# What is a wirehouse? The four wirehouses and how big they are in 2026

URL: https://www.financialadvsr.com/guides/what-is-a-wirehouse
Updated: 2026-10-21
Publisher: Financial ADVSR (https://www.financialadvsr.com)

A wirehouse is one of the large, national full-service brokerage firms whose financial advisors are employees of the firm, which in turn is part of a big bank or investment bank. In 2026 the term covers four firms: Morgan Stanley, Merrill (Bank of America), Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS. Morgan Stanley reported $8.43 trillion in Wealth Management client assets and Merrill Wealth Management $4.24 trillion in client balances at Sept. 30, 2026, according to their third-quarter filings. Fidelity is not a wirehouse: it is a privately held asset manager and brokerage that also holds assets for independent advisers as a custodian.

Key points:
- The four wirehouses are Morgan Stanley, Merrill (Bank of America), Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS. Each is the wealth arm of a large bank or investment bank.
- Wirehouse advisors are employees paid a share of the revenue they produce on a grid: 28% to 55.5% at Morgan Stanley and 34% to 51% on Merrill's standard grid, as reported in 2026.
- Latest reported size: Morgan Stanley $8.43 trillion in Wealth Management client assets and Merrill Wealth Management $4.24 trillion in client balances (Sept. 30, 2026); Wells Fargo's Wealth and Investment Management segment $2.45 trillion in client assets (Sept. 30, 2026); UBS $2.42 trillion of invested assets in the Americas with 5,644 advisors (full-time equivalents) at June 30, 2026.
- Fidelity and Charles Schwab are not wirehouses. In Form ADV filings from Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026, 5,774 wealth management RIAs named Schwab as a custodian and 1,999 named Fidelity.
- The name comes from the era when the big brokerages linked their branch offices to headquarters by private telegraph and telephone wires.

## What is a wirehouse?

"Wirehouse" is industry shorthand for the biggest national full-service brokerages: firms with thousands of financial advisors on staff, branch offices across the country, and a parent that is a bank or investment bank. The advisors are employees. The firm owns the branch, pays for staff and technology, supervises the advisors and holds the client accounts in its own name.

The model is one of several channels advisors work in. Regional firms and banks run smaller employee models; independent broker-dealers such as LPL Financial affiliate advisors who run their own businesses as contractors; and registered investment advisers (RIAs) are fee-based firms that hold client assets at an outside custodian such as Schwab or Fidelity.

## Which firms are wirehouses?

Four firms are counted as wirehouses today, each the wealth arm of a larger financial group. Their most recent reported figures, from filings with the SEC:

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management: $8.43 trillion in total client assets, $3.16 trillion of it in fee-based accounts, and $232.4 billion of net new assets in the third quarter of 2026. Morgan Stanley no longer reports its advisor headcount.

Merrill (Bank of America): Merrill Wealth Management client balances of $4.24 trillion at Sept. 30, 2026. Bank of America reports Merrill together with its Private Bank as Global Wealth & Investment Management, which had $7.12 billion of revenue in the third quarter.

Wells Fargo Advisors: Wells Fargo's Wealth and Investment Management segment reported $2.45 trillion in client assets and $4.10 billion of revenue in the third quarter of 2026.

UBS: the Swiss bank's Global Wealth Management business reported $2.42 trillion of invested assets in the Americas and 5,644 advisors there (full-time equivalents) at June 30, 2026, out of $4.94 trillion and 9,173 advisors worldwide.

## Is Fidelity a wirehouse?

No. Fidelity Investments is a privately held asset manager and brokerage. Its advisors serve Fidelity's own retail clients, and through Fidelity Institutional it holds assets for independent advisers as a custodian. That custody business is large: in Form ADV filings from Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026, 1,999 wealth management RIAs named Fidelity as a custodian, holding $3.26 trillion there, second to Schwab.

On Oct. 1, 2026 Fidelity told RIAs they must hold at least $100 million at Fidelity by June 30, 2027 or move custody elsewhere.

## Is Charles Schwab a wirehouse?

No. Schwab is a brokerage and bank whose largest advisor business is custody for independent RIAs. In the same Form ADV filings, 5,774 wealth management RIAs named Schwab as a custodian, more than any other firm, with $4.37 trillion held.

## Why is it called a wirehouse?

Before electronic trading, the national brokerages connected their branch offices to headquarters and the exchange floor by private telegraph and, later, telephone wires, which let branches get quotes and send orders faster than smaller firms. The firms became known as wire houses. The wires are long gone and most of the original names have merged away, but the label stuck to the four largest survivors.

## How are wirehouse advisors paid?

Wirehouse advisors are paid a percentage of the revenue they generate, set by a tiered grid: the more they produce, the higher the rate. Morgan Stanley's grid runs from 28% to 55.5% and Merrill's standard grid from 34% to 51%, as reported in 2026. Firms pay recruiting deals, often structured as forgivable loans, to bring experienced advisors over.

## Advisors leaving and joining wirehouses

Financial ADVSR's Moves tracker records every reported advisor and team move, including teams that leave a wirehouse for an RIA or independent broker-dealer and those recruited between wirehouses. The weekly Recruiting Scoreboard and the quarterly State of Advisor Recruiting add the moves up by firm and channel.

## Questions

**What is a wirehouse?** A wirehouse is a large, national full-service brokerage whose financial advisors are employees, owned by a bank or investment bank. The four wirehouses are Morgan Stanley, Merrill (Bank of America), Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS.

**What are the four wirehouses?** Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Merrill (part of Bank of America), Wells Fargo Advisors and UBS. Morgan Stanley reported $8.43 trillion in Wealth Management client assets and Merrill Wealth Management $4.24 trillion in client balances at Sept. 30, 2026.

**Is Fidelity a wirehouse?** No. Fidelity is a privately held asset manager and brokerage that also acts as a custodian for independent RIAs: 1,999 wealth management RIAs named Fidelity as a custodian in Form ADV filings from Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026.

**Is Charles Schwab a wirehouse?** No. Schwab is a brokerage and bank and the largest custodian for independent RIAs: 5,774 wealth management RIAs named Schwab as a custodian in Form ADV filings from Oct. 1, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026.

**Is Raymond James a wirehouse?** Raymond James is not usually counted among the four wirehouses. It runs both an employee channel and an independent channel: 3,878 employee advisors and 5,065 independent advisors at Sept. 30, 2025, according to its annual report.

**Why are they called wirehouses?** The big national brokerages once linked their branches to headquarters with private telegraph and telephone wires, which gave them faster quotes and order routing than smaller firms. The name outlived the wires.

**Are wirehouse advisors employees?** Yes. Wirehouse advisors are employees paid a share of the revenue they produce on a grid, unlike independent broker-dealer advisors, who are generally independent contractors running their own businesses.

Sources:
- SEC (Morgan Stanley): Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 earnings release (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.1) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/895421/000089542126000288/a3q26msearningsrelease.htm)
- SEC (Morgan Stanley): Morgan Stanley third quarter 2026 financial supplement (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/895421/000089542126000288/a3q26msfinancialsupplement.htm)
- SEC (Bank of America): Bank of America Q3 2026 Supplemental Information (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.3) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/70858/000007085826000481/bac-09302026ex993.htm)
- SEC (Wells Fargo): Wells Fargo 3Q26 Quarterly Supplement (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/72971/000007297126000318/wfc3qer10-13x26ex992xsuppl.htm)
- SEC (UBS): UBS Group second quarter 2026 report (Form 6-K) (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1610520/000161052026000082/ubs-20260630.htm)
- Financial ADVSR: RIA custodians: Form ADV custody data, Oct. 1, 2026 (https://www.financialadvsr.com/data/custodians)
- Financial ADVSR: Wirehouse or independent: pay, ownership and supervision side by side (https://www.financialadvsr.com/guides/wirehouse-vs-independent)