More retail brokers mull "breaking away": study

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Reuters) - As the economy shows signs of stabilizing, major retail brokers are increasingly comfortable with leaving the largest brokerage houses and setting out on their own, according to a company that provides services to the brokers.

Retail brokers have been leaving the biggest companies all year, but now some of the most successful brokers are jumping ship, said Barnaby Grist, who recruits independent advisers to use Charles Schwab Corp's (SCHW.O) support systems.

"The big difference now is the size of the teams," Grist said. "We're now seeing $200, $300, and $400 million teams leaving the biggest firms to open their own as independents."

Industry insiders term such advisers "breakaway brokers."

Schwab, one of the largest U.S. providers of support for independent investors and advisers, said on Friday that nearly half of its latest survey's respondents were interested in potentially leaving their firms to become independent advisers.

The study concluded that 60 percent of brokers at the major firms find some level of independent advisory work at least "somewhat appealing." Roughly 80 percent of those surveyed said their clients would follow them to a new firm, and more than half, 54 percent, said their current firm's brand does not help retain clients.

The study surveyed 200 financial advisers at 15 firms, and was conducted by Koski Research, a San Francisco-based marketing research firm. The respondents' average assets under management were $84 million.

(Reporting by Joe Rauch; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)