One in four brokers, which amounts to 16,300 advisors at the five largest firm alone, are considering going independent in response to the negative effect the credit crisis is having on their businesses, according to an Oct. 14 report by Aite Group in Boston.

If all those brokers did go independent, their firms would see a combined $2 trillion in assets and $7.5 billion in production walk out the door.

The credit crisis, which is putting tremendous strain on all advisors' client relationships as assets vanish, is a particular problem for the five largest broker-dealers-72% of the advisors thinking about going independent now work at firms with more than 10,000 employees, including Bank of America's new acquisition Merrill Lynch, Citi/Smith Barney, Wachovia Securities, Morgan Stanley or UBS-but the study found similar negative feeling among advisors at all 69 broker-dealers it surveyed.

Of all potential breakaway brokers, two-thirds want more freedom in their business and advisory decisions, 39% want be able to sell their businesses when they retire and 39% say they aren't in the best position now to grow their books—and their compensation—now that broker-dealer brands are no longer the marque of confidence they once were, but rather a stigmatizing symbol of institutional greed. "Unless firms manage to convince brokers that their situation will stabilize very soon, brokers might come to the conclusion that their employer no longer provides the best environment to grow their business," writes Alois Pirker, senior analyst at Aite.