Recruiting

Firms that haven't been afraid of generous recruiting offers have shown the greatest growth in recent years.

Huntington Investment Company is accusing a former advisor of resigning with no advance notice and then using confidential information to drum business from ex-clients.

LPL accuses its rival of hindering "competition in the financial services space" through its "cynical" attempts at frightening advisors into staying put.

The Atlanta-based independent broker-dealer thinks some advisors will always feel ill at ease at big firms that keep getting bigger. That's where it sees its opportunity.

An industry recruiter notes that many wealth managers who switch firms receive money from their new employer to cover forfeited deferred compensation.

Sources familiar with the case say Nicholas Takahashi's name surfaced on a Wells Fargo website long after he had left to work for a competitor.

Concurrent Financial Planning brings academic gravitas to its growth plans under the firm's founder Preston Cherry and his wife, Managing Partner Eiman Osseilan.

LPL Financial topped the list, but the next five firms in these rankings of the 10 that picked up the most brokers from rivals are wirehouses and employee brokerages.

The meaning of independence takes on many different forms for these 10 financial advisors, wealth management executives, entrepreneurs and other experts.

With brokerages, consolidation, lawsuits and more, independence ain't what it used to be. Advisors who want to break away must contend with ever-changing options and obstacles to define their own version of independence.