The 2025 Advisor Recruiting Scoreboard Has Two Clear Winners
LPL Financial and Raymond James finished 2025 as two of the clearest winners in advisor recruiting, according to a Wolfe Research report cited by InvestmentNews.
The report showed LPL with the largest net advisor gain, followed by Raymond James. Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley also posted gains. On the other side, Bank of America, Osaic, Fidelity and UBS recorded some of the largest net advisor declines.
The numbers point to a larger shift in wealth management. Advisor movement was not driven by one issue alone. The Commonwealth acquisition, platform consolidation, service expectations and stronger markets all helped push advisors to reconsider where they wanted to build the next stage of their practices.
TL;DR
LPL led gains: Wolfe Research reported LPL added 601 net advisors in 2025.
Raymond James followed: Raymond James posted a net gain of 313 advisors.
Losses were concentrated: Bank of America, Osaic, Fidelity and UBS saw major net declines.
Commonwealth mattered: LPL’s Commonwealth acquisition helped shape advisor movement across the industry.
Counting remains messy: Advisor headcount, assets and production do not always tell the same recruiting story.
The 2025 Scoreboard Favored Scale And Stability
The 2025 advisor recruiting report gave the strongest net-gain numbers to firms with large platforms and clear recruiting messages.
InvestmentNews reported Wolfe Research’s advisor count showing LPL Financial up 601 advisors, Raymond James up 313, Charles Schwab up 117 and Morgan Stanley up 88. Those gains placed LPL and Raymond James well ahead of the rest of the field.
The results make sense in a year shaped by uncertainty. Advisors evaluating a move often want more than a payout. They want confidence that the receiving platform can support clients, staff and long-term growth.
Firms With Reported Net Advisor Gains
LPL Financial: Added 601 net advisors, the largest reported increase.
Raymond James: Added 313 net advisors, placing it second in the report.
Charles Schwab: Added 117 net advisors, showing continued appeal in the advisory market.
Morgan Stanley: Added 88 net advisors, keeping it on the positive side of the ledger.
Recruiting message: The biggest winners benefited from scale, platform resources or stability during a volatile year.
The Loss Column Was Just As Important
The report’s losing side says as much as the winning side.
Bank of America had the largest reported net decline, down 714 advisors. Osaic followed with a drop of 483. Fidelity was down 444 and UBS declined by 328, according to the same InvestmentNews report.
Those numbers do not automatically mean each firm is weak. Large institutions can lose advisors for different reasons, including consolidation, integration, channel changes, retirements, role classifications or strategic pruning. But the size of the declines shows how competitive the advisor market became in 2025.
A firm can have strong brand recognition and still lose advisors if another platform offers a better fit for a team’s current needs.
Pressure Points Behind The Declines
Integration fatigue: Advisors may leave after mergers, platform changes or internal restructuring.
Service concerns: Teams may move if they believe another platform can provide better support.
Business-model shifts: Advisors may prefer independent, hybrid or RIA-centered options.
Recruiting offers: Stronger transition packages can make a move harder to ignore.
Client experience: Advisors may leave if they believe clients will be better served elsewhere.
Commonwealth Turned One Deal Into An Industry Test
LPL’s acquisition of Commonwealth Financial Network was one of the biggest reasons advisor recruiting became such a watched issue.
LPL said it closed the Commonwealth acquisition in August 2025. The company said Commonwealth supported approximately 3,000 advisors managing about $305 billion in assets. LPL also said it remained on track to achieve its 90% retention target and expected Commonwealth to operate as a wholly owned portfolio company through advisor onboarding, which was expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2026.
That gave LPL a major growth opportunity. It also gave rivals a major recruiting opening.
Commonwealth advisors had built practices inside a firm known for service, culture and advisor satisfaction. Once the sale was announced, competitors had a clear message: advisors could stay and see how the integration developed, or they could consider another platform before the transition went deeper.
Why The Deal Reshaped Recruiting
Advisor scale: Thousands of advisors were suddenly part of one acquisition story.
Asset impact: Hundreds of billions in assets made retention critical for LPL.
Cultural sensitivity: Commonwealth’s boutique identity made the integration harder to frame.
Rival timing: Competing firms had an opening before advisors fully settled into LPL.
Retention risk: Even modest attrition could represent a large number of advisors and assets.
Departure Counts Created A Second Scoreboard
The Wolfe Research numbers were not the only data point shaping the market discussion.
AdvizorPro reported that 654 advisors departed Commonwealth between April and December 2025, representing about 22.5% headcount attrition. The report also said 64% of departing advisors moved to broker-dealers, while 36% transitioned to RIAs.
That matters because it shows why advisor-count data can get complicated. One report may focus on net advisor changes across large platforms. Another may isolate departures from one acquired firm. A company may discuss retention based on assets, while outside observers may focus on headcount.
All of those measures can be useful, but they do not always point to the same conclusion.
Measures That Can Tell Different Stories
Advisor headcount: Shows how many people moved, but not how much business moved.
Client assets: Shows financial weight, but may hide smaller advisor departures.
Production: Shows revenue potential, but may not capture long-term fit.
Channel movement: Shows whether advisors chose IBD, RIA, wirehouse or hybrid models.
Retention target: Can sound stronger or weaker depending on whether it refers to advisors, assets or both.
Raymond James Used Stability As A Recruiting Message
Raymond James’ reported gain of 313 net advisors shows how powerful a stability message can be during consolidation.
The firm did not need to own the Commonwealth deal to benefit from it. When advisors see industry disruption, a competing platform can position itself as a steadier home. That can be especially effective for advisors who want scale but do not want to feel absorbed into a much larger integration project.
This is where recruiting becomes more than numbers. Raymond James can sell continuity, brand recognition, advisor choice and long-term platform consistency. Those themes can resonate when advisors are watching other firms work through acquisitions or restructuring.
Why Stability Can Win Advisors
Lower disruption: Advisors may prefer a platform that feels settled.
Client confidence: A stable firm can be easier to explain during client conversations.
Practice continuity: Teams want tools and service that support their current workflow.
Cultural fit: Advisors may choose a firm that feels closer to their business style.
Longer runway: A steady platform can make succession, hiring and growth planning easier.
Osaic’s Decline Shows The Cost Of Integration
Osaic’s reported net decline of 483 advisors stands out because the firm has spent years working through a large consolidation story.
The company has brought several broker-dealer brands under the Osaic name, creating a larger platform with more scale. That strategy may support long-term efficiency, but integration periods can also create advisor anxiety.
Advisors often judge consolidation by daily experience. They want to know whether service gets faster, whether technology improves, whether support teams remain accessible and whether the firm’s culture still feels familiar.
This is also why NJ Financial News has continued tracking theadvisor recruiting market as firms compete for teams affected by platform changes. A firm’s long-term strategy may be sound, but advisors still react to what they feel in the transition period.
Integration Issues Advisors Watch
Service quality: Advisors notice if support slows during consolidation.
Technology changes: New systems can help, but transition periods can create friction.
Brand clarity: Advisors want a simple story to tell clients and staff.
Leadership direction: Clear communication can reduce uncertainty.
Practice control: Advisors may leave if they feel the platform no longer fits their business.
Bank Of America And UBS Face A Different Kind Of Pressure
Bank of America and UBS sit in a different part of the industry than independent broker-dealer platforms, but their advisor losses still matter.
Wirehouse advisors may leave for several reasons. Some want more independence. Some want higher payouts. Others want to own more of the client relationship or build a practice outside a bank-owned structure.
The report’s net losses suggest that advisor movement away from large traditional institutions remains active. Even well-known brands can lose ground when advisors believe another model gives them more control or a stronger value proposition.
That does not mean wirehouses are going away. They still have major resources, strong brands and deep client bases. But the recruiting data shows the independent and hybrid channels remain difficult competitors.
The Recruiting Numbers Now Need A 2026 Follow-Up
The 2025 report creates a useful scoreboard, but the next question is durability.
LPL’s net gain is impressive, but the Commonwealth integration still has to move through its next stages. Raymond James’ gains look strong, but the firm has to keep converting stability into actual advisor growth. Osaic needs to show whether attrition stabilizes after integration. Bank of America, Fidelity and UBS will need to prove whether their reported declines were temporary or part of a deeper advisor-channel shift.
The industry will be watching more than who adds the most advisors. It will be watching where assets move, where production lands and which platforms deliver on the promises they made during recruiting conversations.
Signals To Watch In The Next Report
Commonwealth retention: LPL’s retention progress will remain a major industry focus.
Raymond James momentum: Continued gains would support its stability-based recruiting pitch.
Osaic stabilization: Lower attrition would help support its post-consolidation story.
Wirehouse exits: Continued losses could strengthen the independent-channel narrative.
RIA movement: More RIA transitions would show advisors are still seeking control.
Frequently Asked Questions About 2025 Advisor Recruiting
Which Firms Were The Biggest Recruiting Winners In 2025?
According to the Wolfe Research report cited by InvestmentNews, LPL Financial and Raymond James were the biggest net advisor gainers in 2025. LPL added 601 net advisors, while Raymond James added 313.
Which Firms Had The Largest Advisor Declines?
Bank of America, Osaic, Fidelity and UBS had some of the largest reported net advisor declines. Bank of America was down 714 advisors, Osaic was down 483, Fidelity was down 444 and UBS was down 328.
Why Did The Commonwealth Deal Matter So Much?
The Commonwealth deal mattered because LPL acquired a firm with roughly 3,000 advisors and about $305 billion in assets. That created a major retention challenge for LPL and a major recruiting opportunity for rival firms.
Why Can Advisor Recruiting Data Be Hard To Compare?
Advisor recruiting data can be hard to compare because firms and analysts may count different things. Some measure advisor headcount. Others focus on assets, production, channel movement or retention percentages. Those measures can produce different interpretations of the same market.
What Should Advisors Watch In 2026?
Advisors should watch whether LPL retains Commonwealth teams, whether Raymond James keeps recruiting successfully, whether Osaic stabilizes after consolidation and whether more advisors continue moving toward independent or RIA-centered models.
The 2026 Recruiting Story Starts With Retention
The 2025 numbers gave LPL and Raymond James strong positions on the recruiting scoreboard. The next phase will show whether those gains translate into lasting platform strength.
For LPL, the Commonwealth integration remains the biggest test. For Raymond James, the question is whether its stability message keeps attracting advisors from disrupted platforms. For firms with net declines, the challenge is proving that attrition can slow and that their platforms still offer a compelling future.
Advisor recruiting may look like a contest over headcount, but the deeper fight is over trust. Advisors are choosing where they believe clients, staff and long-term practice value will be best supported.
Further Reading
LPL, Raymond James, Big Winners In Advisor Recruiting In 2025: Report: InvestmentNews’ report on Wolfe Research’s 2025 advisor recruiting numbers.
LPL Financial Closes Its Acquisition Of Commonwealth Financial Network: LPL’s announcement on the Commonwealth acquisition, advisor base and retention target.
The LPL-Commonwealth Deal, One Year Later: AdvizorPro’s recap of Commonwealth advisor departures and where advisors moved.
Wells Fargo, LPL And Cetera Add Advisor Teams In New Recruiting Moves: Related NJ Financial News coverage on advisor recruiting activity.
