RJ and Makay

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Large banks have captured more of the investments of young bank clients as compared to their older and wealthier baby boomer customers, according to a new Aite Group report.  The study found that 50% of Generation Y customers at large banks consider their bank to be their primary investment provider.  Less than 25% of baby boomers felt the same.

The four largest custodians — Fidelity, Pershing, Schwab, and TD Ameritrade — lured more than 400 advisors or advisor teams with about $27 billion in assets from wirehouses in 2010. These advisors, known as "breakaway brokers" left their firms to establish independent practices with Fidelity, Pershing, Schwab, or TD.

As respectable as 2010's breakaway results were, however, they're actually slightly lower than the record numbers of 2009 and may indicate a gradual return to pre-crisis levels. Large independent firms like United Capital Financial Partners, HighTower Advisors, and Focus Financial Partners are the main facilitators of advisor breakaways to the independent space.

Advisor confidence in the economy and stock market in August sunk to its lowest level in 18 months, according to The Advisor Confidence Index from Rydex/SGI.  The ACI results share the same pessimistic outlook as Schwab’s recent semiannual survey, which found half of advisors saying their clients are less optimistic about the market and the economy than they were a year ago. The index declined roughly 9% to 93.80 from a month earlier. The lowest point for the ACI was October 2008 when it dropped to 79.07.

Advisors surveyed by Rydex/SGI appear to be most concerned about the lack of meaningful job growth in the country. Among the advisors Rydex/SGI surveyed they also asked about the changes they made to their asset allocations in August, the results were: