Tags: breakaway brokers

After the experts spent a big chunk of last year debating whether "breakaway brokers" were an urban legend or the hot new thing on the horizon, it looks like the latter case is winning.

If you're a private wealth advisor, please join Advisors4Advisors (A4A) to get its full benefits.

Register now, and we will donate $20 of our $60 membership fee to Bubbles The Clown’s financial literacy program, and you can post an icon on your website saying you support Bubbles' 501(c)3 charitable organization.

Plus, get other membership benefits, including:

Analysis daily of issues affecting advisors Aggregation of news from dozens of sites targeting wealth managers Reviews by advisors of practice management applications 30 independent experts blogging on advisor business issues 24/7 access to webinars with 50 hours of CFP® CE and 100 hours of IMCA CE Register Now

Great piece from Financial Advisor laying out some of the advisors who've jumped away from the wirehouse in the last few weeks.

Billions of dollars in AUM are leaving the big firms for very good reasons.

Beyond the obvious, advisors from Citigroup Smith Barney are evidently not happy with how things are going under their new Morgan Stanley overlords.

Merrill reps are upset about being told who they can and can't prospect -- small accounts are being increasingly farmed out to the mass-market Merrill "Edge" phone centers and now they can't go after muni assets either.

UBS has been gaining ground and Wells Fargo remains fairly quiet.

In all cases, retention contracts are weakening, so if you have friends trapped in the wirehouse, they might be looking to welcome a helping hand -- or applause if they're escaping on their own.