Frances McMorris

Wire houses have lost head count and asset share even as average assets under management per advisor in the channel have risen, according to a report released Friday by the Boston research firm Cerulli Associates.

Morgan Stanley has announced that John J. Mack will step down as chairman of the firm and leave the board of directors at the end of this year, and James Gorman will take over that position.

Opportunities are certain to be abundant for Sallie Krawcheck, the former president of global wealth and investment management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who was shown the door in a management shake-up last week.

Paul Reilly, who recently took over as the chief executive of Raymond James Financial, wants to take the company to a new level.

After less than a year, Denise Wypiszenski has stepped down from her job as chief operating officer at Robert W. Baird's private wealth management group.

As the recovery takes hold, the nonprofit world may be seeing glimmers of hope in the contributions into the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, says Sarah C. Libbey, its president.

It's been a tough few weeks for Morgan Keegan. The Memphis brokerage unit of Regions Financial recently lost big in two arbitration cases and failed to get a court order blocking discovery in a state court case brought by the retirement system for Louisiana's firefighters, which allegedly lost nearly $50 million by investing in Morgan Keegan bond funds.

Baird Private Wealth Management's recruiting spree might be nearing an end despite the firm's best intentions.

With the wire houses buckling in the heat of the economic meltdown and ownership of what were once the mightiest brokerages changing hands, more and more wire house advisers are giving independent firms a careful look.