This does not surprise me given the current state of the equity markets.
I would bet that much is driven by two trends that have been occurring in the investment space: wrap accounts and peak market investment banking activity.
Wrap accounts get their percentage of AUM whether the market is up or down. With the current height of the market, the flow from wrap accounts has got to move the revenues up significantly. I myself am not a fan of wrap accounts since the higher management fee diminishes the compounding effect and the impinges upon portfolio growth.
I wrote a linked-in article on the effect of fees on investor's rate of return on their portfolio return. While there must be fees to incentivize brokers/wealth managers to run money, I believe rates are excessive. Many investors don't understand the huge effect it has upon their returns.
The second item is investment banking fees. Banks do a lot of deals when everyone is frothing at the mouth in a bull market. "Get'um while it is hot!"
