RJ and Makay

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.