Independent US stockbrokers are gaining a bigger percentage of the high net worth market, as the big stockbrokers lose out, according to a r...

Independent US stockbrokers are gaining a bigger percentage of the high net worth market, as the big stockbrokers lose out, according to a report commissioned by Charles Schwab.

The research found that by 2004, independent brokers had 47.5 per cent market share of HNW households, up from 30 per cent in 2001. At the same time, traditional stockbrokers lost market share, claiming 30 per cent of high-net-worth customers in 2004, compared with 40 per cent in 2001.

The report found that not only do brokers want to run their own business and keep more of the income they generate (rather than having the brokerage firm they work for get a big slice), but they also see a strategic advantage to not being associated with a big brokerage house.

Many of the HNW customers these brokers hope to serve like the idea of having an independent advisor. They believe them to be more objective and face fewer conflicts of interest than a traditional broker, according to the Schwab report.