Market Intelligence · Firm movement
Merrill Lynch advisor departures: where 1,404 went
Where they went, who joined, and how Merrill Lynch compares with its peers, from SEC registration records through .
Trailing 12 months ending
- Departures1,404Left for another firm. About flat on the year before (1,369).
- Arrivals534Joined from another firm.
- Net competitive movement−870Arrivals minus departures. People entering or leaving the industry are not counted.
- Departure rate5.7%Of the 24,555 at Merrill Lynch on , when the period began.
Counts are investment adviser representatives (IARs) in SEC IAPD records, including supervisory and administrative registrants and excluding representatives registered only as brokers. Every move counted is a competitive move. Year-over-year ranges use the same 3.6% prior-count allowance for every firm. How these figures are counted
The short answer
In the 12 months to , 1,404 investment adviser representatives left Merrill Lynch for another firm: 5.7% of the 24,555 there when the period began, and about flat on the year before. J.P. Morgan received the most (251, 17.9% of those who left). Departure rates at the four peers on this page ran from 3.5% to 6.7%.
Merrill Lynch at a glance
- Owner
- Bank of America Corporation, through NB Holdings Corporation and BAC North America Holding Company Form ADV,
- Headquarters
- New York, New York Form ADV,
- Investment adviser representatives (IARs)
- 25,565 registered SEC IAPD records, as of
- Regulatory assets under management
- $1.78 trillion Form ADV,
- Main custodian
- Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (the firm itself) Form ADV,
- Broker Protocol
- Member, a founding signatory, with joinder qualifications member list,
Owner, headquarters, assets and custodians are from the Form ADV of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Merrill Lynch’s SEC-registered investment adviser, as filed on the date shown. Regulatory assets under management are the securities portfolios the adviser continuously supervises or manages, as the firm reports them; they are not total client assets. Custodians are those Form ADV names for its separately managed accounts, largest first. Broker Protocol status is from the member list its administrator, J.S. Held, publishes. The IAR count is from this page’s SEC IAPD snapshot and covers every registration in the firm family whose moves the page counts.
Where those who left went
J.P. Morgan, Wells Fargo Advisors and Morgan Stanley together received 41.5% of the investment adviser representatives who left Merrill Lynch.
| # | Firm | Channel | IARs | Share of those who left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | J.P. Morgan | Wirehouse | 251 | 17.9% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Advisors | Wirehouse / Independent Broker-Dealer | 181 | 12.9% |
| 3 | Morgan Stanley | Wirehouse | 150 | 10.7% |
| 4 | LPL Financial | Independent Broker-Dealer | 71 | 5.1% |
| 5 | Raymond James | Regional Broker-Dealer / Independent Broker-Dealer | 50 | 3.6% |
| 6 | UBS | Wirehouse | 45 | 3.2% |
| 7 | Charles Schwab | Custodian / Direct Advisory | 36 | 2.6% |
| 8 | Fidelity | Custodian / Direct Advisory | 33 | 2.4% |
| 9 | Cetera | Independent Broker-Dealer | 31 | 2.2% |
| 10 | Rockefeller | RIA | 28 | 2.0% |
The other 528 went to 198 other firms. Firms with the same count are listed alphabetically. Channel is the destination's operating model in Continuum's firm classification; a firm with entities in two channels shows both, and “Not classified” means the firm is outside the classification.
Where those who joined came from
534 investment adviser representatives joined Merrill Lynch from another firm in the same period. Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo Advisors and J.P. Morgan together accounted for 33.0% of them.
| # | Firm | Channel | IARs | Share of those who joined |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Morgan Stanley | Wirehouse | 80 | 15.0% |
| 2 | Wells Fargo Advisors | Wirehouse | 50 | 9.4% |
| 3 | J.P. Morgan | Wirehouse | 46 | 8.6% |
| 4 | Equitable | Insurance-Affiliated | 45 | 8.4% |
| 5 | Fidelity | Custodian / Direct Advisory | 42 | 7.9% |
The other 271 came from 92 other firms. Firms with the same count are listed alphabetically.
Departures by quarter
Investment adviser representatives who left Merrill Lynch in each of the last eight calendar quarters. Calendar quarters overlap the trailing period only in part, so they do not add up to its count. The latest, Q3 2026, is provisional: registrations for moves late in a quarter keep arriving for weeks.
| Quarter | Departures | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q4 2024 | 310 | Complete |
| Q1 2025 | 314 | Complete |
| Q2 2025 | 369 | Complete |
| Q3 2025 | 391 | Complete |
| Q4 2025 | 322 | Complete |
| Q1 2026 | 374 | Complete |
| Q2 2026 | 414 | Complete |
| Q3 2026 | 387 | Provisional |
Who leaves
- 3.2 yearsMedian time at Merrill Lynch before leaving, at the registration entity they left.
- 33.1%Share of those who left with ten or more years in the industry by the data date.
- 14%Moved with colleagues: 192 of the 1,404 who left were among three or more who left Merrill Lynch for the same firm, in the same state, each within three days of the one before. Shuffled arrival dates give 4%. Timing in the record is not a confirmed team.
Channel of the firms they joined
Investment adviser representatives who left Merrill Lynch, by the operating model of the firm they joined.
Where those who left are based
| # | State | Departures | Share of placed departures |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 199 | 14.2% |
| 2 | Texas | 146 | 10.4% |
| 3 | Florida | 131 | 9.4% |
| 4 | New York | 122 | 8.7% |
| 5 | New Jersey | 84 | 6.0% |
1,400 of the 1,404 departures are placed in a U.S. state or Washington, D.C. Each person is placed in the state with most of their registered branch locations in the current record, with a fixed rule for ties. People with no branch location on file are placed by their registration state, or shown as Multi-State when registered in several; Multi-State people are not in any state’s count. A departure placed in a state is a change of firm, not a relocation.
Merrill Lynch and its peers
The same measures, on the same definitions and dates, for Morgan Stanley, UBS, Wells Fargo Advisors and J.P. Morgan.
| Firm | IARs at the start | Left | Departure rate | Change on the year before | Joined | Net competitive movement | Median tenure of those who left | Share with ten or more years in the industry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merrill Lynch | 24,555 | 1,404 | 5.7% | About flat | 534 | −870 | 3.2 years | 33.1% |
| Morgan Stanley | 21,885 | 773 | 3.5% | +9% to +13% | 663 | −110 | 3.3 years | 47.3% |
| UBS | 9,076 | 607 | 6.7% | About flat | 253 | −354 | 6.3 years | 58.6% |
| Wells Fargo Advisors | 17,042 | 941 | 5.5% | +15% to +19% | 986 | +45 | 4.1 years | 59.3% |
| J.P. Morgan | 12,453 | 692 | 5.6% | +2% to +6% | 980 | +288 | 2.7 years | 42.1% |
Departure rate is departures divided by IARs at the start of the period. Changes on the year before are shown as about flat or as a range; see the method below.
Three patterns worth understanding
43.0% moved to another wirehouse firm.
604 of the 1,404 investment adviser representatives who left Merrill Lynch joined a firm in the same channel. The next largest destination channel, independent broker-dealer firms, took 10.8%.
For every investment adviser representative who joined from another firm, about 2.6 left for a competitor.
In the 12 months to , 1,404 left and 534 joined. This doesn’t establish why individuals moved, or whether Merrill Lynch’s total headcount fell.
Departures aren’t limited to newer advisors.
33.1% of those who left had ten or more years in the industry, and the median time at Merrill Lynch before leaving was 3.2 years.
The record shows where people went. Whether a different model fits your practice depends on your clients, your team and what you want to build, and staying can be the right answer.
What the record cannot tell you
The SEC registration record shows that an investment adviser representative’s registration moved from one firm to another, and when. It does not say why. There is no field for reasons, and this page has no sourced reporting on why people left Merrill Lynch.
The record also leaves out people who left the industry altogether, representatives registered only as brokers, the clients or assets that moved, and whether a move worked out for the person who made it.
Explore the wider movement picture
Merrill Lynch is one part of a larger picture. AdvisorWire™ shows which firms are gaining and losing advisors, and how movement differs across firms and states.
Questions and answers
How many advisors left Merrill Lynch in the last 12 months?
1,404 investment adviser representatives left Merrill Lynch for another firm in the 12 months to : 5.7% of the 24,555 registered there when the period began. Over the same months 534 joined from other firms, for net competitive movement of −870.
Where do Merrill Lynch advisors go?
J.P. Morgan (251) received the most, followed by Wells Fargo Advisors (181) and Morgan Stanley (150). Together they took 41.5% of those who left.
Who owns Merrill Lynch?
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, Merrill Lynch’s SEC-registered investment adviser, is owned by Bank of America Corporation, through NB Holdings Corporation and BAC North America Holding Company, according to its Form ADV filed .
How many advisors does Merrill Lynch have?
25,565 investment adviser representatives (IARs) were registered with Merrill Lynch in SEC IAPD records as of . The count includes supervisory and administrative registrants and leaves out representatives registered only as brokers, so it can differ from the advisor headcount Merrill Lynch reports.
How much does Merrill Lynch manage?
Merrill Lynch’s Form ADV, filed , reports $1.78 trillion in regulatory assets under management: the securities portfolios its adviser, Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, continuously supervises or manages. That is not the same as total client assets, which firms count in their own ways.
Are more advisors leaving Merrill Lynch than a year ago?
About the same. 1,369 left in the 12 months before, counted the same way. That count is rebuilt from today's record, which has lost people who have since left the industry, so it reads slightly low.
How long had advisors been at Merrill Lynch before leaving?
The median was 3.2 years at the registration entity they left, and 33.1% had ten or more years in the industry.
Why are advisors leaving Merrill Lynch?
The SEC record does not say. It shows that a registration moved from one firm to another and when. It has no field for reasons, and this page has no sourced reporting on why people left Merrill Lynch.
How these figures are counted
- Who is counted
- Investment adviser representatives (IARs) in the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) records, including supervisory and administrative registrants, so a count can exceed the advisor headcount a firm reports. Representatives registered only as brokers are not included. Exact counts here are of IARs; general statements say advisors.
- A competitive move
- A registration that moved to a different firm, with brand variants rolled up to their operating family. Moves within a family, conversions and rebrands are excluded, as are confirmed corporate events and returns after a gap of more than 180 days. Each person counts once, at their latest move in the period.
- Net competitive movement
- Arrivals from other firms minus departures to other firms, on the rules above. People entering or leaving the industry are not counted.
- Period
- to , by the date the person registered with the new firm. Filings for the latest weeks are still arriving, so recent counts can rise slightly. Published .
- Departure rate
- Departures divided by the IARs at the firm when the period opened on , reconstructed from registration dates in today’s record. People who have since left the industry are missing from it, so the rate reads slightly high. People later moved by a confirmed corporate event are left out of the starting count, as in Firm Churn.
- Today’s count and the starting count
- Merrill Lynch has 25,565 IARs in today’s record and had 24,555 at the start of the period: more today, although net competitive movement was −870. Today’s count includes 1,790 people whose first registration began on or after , and the starting count is rebuilt from today’s record, which no longer includes people who have since left the industry.
- The year before
- to , rebuilt from today’s record on the same rules. It has lost people who have left the industry since, so it reads low. A change under 5% either way is reported as about flat; a larger one as a range, from the change after raising the year-before count by 3.6% to the raw change. When either year has fewer than 20 departures, both counts are given and no percentage.
- Quarters
- Calendar quarters, each person counted once per quarter at their latest move in it. The latest quarter is provisional because filings for moves late in a quarter keep arriving for weeks.
- Tenure and experience
- Tenure is time at the registration entity the person left, not across affiliated entities. Industry experience is years since first registration, as of the data date.
- Moved with colleagues
- Departures in a registration cluster: three or more people who left the same firm for the same destination firm, in the same state, each arriving within three days of the one before. The share is shown only for 20 or more departures, and only when it is at least 2.0 times what 1,000 shuffles of the same people’s arrival dates give, with a shuffle reaching it less than 5% of the time. A cluster is timing in the record; only a public announcement confirms a team.
- Patterns
- A pattern is stated only when it holds: moves to firms in Merrill Lynch’s own channel at 40% or more of departures, called most only above 50% and only for a firm outside the independent channels; a flow ratio of at least 1.1, rounded to one decimal; and 30% or more of those who left with ten or more years in the industry.
- Location
- Each person is placed in the state with most of their registered branch locations in the current record, with a fixed rule for ties. People with no branch location on file are placed by their registration state, or shown as Multi-State when registered in several; Multi-State people are not in any state’s count. The current record may not show where someone worked when they moved.
- Not counted
- People who left the industry (they drop out of the record), broker-only representatives, and moves without a valid date.
Source: SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) registration records, processed by Continuum Search Group. How Market Intelligence figures are built.
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