Wirehouse Assets: Still Leading, but Losing Market Share

Non-wirehouse firms have grown their MS assets to $711 billion in the second quarter from about $500 billion a year ago, giving them a 40% market share vs. last year's 36%.

"Over time, you will see the [wirehouse] numbers shift and decline," said Gib Watson, president and CEO of Prima Capital, an independent source for managed-account research and solutions, in a phone interview.

"The SMA assets will morph into unified managed accounts and leak out of the wirehouse channel," Watson explained. "This is especially true because the breakaway broker phenomenon is becoming a reality."

The predominance of wirehouse firms in SMA charts, he adds, "is a vestige of days gone by in the wrap business."

In terms of specific firms and their managed assets (vs. the first quarter), the report shares the following:

• – Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, $386 billion, down 4%;
• – BofA-Merrill Lynch, $312 billion, down 5%;
• – Wells Fargo, $197 billion, down 5%;
• – UBS, $162 billion, down 5%;
• – Schwab, $95 billion, down 4%;
• – Fidelity, $90 billion, down 2%;
• – Ameriprise, $83 billion, down 3%;
• – LPL Financial, $79 billion, down 3%;
• – Raymond James, $45 billion, down 8%; and
• – Edward Jones, $39 billion, up 9%.