Also, Merill Lynch scores a billion-dollar recruitment win in New York with a sports-focused advisor defecting from UBS.
The new in-house talent sourcing service at Raymond James Financial Services seeks to help independent advisors fill gaps in various roles, ranging from associates to entry-level advisors.
Toward the end of last year, UBS said it was redrawing its pay plan for advisors, but "every time one of the big firms like UBS tinkers with the advisors' compensation, some of them say, that's it, that’s the last straw," recruiter Danny Sarch said.
"There's a big pull to alternative investments right now because of volatility of the stock market," Kevin Gannon, CEO of Robert A. Stanger & Co., said.
Last week's layoffs totaled at least 130 Cetera employees, according to a senior industry executive.
The leadership changes coming in June, which also include wealth management and digital unit heads, come as the firm pushes to offer more comprehensive services.
IFG works with 550 producing advisors and generates about $325 million in annual revenue, said Dave Fischer, the company's co-founder and chief marketing officer.
"It's like a soap opera," says one senior industry executive.
The Merrill Lynch defectors expand RBC's reach in Texas while LPL bolsters its New York presence.
After onboarding 26 new advisors in the first three months of 2025, the independent wealth platform is looking forward to continued momentum in Q2.
Wealth arm thrives despite market headwinds.
A company spokesperson called the layoffs a "small reduction in our workforce."
Integrated Partners is adding a husband-wife tandem to its network in Missouri as Kestra onboards a father-son advisor duo from UBS.
Ameriprise is offering up to 125% of trailing revenue to reel in top-producing Commonwealth advisors from LPL as a recruiting battle continues to rock the independent advisor industry.
United Planners' costs related to lawsuits and regulators' actions into the advisor continue to rise.
The latest independent advisor additions in Alaska and Washington oversaw a collective $550 million in client assets at their former firm.
Meanwhile, GPB senior executives' sentencing for fraud pushed to May.
The half-dozen teams who joined the hybrid RIA in the early innings of 2025 have lifted it past a key asset milestone.
RBC and Rockefeller strengthened their East Coast presence, including a $5 billion defection from JPMorgan, as Merrill welcomes a top-caliber advisor in California.
New in-house capability aims to empower advisors and associates with natural search to access vast data pool.
