Barron’s, the US publication, has released its top 1,000 financial advisors rankings for 2009, which shows that Merrill Lynch had the largest share of advisors making the grade in this list.

Merrill Lynch – now part of Bank of America – had 239 advisors in the top 1,000, perhaps not surprisingly given the sheer size of Merrill. In second place was Wachovia Securities, with 135, followed by Smith Barney, at 122, Morgan Stanley, at 121, and UBS, at 118.

The Barron’s rankings are based on data provided by over 4,000 of the nation’s most productive advisors. Factors included in the rankings: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice, and philanthropic work.