Trading a job at a giant corporation for a tiny firm often means a big pay cut. For Leo Arms, it was anything but.

Arms left his brokerage job at Morgan Stanley in November 2011 to start his own firm, Thomas Leo Advisory, in Minneapolis.

“I’m making a little bit more than I was at the wirehouse,” he said. “But my clients are paying significantly less.”

He is also happier. “I run my business in my own way. And I’ve eliminated the conflict of interest that goes with depending on commissions to earn a living,” said Arms, whose income percolates from fees on client assets, not commissions on transactions.

via Independent Advisers Are Giving Wirehouses A Run For The Money – Investors.com.