Independent BDs

Anthropic lined up some of the biggest names in the industry for the rollout of Claude for Financial Advisors. But whether the tool is "revolutionary" or "just another integration," the hard work is just beginning for the AI firm and for its sole custody partner, Schwab Advisor Services.

A gathering for LGBTQ advisors and allies the day before LPL's flagship Focus conference drew executives, big-name sponsors and a standing-room crowd. So Marci Bair and other organizers are planning a standalone event next spring.

Some midsize firms joined three giants of the industry in surpassing their peers among independent brokerages, in terms of the percentage increase in their average payouts per financial advisor last year.

The largest firm in the independent brokerage channel is also the fastest growing. But the industry's rapid expansion alongside rising equity values over the past three years may be hiding some firms' vulnerabilities.

View the exclusive research from Financial Planning's latest annual study of brokerages whose financial advisors aren't employees of the firms — and sort and compare data across the past 15 years.

The printable PDF includes rankings based on the firms' 2025 revenue as well as the number of financial advisors, compensation, total client account assets and more.

SEI may not be the first firm that comes to mind when thinking about the industry's custodians, but the firm has built a substantial client base of financial advisors over more than 30 years.

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Management Services faces competitive threats in an era of ETFs and multicustodian advisory practices. But it has big advantages.

Most credit unions don’t offer planning services, and affiliating with the No. 1 IBD could help CUNA Brokerage change that, the firm’s president says.

Envestnet sees asset management as poised for major changes as broker-dealers move to fee-based business.