The Thundering Herd is on a roll. Bank of America Merrill Lynch financial advisers came out on top again in a high-profile ranking of industry professionals.
For the second year in a row, the firm had the most financial advisers ranked in Barron's "Top 1,000 Advisers" list, an annual state-by-state roundup.
The magazine ranked financial advisers who were leaders in assets under advisement and looked at revenue generated, practice quality and regulatory records. It didn't take into consideration performance, although these advisers generally do well by their clients.
Here's how the big-name competition stacked up:
Merrill: 317
Morgan Stanley: 231
UBS: 141
Wells Fargo: 100
LPL: 30
Credit Suisse: 22
Deutsche Bank: 22
Raymond James: 20
Ameriprise: 16
J.P. Morgan: 9
The Thundering Heard also placed more advisers as No. 1 in their states than any other firm. Here's the gold-medal count among larger competitors:
Merrill: 20
Morgan Stanley: 7
Wells Fargo: 6
UBS: 6
LPL: 4
Write to Laura Lorber