Despite all the talk of economic recovery, turmoil is still apparent in the financial services sector, including the parent companies of brokerage firms. With many of the biggest changes now past us-complete with merged companies being integrated and new executives taking up their posts-the new landscape is just beginning to emerge. And everyone is still adjusting.

Just take a look at the most recent earnings period that came in as we put the finishing touches on this issue. At Morgan Stanley, the new chief executive, James Gorman, said in a conference call that the industry is "moving to a more rational recruiting model." The Morgan Stanley Global Wealth Management unit, which includes the joint venture of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney as well as Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, reported that advisor turnover among its top two quintiles was under 1%, giving the firm 18,135 advisors at the end of the fourth quarter. There was only a loss of 25 advisors from the previous quarter. Gorman believes that slower rate of advisor loss is due to retention packages at most of the wirehouses.

Despite the not-so-bad-news on advisors, Morgan Stanley's wealth management unit still lost assets to the tune of $4.7 billion over the quarter. That situation was blamed on Smith Barney advisors who departed after the joint venture deal closed. Still, outflows were down 47% from the third quarter. Integrating the joint venture cost $280 million for the full year. And Gorman said that the two firms' compensation plans were being harmonized. Annualized revenue per advisor was up 5% from the third quarter at $692,000.

Over at Bank of America's global wealth and investment management unit, there was reason to cheer, especially in light of the overall company's disappointing fourth quarter results. The unit, which includes Merrill Lynch, U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management and Columbia Management, reported net income of $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion in the previous quarter. The real kudos belong to Merrill Lynch, which saw its net income rise 22% from the previous year to $1.5 billion. And assets under management for the combined unit rose $10 billion from the previous quarter to $750 billion.

Sallie Krawcheck pointed out that her firm retained 94% of its high-producing Merrill advisors and that the total number had stabilized to approximately 15,000. In addition, annualized revenue per Merrill advisor rose slightly to $830,000.

Wells Fargo, which is the subject of our cover story, also reported earnings. It saw its revenue rise 4% from the third quarter to a record $22.7 billion. Its wealth, brokerage and retirement business segment reported net income of $1131 million, down from $244 million in the prior quarter, due to the reserve incurred in connection to its auction rate securities settlement.

But, we took a closer look at the emerging corporate personality built out of the recent acquisitions by Wells Fargo-a company that has undergone massive change but hasn't garnered quite as much media attention as its rivals. Managing Editor Lee Conrad flew to St. Louis to gain insight into the firm. So, go to page 22 and read "Wells Fargo: On The Front Lines of the Culture Wars." Conrad also visited neighboring competitor, Stifel Nicolaus, and upstart Benjamin F. Edwards, to get a greater sense of how the Midwestern edge of the brokerage world is operating.

Conrad discovered that culture means a lot to individual advisors. The question is: How much does it mean to the success of a brokerage firm?

Frances McMorris was named editor-in-chief of ON WALL STREET in February 2008, after serving as executive editor since December 2004. She also created and serves as the host of AdvisorTV, an online video interview show appearing at onwallstreet.com.

From indictments to verdicts and appeals, Ms. McMorris has covered many major, high-profile cases in both federal and state courts as a legal affairs reporter for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, Newsday and The New York Law Journal. The cases that she has covered include: the seditious conspiracy trial of Sheik Oman Abdel Rahman, the blind Egyptian cleric convicted of being the spiritual mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center; the constitutional battle over the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy; the Crown Heights riot murder trial; federal racketeering cases against violent gangs; the Long Island pet cemetery trial and several securities fraud and insider trading cases, among others.

The legal issues she has written about are diverse and numerous, ranging from economic espionage to employment discrimination rulings and the first story to report that there is no expectation of privacy for employee emails written in the workplace.

Ms. McMorris is a 1993 graduate of Fordham University School of Law and admitted to the New York and New Jersey bars. She has appeared on the former CNNfn to give expert commentary on trials.

She also served as president of the Newswomen’s Club of New York for three years while working as an assistant managing editor at The Daily Deal in New York.

ON WALL STREET magazine has a circulation of more than 90,000—reaching financial advisors and brokers at the most prestigious brokerage firms who serve high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth investors.