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It’s not too often that an off-Broadway play manages to upstage a big-money production on Broadway, New York’s famed theatre row, much less win the top awards.

But the equivalent has been taking place in the financial advisor market in the United States, where independent brokerages are increasingly winning the respect and interest of wealthy investors at the expense of the largest firms known as the “wirehouses.” And this pattern invites the question of whether smaller players could begin outdrawing the industry giants in terms of new clients, assets, and market share.

The wirehouses are large brokerages that are part of even larger financial organisations such as global banks or investment houses, and all are household names – Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch, Wachovia, UBS and Morgan Stanley. In the world of fee-based, separately managed accounts, they control three-quarters of the market.

But in a survey about investor satisfaction conducted this spring by JD Power & Associates of 4,528 respondents – including 400 with more than $1m in investable assets and 2000 with $100,000 to $1m – three of the top four best-rated firms were independents. And of the 12 firms that made the final ranking – based on those that had more than 100 investor reviews each – the wirehouses ended up with the third, fifth, seventh, eighth, and tenth spots on the list, including two that fell below the industry average.

The ranking is based on investors judging advisers on six factors with different weights, with the highest measuring their portfolio performance in current market conditions, and the next rating the advisers on ease of contact, time spent with clients, knowledge, objectivity and investment strategy. The other four factors focus on commissions and fees; ease of account setup, usefulness of offerings, and product lineup; convenience of accessing account data and customer help; and quality and clarity of account statements. In other words, the rating aims to capture a broad view of the investor-adviser relationship.

So the wirehouses can’t be pleased to see the list dominated by what we call “independent” brokerages – largely to reflect a smaller size or more narrow business focus on the advisory business. In the top spot is Raymond James, a brokerage based in Florida, with a score of 831 on the ranking’s 1000-point scale. In second is Edward Jones, a brokerage based in St Louis, with 806 points and the honour of having topped the list for the prior three years. And in fourth was Boston’s LPL Financial, a fast-growing independent adviser network.

Surprisingly, the highest-ranked wirehouse was UBS, taking third with 798 points during a year when that organisation has been battered by writedowns and daily black eyes in the media over everything from squabbles over sales tactics for auction-rate securities to investigations over whether it helped wealthy clients dodge taxes. Down the list are Merrill at fifth, Wachovia at seventh, Smith Barney at eighth, and Morgan Stanley in the number-10 slot.

Why the tilt toward the independents? Chip Roame, managing principal for Tiburon Strategic Advisors, a California-based consultancy, says investors may simply be voting with their hearts: “Investors like better the service that is more typically provided by independent firms. To me, that means that independent firms often sell no proprietary products, often have no larger firm issues that they have to explain away, are perceived to be more local, often do more fee-based business, often are more financial-planning oriented, etc.”

While not all attributes apply to all independents, not being affiliated with a wirehouse still might be an advantage these days. One four-partner team of Merrill advisers even bolted to join LPL in May, opening their doors as Monument Wealth Advisors in Virginia and stating explicitly that their wealthy clients were skittish about how the market turmoil affecting big firms might impact on their investment portfolios.

All of this doesn’t suggest that wirehouses are on the decline necessarily. But it may signal that they shouldn’t take their dominant position in the advisory world for granted. The independents have built viable product platforms, are attracting talented and experienced advisors, and now appear to enjoy a better reputation in the market. And all that seems to be a winning recipe to become the next hot ticket in town.

Tom Stabile is senior reporter at FundFire