Angry Brokers Leave Firms — and Take $59B with Them

http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2012/07/08/Angry-Brokers-Leave-Firms-and-Take-59B-with-Them.aspx#page1

More than $59 billion in assets switched hands within the U.S. brokerage industry this year, as veteran financial advisers managing large pools of client assets left their firms in the wake of growing frustrations about their parent banks.
Bank of America's Merrill Lynch <BAC.N> and Morgan Stanley Smith Barney <MS.N> saw some of the biggest defections, with more than half of those total assets managed by advisers who left those two firms. Wells Fargo and UBS, the other top U.S. brokerages, had more success in retaining top talent, based on moves tracked by Reuters.
"We're seeing bigger teams now making bold moves and moving to another wirehouse or out of the space completely," said Alois Pirker, research director at the Boston Aite Group, which studies wealth management trends.