A study of hundreds of US advisors finds that among those who have changed firms, the vast majority are pleased they made the switch.

It appears that financial advisors who change firms really do think that the “grass is greener on the other side.” Some 83 per cent of advisors moving firms in the past three years are pleased they did so, a new survey from Advisor360° finds.

Furthermore, 35 per cent of those surveyed wish they had moved sooner, the organization said. 

Advisor360° surveyed 155 advisors who recently switched firms as part of the 2025 edition of its Connected Wealth Report research series. These responses were collected as part of a survey of 300 US financial advisors focused on the impact of technology on the business of wealth management.

Technology is an important reason for choosing where they want to work. Some 79 per cent of advisors said technology was a key factor in their decision to switch firms. 

Other factors, including career growth and improved work-life balance, reflect a broader trend of advisors seeking workplaces that support personal and professional fulfilment.

“Advisors aren’t only looking for more income personally – they want better tech for themselves and their clients. They want tools that serve clients effectively, bring on new clients more efficiently and streamline their operations,” Darren Tedesco, president at Advisor360°, said.  

Nearly all advisors (98 per cent) who have moved faced technology challenges at their previous employers. Lack of end-client capabilities was their top technology complaint, followed by bad data and a lack of access to preferred tools or systems.

Once settled at their new firms, advisors experienced productivity gains compared with their former workplaces.

There is still room for improvement. Forty-two per cent of advisors gave system integration and data accuracy concerns among the main challenges of transitioning.

Survey participants self-identified as being responsible for managing, on average, $2 billion in assets – individually or as part of a team – and hailed from firms with an average AuM of $97 billion. The survey was fielded between September and October 2024 by Coleman Parkes Research on behalf of Advisor360°.