Financial advisor outlook ≠ good; Huge growth at 25 RIAs; LPL grabs $4B in teams from Osaic

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS : Financial advisors cast a wary eye toward the recent global market volatility in the final months of a contentious presidential election season. Their confidence in the global economic system fell to new lows, according to the Financial Advisor Confidence Outlook (FACO), Arizent's study of financial planners.?

Every month, FACO surveys hundreds of advisors and measures their confidence on a scale of minus-100 to 100. This month, that score fell to minus-9, the lowest recorded this year. Similarly, faith in the global economic system dropped precipitously as well , from minus-49 in July to minus-71 in August. Confidence in the overall economy went to minus-1 from 14 in June and 15 in July. On the other hand, the score for government policy increased 12.

Read: Market volatility and a contentious election year caused advisor confidence to plummet

RIA GROWTH : More registered investment advisory firms are popping up every year to meet client demand to the tune of more than $128 trillion in assets managed by companies in the channel. And they roll out announcements of new M&A deals and financial advisor recruiting moves every day.

However, these particular firms stand out from peers with 10-year growth rates registering at percentages in the tens and even hundreds of thousands.

The slideshow linked below displays the top 25 retail investor-focused registered investment advisory firms ranked by their growth (in assets under management/in number of investment advisory representatives) over the past decade, according to figures provided to Financial Planning by ISS Market Intelligence from its MarketPro Powered By Discovery Data solution.?

Read: AUM soared by at least 26,263% over the past decade at these 25 RIAs

ADVISOR MOVES : The exodus of financial advisors? leaving Osaic for LPL Financial accelerated with two more advisory teams managing billions of dollars making the transition.

LPL, the largest? independent broker-dealer, said Wednesday that it had recruited roughly 30 advisors from Lutherville, Maryland-based Academy Financial and Berwyn, Pennsylvania-based PFG Advisors. Together, the two teams had previously managed roughly $4 billion in client assets at Lincoln Financial, whose wealth management arm was bought by Osaic in May.?

At LPL, the firms will operate under the Academy Financial brand. In a statement on the move, Academy Financial partner Brent Kvech sounded a theme common to advisors recently recruited from Osaic to LPL. He and his colleagues, Kvech said, were seeking "stability."

Read: LPL returns to the Osaic well, drawing teams with $4B