Ameriprise Boosts Recruiting By 40% As "Wirehouse Fatigue" Deepens Hot

I talked about Raymond James peeling plenty of advisors and AUM away from the wirehouses yesterday. 

Now it's Ameriprise reporting impressive recruiting wins from firms like Morgan Stanley.

As with Raymond James, Ameriprise supports both independent contractors and full employees, and both sides of the business have been growing through what business development director Manish Dave calls "wirehouse fatigue."

Even in a year when former affiliate Securities America's travails raised questions about the viability of the Ameriprise brand, the firm boosted its recruiting by 40%, Dave has told reporters.

He's courting advisors from regional brokerage firms and IBDs alike, but says next year should be especially good prospecting from Morgan Stanley and its counterparts.

Retention bonuses are weakening soon, so a lot of talent will be in play.

The question is whether firms like Ameriprise and Raymond James are retaining the people they capture -- and for how long. 

We might yet see a wave of true "breakaway brokers" as more-or-less independent brokers -- and not wirehouse reps -- adopt the RIA model.

But on the other hand, they may be happy where they are.

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