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The already crowded field of wealth management firms who want to go national is getting more crowded, still....More

Morgan Stanley said today in its earnings report that it is making “continued progress” on its integration with Smith Barney, but declines in assets and headcount suggest it may be feeling the pain of client and advisor departures. Total retail net new assets in the Global Wealth Management Group were down $5.5 billion in the second quarter, with an inflow of $2.4 billion in international assets offset by sharply higher domestic outflows of $7.9 billion. The global rep census was 18,087, down just under 2 percent from the second quarter of 2009; annualized revenue per advisor was $679,000, up 1 percent from a year ago but down 1 percent sequentially....More

Some lawyers and executives anticipate an overhaul to the broker protocol agreement, which has gotten unruly with the growing number of signatory firms, the rising number of exceptions attached to the agreement and the high rate of advisors switching firms these days....More