So what happened to the historic December “quiet period” for wirehouse recruiting?

(With FINRA traditionally shutting down the last two weeks of the year, switching firms is made more difficult).

But wait, financial recruiters were surprised at the latest numbers by Discovery Database who reported 425 wirehouse advisors changed firms in December, up from only 177 in November, and actually the largest movement since August.

Another revealing fact is that only 38% who changed firms in December stayed within the wirehouse channel.

So, are these just the middle producers being weeded out and going the independent route?

Could be, and a lot of industry recruiters think the trend will continue, but Willis Consulting’s President and CEO, Bill Willis, believes we’re going to see an increase in movement among the bigger producers early this year. Partly because the MSSB and Merrill deals encourage firm switching, and also because advisors wait for year-end statements to be finalized.

So watch with interest as we approach the next three day weekend in January…