October 05, 2026

September 2026 Financial Advisor Moves: Who Changed Firms This Month?

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Data sourced from Dakota Marketplace, the global LP and GP intelligence platform trusted by thousands of investment professionals. Learn More | Book a Demo

The Midwest led September advisor transition activity, recording 31 moves totaling approximately $9.26B in disclosed client assets. The Southeast recorded the second most moves at 29 ($7.72B), followed by the Northeast with 26 ($4.04B), the West with 20 ($9.09B), and the Southwest with 14 ($4.09B). In total, Dakota tracked about 120 moves during the month representing approximately $34.2B in client assets.

The month's headline move came from the Southeast, where NewEdge Wealth added a four-advisor team from Bank of America Private Bank, bringing $3.1B in client assets. The second-largest transition also came out of Bank of America Private Bank, as RBC Wealth Management added the $2B duo of Lisa Behun and Dirk Harris.

Raymond James was September's most active recruiter by volume and led all firms by assets, adding nine teams across its employee, independent, and bank channels totaling approximately $4.70B. The firm's largest addition was $1.25B Greenwood Wealth Partners. Other notable additions included the $645M wealth management program of Independent Bank from Cetera, and two $550M practices in Texas: Le Sage Mattiza Maggard Wealth Management and Michael Rogala.

NewEdge Wealth ranked second by assets with roughly $4.35B across two teams. Beyond its headline hire, the firm picked up $1.25B Shafer Block Wealth Management from UBS. UBS added approximately $3.85B across five moves, headlined by a $1.4B group from Morgan Stanley and a $1.2B team from Merrill.

LPL Financial ranked second by volume with eight teams totaling approximately $2.65B. Its largest additions were two Northwestern Mutual teams in Salt Lake City, UT, which together brought roughly $1B. LPL also added 3 advisors bringing in $430M from Raymond James.

Elsewhere, Merrill added roughly $2.99B across four moves. These were led by the $1.2B Vazquez-Monasterio Team and the $1.2B Aliaskari Group. &Partners added $2.27B across three teams, and Rockefeller Global Family Office added $1.95B across three teams, headlined by $1B Piedmont Wealth Partners from Truist.

Outside of advisor moves, September's notable people news centered on CEO succession. AllianceBernstein named president Onur Erzan its next CEO as Seth Bernstein retires, and Brown Brothers Harriman named CFO Kevin Stone managing partner and CEO. J.P. Morgan Private Bank elevated Nelle Miller and William Sinclair to co-CEOs of its US private bank, and Merit Financial Advisors named Kay Lynn Mayhue CEO. Internationally, HSBC hired Citi's Hannes Hofmann as global head of family offices and Cayman Wills as head of its US private bank.

On the investment leadership front, Janney Montgomery Scott named Michael Crook CIO, and Nomura International Wealth Management named Ray Sharma-Ong CIO. Other CIO appointments came at Crescent Grove Advisors, 1834, and Stonegate Capital. The month also saw Warburg Pincus hire Neuberger Berman's Philip Nolan as head of US wealth, and Beacon Pointe hire BlackRock's Katie Cullen as chief growth and integration officer.