RJ and Makay

Job hopping by financial advisors (FAs) should rebound in 2011 following a slow 2010, says LPL Investment Holdings, a network of independent brokerages. The company, which has more than 12,000 independent FAs, sells clearing and many other support services. It ranks fifth in terms of revenue.

Historically, 12% of brokers have changed jobs each year, points out LPL Chief Executive Mark Casady. "If you average out '09 and what we reported through the third quarter, those two years averaged out to 12%," Casady says. "What you saw was merely an acceleration of the 2010 class into '09. My view is that if it's been 12% a year for a long time, it will continue to be 12% going forward."