Wirehouses lost 517 advisors net in the first half of 2026
Diamond Consultants' transition report counts 1,449 departures against 932 arrivals at Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo.
At a glance
The four wirehouses lost 517 advisors on a net basis in the first half of 2026, according to Diamond Consultants' Advisor Transition Report as reported by WealthManagement.com.
Forty-one teams managing $500 million or more left a wirehouse in the first half, including 20 teams with $1 billion or more in assets.
More than 11,000 advisors changed firms in 2025, a broader industry count rather than the four-firm figures above, driven by acquisitions, higher transition deals and expanding affiliation models.
The four wirehouses lost 517 advisors on a net basis in the first half of 2026, according to Diamond Consultants' Advisor Transition Report as reported by WealthManagement.com. Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo recorded 1,449 experienced-advisor departures and 932 arrivals across the six months. The report says the net loss was larger than the group's net loss for all of 2025.
Forty-one teams managing $500 million or more left a wirehouse in the first half, including 20 teams with $1 billion or more in assets. Twelve of those 41 teams moved to another wirehouse.
Jason Diamond, president of Diamond Consultants, said a billion-dollar corner-office wirehouse team should get the best service and a high payout. He said that so many of them leaving suggests those teams now weigh what they could gain against what they would give up. He added that such teams have the most to lose because their businesses are growing.
Where the four firms diverged
| Firm | Net advisor change, H1 2026 |
|---|---|
| Merrill Lynch | -404 |
| UBS | -182 |
| Wells Fargo | +46 |
| Morgan Stanley | +23 |
| Four-firm total | -517 |
Diamond called Morgan Stanley the steadiest performer in the group for several years, citing its handling of attrition and consistent advisor additions over the past five years. Leads from the firm's workplace business fed advisor growth, he said. He described Wells Fargo as this year's biggest winner, crediting the firm's growing distance from its consumer banking scandal.
The report excludes internal affiliation changes from its recruiting data, but it counted another 135 advisors moving between Wells Fargo channels in the first half, and it calls that flexibility an important differentiator.
More than 11,000 advisors changed firms in 2025, a broader industry count rather than the four-firm figures above, driven by acquisitions, higher transition deals and expanding affiliation models. The report says 2026 is shaping up to be even more active. This publication has argued that the recruiting war has decoupled from solo breakaways into block trades and employee-channel book moves. Among the 41 large teams, 12 stayed inside the wirehouse channel, consistent with that shift.
The same coverage links to a report of a $1.3 billion UBS team departing for Wells Fargo's FiNet.
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