Raging bulls, skyrocketing energy production, baby boomer retirement—for such a seemingly volatile industry, in the past year, surprisingly little has changed. The same regulations—and specter of future regulations—continue to excite, fee compression pressure builds and grandiose predictions of boom and bust clog conventional wisdom. Through it all, independent broker-dealers continue to execute, mindful of the needs of the advisors and the clients they serve. So the "positions have changed, the names remain," may be perhaps the most succinct way to describe this year's guide, our annual temperature-taking of the independent broker-dealer industry.
Click through the following pages to see the top independent broker-dealers by annual revenue, number of reps and more. You can also download a PDF of the guide here.
By Annual Revenue
LPL Financial, Raymond James Financial Services and Commonwealth Financial Network—the perennial "Big Three." Who will come along to shake things up? Are there contenders on the horizon? One obvious point is how Cetera listed themselves. Combine the BD group's three entries and they make a run. Interesting to see Royal Alliance land in the top 10 after everything parent company AIG Advisor Group has endured (For more on that, see Larry Roth's extended profile from the 2013 IA 25 on AdvisorOne.com).
| Rank | Company | 2012 Gross Revenue ($ Mil.) | 2012 BD Total Expenses ($ Mil.) | 2012 Fee-Based Revenue ($ Mil.) | 2012 Avg. BD Concession per Rep ($ Thous.) |
| 1 | LPL Financial LLC | $3,580.0 | $3,200.0 | $1,050.0 | $211.6 |
| 2 | Raymond James Financial Services | $1,180.0 | $1,060.0 | $411.6 | $356.5 |
| 3 | Commonwealth Financial Network | $712.1 | NA | $374.2 | $400.6 |
| 4 | AXA Advisors, LLC | $625.0 | NA | NA | NA |
| 5 | Northwestern Mutual | $553.6 | NA | $236.9 | $70.3 |
| 6 | Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. | $461.4 | $436.4 | $230.7 | $191.5 |
| 7 | Securities America, Inc. | $444.3 | NA | $158.5 | $253.5 |
| 8 | Royal Alliance Associates | $388.4 | NA | $160.8 | $208.0 |
| 9 | NFP Advisor Service Group (& Affiliates) | $364.8 | NA | $104.0 | $282.5 |
| 10 | Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. | $361.6 | $371.1 | $115.8 | $168.2 |
| 11 | Cetera Advisor Networks | $360.5 | $358.5 | $137.9 | $176.6 |
| 12 | National Planning Corporation | $346.8 | NA | $87.8 | $210.0 |
| 13 | Securian Financial Services | $291.2 | NA | $55.2 | $99.5 |
| 14 | Signator Investors, Inc. | $263.0 | $282.8 | $31.6 | $76.5 |
| 15 | FSC Securities Corp. | $263.0 | NA | $87.7 | $219.0 |
| 16 | H.D. Vest Financial Services | $248.3 | NA | $87.0 | NA |
| 17 | Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. | $243.3 | $243.3 | $29.8 | $155.0 |
| 18 | Princor Financial Services Corporation | $242.0 | $235.6 | $30.9 | $98.4 |
| 19 | INVEST Financial Corporation | $236.8 | NA | $43.7 | $181.8 |
| 20 | SagePoint Financial, Inc. | $236.0 | NA | $64.0 | $147.0 |
| 21 | First Allied Securities, Inc. | $233.0 | $230.3 | $68.7 | $292.5 |
| 22 | Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. | $232.6 | NA | $52.5 | NA |
| 23 | Cetera Advisors | $210.0 | $206.0 | $72.4 | $194.6 |
| 24 | Cetera Financial Institutions LLC | $192.2 | $183.6 | $10.6 | $113.3 |
| 25 | SII Investments, Inc. | $166.3 | NA | $40.8 | $242.4 |
All data is as of December 31, 2012, and was supplied by the broker-dealers themselves. Investment Advisor has not independently confirmed the data.
By Number of Reps
As any M&A advisor will surely say, the value of a business is only the sum of its people. It's one reason rep retention is always a focus with our Broker-Dealer of the Year award winners each September. Cost aside (we all know the difference in expense between recruiting and retaining), but a happy rep force makes it pleasant to come to work every day, and ensures they truly are doing what's best for the client.
| Rank | Company | Producing Reps | Reps Added in 2012 | Reps Dropped in 2012 | Firm's Years in Business |
| 1 | LPL Financial LLC | 13,336 | NA | NA | 45 |
| 2 | Northwestern Mutual | 5,667 | NA | NA | 45 |
| 3 | AXA Advisors, LLC | 4,673 | 990 | 1,055 | 13 |
| 4 | H.D. Vest Financial Services | 4,581 | 433 | 553 | 30 |
| 5 | Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. | 4,565 | 668 | NA | 29 |
| 6 | Raymond James Financial Services | 3,205 | 508 | 508 | 37 |
| 7 | Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. | 2,241 | 514 | 331 | 32 |
| 8 | Princor Financial Services Corporation | 2,049 | 384 | 340 | 45 |
| 9 | Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. | 1,763 | 331 | 384 | 76 |
| 10 | Securities America, Inc. | 1,724 | NA | NA | 29 |
| 11 | Cetera Advisor Networks | 1,710 | 133 | 265 | 30 |
| 12 | Royal Alliance Associates | 1,702 | 124 | 142 | 24 |
| 13 | SagePoint Financial, Inc. | 1,650 | 168 | 194 | 43 |
| 14 | Signator Investors, Inc. | 1,602 | 338 | 411 | 45 |
| 15 | Cetera Financial Specialists | 1,470 | 1,627 | 157 | 32 |
| 16 | Commonwealth Financial Network | 1,445 | 126 | 95 | 37 |
| 17 | National Planning Corporation | 1,388 | 180 | 202 | 15 |
| 18 | Cetera Financial Institutions LLC | 1,343 | 272 | 342 | 29 |
| 19 | NFP Advisor Service Group (& Affiliates) | 1,291 | 70 | 127 | 16 |
| 20 | Ameritas Investment Corp. | 1,276 | 107 | 158 | 28 |
| 21 | INVEST Financial Corporation | 1,188 | 204 | 173 | 30 |
| 22 | Cetera Advisors | 1,076 | 324 | 72 | 32 |
| 23 | FSC Securities Corp. | 1,064 | 74 | 135 | 55 |
| 24 | Securian Financial Services | 1,053 | NA | NA | 29 |
| 25 | Woodbury Financial Services, Inc. | 1,050 | 83 | 371 | 103 |
All data is as of December 31, 2012, and was supplied by the broker-dealers themselves. Investment Advisor has not independently confirmed the data.
By Highest Average Production
