGarry and The McGarry team left Valley Financial Group for Hightower Signature Wealth with $275 million. That addition gives Hightower another book of business in the independent channel, and it shows the recruiting math is not limited to broker-dealers trading advisors with each other.

The two recruiters could not look more different. Cetera is a broker-dealer network; Hightower is an RIA aggregator with permanent capital. Both found willing sellers among independent practices on the same date. That pairing is a sign that the independent broker-dealer channel has become fair game for every kind of acquirer.

The independent channel has long been thought of as stickier than the wirehouse world. Advisors there own their client relationships and carry a larger share of the economics, which should make them harder to move. A $420 million team leaving for a rival network, and a $275 million team leaving for a national RIA, cuts against that assumption.

The asset totals are meaningful. Tucker's practice and McGarry's practice alone bring disclosed assets of $695 million. Bergstrom's book is undisclosed; if it is any size at all, the true day total is higher. For the losing firms, the revenue impact could be real. For Commonwealth, the bigger question is whether this is a one-off or the start of faster attrition.

One advisor leaving is a retention problem. Two teams leaving the same firm for the same destination on the same day is a pattern. It suggests Commonwealth's model—built on advisor autonomy—is no longer a shield against a well-funded recruiting pitch.

There is no public detail on the deal packages, transition loans, or payout structures behind any of the three moves. The absence of that detail does not change the conclusion: the independent broker-dealer channel is now a candidate pool for both rival networks and RIA aggregators. The firms that want to keep advisors will need to defend the economics of staying.

For Cetera, the double lift from Commonwealth is a demonstration that its Summit unit can execute focused recruiting. For Hightower, the Valley addition is another piece of its national footprint. For everyone else, the lesson is in the calendar: three teams, three different practices, two kinds of buyers, one date.