Winthrop & Co. · Where advisors go
Where advisors go
Every profile follows the same seven sections in the same order: what the firm is, how an advisor affiliates, the economics as publicly reported, Protocol status, who tends to fit, the twelve diligence questions applied, and the sources. Which firm is right is a question about your practice, and the pages are built to show you exactly which questions only a conversation can answer. The firms profiled are the large independent broker-dealers where most moving advisors land; each profile says which channels the firm runs.
Minneapolis, Minnesota·Independent broker-dealer
Ameriprise Financial
Ameriprise Financial is a publicly traded wealth manager with more than 10,500 financial advisors at the end of 2025, organized into an employee channel, the Ameriprise Advisor Group, and an independent franchise channel, the Ameriprise Franchise Group, plus a program for banks and credit unions. An advisor affiliates as a W-2 employee or as an independent franchisee who owns the practice and operates under the Ameriprise name.
1099 franchisee, owns the practiceW-2 employee1099, independentBank and credit union programs10,500+Advisors, year-end 2025$1.2TClient assets8/12Asked in the roomSan Diego, California·Independent broker-dealer
Cetera Financial Group
Cetera Financial Group is a privately held network of broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, majority-owned by Genstar Capital since 2018, that reports approximately 12,000 financial professionals and institutions and about $688 billion in assets under administration as of June 30, 2026, after acquiring Voya Financial Advisors' independent channel, Securian Financial's retail wealth business and Avantax. An advisor affiliates as an independent practice under Cetera's corporate RIA or an advisor-owned RIA, as a W-2 employee of Cetera Planning Partners, through a bank or credit union program, through the tax-focused Avantax community, or in a supported-independence branch.
1099, Cetera corporate RIARIA, own ADVW-2, employee-advisor RIASupported independence, branch-basedBank and credit union programs1099 or RIA, tax-focusedSuper OSJ or producer group$256.8BRegulatory AUM, Cetera Investment Advisers LLC9,049Employees performing advisory functions, per Form ADV4/12Asked in the roomAustin, Texas·Independent broker-dealer
Kestra Financial
Kestra Financial is the Austin, Texas independent broker-dealer and RIA platform of Kestra Holdings, a privately held company majority owned by Stone Point Capital since February 2025, with Oak Hill Capital, management and affiliated advisors holding minority equity; its corporate RIA Kestra Advisory Services reported $79.8 billion in regulatory assets under management and 1,359 employees performing advisory functions on the SEC's September 1, 2026 Form ADV file. An advisor affiliates as an independent practice under Kestra Advisory Services and Kestra Investment Services, through Kestra Private Wealth Services' supported-independence model for advisors leaving a wirehouse or W-2 firm, or by selling into Bluespring Wealth Partners, the group's acquisition and succession arm.
1099, Kestra corporate RIASupported independence, hybrid RIAAcquisition and successionOwn RIA or hybrid$79.8BRegulatory AUM, Kestra Advisory Services1,359Employees performing advisory functions, Kestra Advisory Services2/12Asked in the roomSan Diego, California·Independent broker-dealer
LPL Financial
LPL Financial is a publicly traded independent broker-dealer and RIA custodian that served 32,475 advisors as of June 30, 2026. An advisor can affiliate as an independent contractor under LPL's corporate RIA or their own, as a supported-independence practice through Strategic Wealth, or as a W-2 employee through Linsco, and LPL recruited $25 billion of assets in the second quarter of 2026 alone.
1099, own practice1099, supported independenceW-2 employeeBank and credit union programsAcquired Aug 2025, converting Q4 202632,475Advisors, Jun 30 2026$2.56TClient assets7/12Asked in the roomNew York, New York·Employee channel, wirehouse
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is the Wealth Management segment of Morgan Stanley, operating in the United States through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser with its main office in Purchase, New York, and serving clients through three channels the firm names Advisor-Led, Self-Directed and Workplace. An advisor affiliates as a W-2 employee financial advisor in a branch, as a Private Wealth Advisor in the Private Wealth Management division, or by entering the Financial Advisor Associate or Private Wealth Advisor Associate training programs; the firm's own materials describe no independent-contractor channel.
W-2 employeeW-2 employeeW-2 employee, salaried traineeW-2 employee, salaried traineeClient channels, not an advisor affiliation route$1.96TRegulatory AUM, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Sep 202613,000Advisory staff, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Sep 20267/12Asked in the roomScottsdale, Arizona·Independent broker-dealer
Osaic
Osaic is a privately held network of broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, owned by Reverence Capital Partners, that supports more than 11,000 financial professionals and over $700 billion in assets under administration after consolidating eight Advisor Group broker-dealers into one firm and acquiring Lincoln Financial's wealth business. An advisor affiliates as an independent 1099 practice, as a W-2 employee of Osaic's corporate RIA, as a fee-only RIA, or through a bank or credit union program.
1099, own practiceW-2, Osaic corporate RIARIA, no brokerageBank and credit union programs11,000+Financial professionals$700B+Assets under administration8/12Asked in the roomSt. Petersburg, Florida·Broker-dealer and RIA custodian
Raymond James
Raymond James is a publicly traded financial services firm whose Private Client Group had 8,943 financial advisors at September 30, 2025, split between an employee channel, Raymond James & Associates, and an independent contractor channel, Raymond James Financial Services, with a separate RIA and custody services arm for advisors who own their registration. An advisor affiliates as a W-2 employee, as a 1099 independent, or as an RIA using Raymond James for custody.
W-2 employee1099 independent contractorOwn RIA, Raymond James custody8,943Advisors, Sep 30 2025$1.86TPCG client assets9/12Asked in the roomMinneapolis, Minnesota·Employee channel, bank-owned
RBC Wealth Management
RBC Wealth Management is the U.S. full-service wealth advisory business of Royal Bank of Canada, operating as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and investment adviser with its U.S. wealth headquarters in Minneapolis, alongside the affiliate bank City National and the RBC Clearing & Custody division that serves independent broker-dealers and RIAs. An advisor affiliates as a W-2 employee financial advisor in a branch office; the firm has said it does not operate and does not plan to open an independent-contractor or RIA channel, while its clearing and custody division serves advisors who run their own firms.
W-2 employeeAffiliates available to W-2 advisors, not a separate advisor channelOwn RIA, RBC custodyCorrespondent clearing for independent broker-dealers$310.4BRegulatory AUM, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Sep 20265,908Advisory staff, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Sep 20268/12Asked in the roomNew York, New York·Employee channel, private wealth
Rockefeller Capital Management
Rockefeller Capital Management is a privately held wealth, asset management and investment banking firm at 45 Rockefeller Plaza in New York, formed on March 1, 2018 when Gregory J. Fleming and funds affiliated with Viking Global Investors acquired the Rockefeller family's investment advisory and trust businesses; its advisor-facing business is Rockefeller Global Family Office, a division of Rockefeller & Co. LLC, with brokerage and wrap-fee advisory services provided through the dually registered Rockefeller Financial LLC. An advisor affiliates as an employee Private Advisor, typically as part of a team, registered under Rockefeller & Co. LLC and, where applicable, as an investment adviser representative and registered representative of Rockefeller Financial LLC, with client assets in the firm's wrap program held at National Financial Services LLC.
W-2 employeePlatform within the employee channelUnbundled custody within the employee channelSale of an RIA or multi-family office into the firm$99.6BRegulatory AUM, Rockefeller Financial LLC, Sep 2026 file$36.8BRegulatory AUM, Rockefeller & Co. LLC, Sep 2026 file6/12Asked in the roomSt. Louis, Missouri·Employee, bank and independent channels
Wells Fargo Advisors
Wells Fargo Advisors is the brokerage and wealth business of Wells Fargo & Company, operating through two registered broker-dealers in St. Louis: Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, which houses the employee Private Client Group, the bank-branch channel and the Private Wealth group, and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, known as FiNet, the independent channel. An advisor affiliates as a W-2 employee in a brokerage office or a Wells Fargo bank branch, or as the owner of an independent practice through FiNet, and the firm has said an RIA custody platform run through First Clearing will be seeded with FiNet practices in 2026 before a broader launch in 2027.
W-2 employeeW-2 employeeW-2 employee1099, independent practice ownerOwn RIA, First Clearing custody7,957Advisory staff, Wells Fargo Clearing Services, Sep 20262,366Advisory staff, FiNet, Sep 20267/12Asked in the room
Where advisors go
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Profiles are added on size and on merit. If your firm belongs on this list, request it and we will look at the record.
Request a profileWinthrop & Co. is compensated by firms when an advisor joins through us. The advisor never pays. We have working relationships with several of the firms profiled here; every figure on these pages carries its source. The right firm is a question about your practice.
For who actually moved, and where, across the industry as a whole, see The State of Advisor Movement, H1 2026. For the RIA channel by state, see Top RIAs by state.