Largest clearing firms ranked by number of B-D clients

JUN 01, 2012
Top clearing and custody firms for financial advisers
Rank Firm Parent company Main phone Website B-D clients % chg. vs. 2010 Contact Phone Email
1 Pershing LLC (201) 413-1000 pershing.com 836* 5.3% James T. Crowley, managing director (201) 413-2564 [email protected]
2 Penson Worldwide Inc. (214) 765-1100 penson.com 437 10.1% Sean Malloy, senior vice president of sales and marketing (212) 273-6835 [email protected]
3 National Financial Services LLC Fidelity Investments (877) 262-5950 nationalfinancial.com 267 -11.3% Joe Kelly, head of sales (617) 563-8738 [email protected]
4 Broadcort & Merrill Lynch Professional Clearing Corp. Bank of America Merrill Lynch (800) 246-0561 broadcort.com 255 13.8% Michael Bird, managing director at Broadcort; Gary Yetman, managing director at MLPro (646) 855-3507; (212) 670-5019 [email protected]; [email protected]
5 J.P. Morgan Clearing Corp. (212) 552-1765 jpmorgan.com/bds 211 5.5% Curt Richmond, managing director (212) 552-1765 [email protected]
6 Goldman Sachs Execution and Clearing LP (212) 357-2266 gsec.com 175 -34.0% Kyle Czepiel, managing director (212) 357-2802 [email protected]
7 RBC Correspondent Services Royal Bank of Canada (612) 371-7776 rbc-cs.com 170 0.0% Craig Gordon, director (612) 371-7776 [email protected]
8 Southwest Securities Inc. SWS Group Inc. (877) 797-6613 swsclearing.com 165 -9.8% Paul Vinton, executive vice president (877) 797-6613 [email protected]
9 Wedbush Securities Inc. Wedbush Inc. (213) 688-8000 wedbush.com 160 0.0% Jeff Martin, senior vice president of advanced clearing services (213) 688-4567 [email protected]
10 Sterne Agee Clearing Inc. Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. (561) 368-4355 sterneagee.com 110 0.0% Dennis Ferguson, president (800) 264-4863 [email protected]
11 First Clearing LLC Wells Fargo Advisors LLC (888) 322-2532 firstclearing.com 93 -13.9% David L. Williams, managing director (888) 322-2532 [email protected]
12 Mesirow Financial Inc. (312) 595-6000 mesirowfinancial.com 85 0.0% Ruth C. Hannenberg, senior managing director (312) 595-6239 [email protected]
13 Legent Clearing LLC (877) 877-0217 legentclearing.com 80 0.0% Ray P. Maratea, president; Steve Dripchak, vice president of sales (630) 592-4848; (866) 770-0218 [email protected]; [email protected]
14 FirstSouthwest Co. PlainsCapital Corp. (800) 678-3792 firstswclearing.com 75 0.0% Joseph Turk, regional vice president; Paul Bashus, regional vice president (917) 206-3667; (866) 299-8755 [email protected]; [email protected]
15 Raymond James & Associates Inc. (727) 567-3990 raymondjames.com/clearing 38 0.0% Robb Combs, director of correspondent services (727) 567-3990 [email protected]
As of June 30. *Number of B-D clients for Pershing LLC includes introducing broker-dealer firms that transitioned from Jefferies & Co. Inc. Source: InvestmentNews

Latest News

Federal judge dismisses Eltek manipulation lawsuit against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Federal judge dismisses Eltek manipulation lawsuit against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

Nine-month electronic trading freeze and share lending program at the center of dismissed claim.

RIA wrap: Dynamic strikes South Carolina deal to reach $7B AUM milestone
RIA wrap: Dynamic strikes South Carolina deal to reach $7B AUM milestone

Meanwhile, Rossby Financial's leadership buildout rolls on with a new COO appointment as Balefire Wealth welcomes a distinguished retirement specialist to its national network.

Rethinking diversification amid a concentrated S&P 500
Rethinking diversification amid a concentrated S&P 500

With a smaller group of companies driving stock market performance, advisors must work more intentionally to manage concentration risks within client portfolios.

Merrill pays second settlement to former Miami Dolphins player, client of ex-broker
Merrill pays second settlement to former Miami Dolphins player, client of ex-broker

Professional athletes are often targets of scam artists and are particularly vulnerable to fraud.

Schwab touts AI as its biggest growth lever at investor day
Schwab touts AI as its biggest growth lever at investor day

The brokerage giant tells Wall Street it will use artificial intelligence to reach clients it has never been able to serve — and turn the technology's perceived threat into a competitive edge.

SPONSORED Beyond wealth management: Why the future of advice is becoming more human

As technical expertise becomes increasingly commoditized, advisors who can integrate strategy, relationships, and specialized expertise into a cohesive client experience will define the next era of wealth management

SPONSORED Durability over scale: What actually defines a great advisory firm

Growth may get the headlines, but in my experience, longevity is earned through structure, culture, and discipline