Why are so many people leaving Merrill Lynch?

The exodus is mostly financial advisors, not clients, and it’s part of a broader “wirehouse breakaway” trend across Merrill, Morgan Stanley, UBS and Wells Fargo.

Top reasons include compensation structure changes that cut into payouts, a push toward more corporate/bank-driven direction that advisors feel limits their autonomy, and better technology and flexibility offered by independent RIA firms and aggregators like Dynasty Financial Partners.

Big-name team departures (like the OpenArc exit managing $129 billion in assets) also trigger copycat resignations, since advisors follow leaders they trust and clients often follow their advisor. Regulatory pressure and heavy workloads add further strain, though strong markets tend to slow the pace somewhat.