As if to illustrate the impact of their newfound confidence, the wealthiest small- and midsize-business investors gave their highest votes to financial-services brands focusing on value and cost. The strongest such brands in 2010 were online brokerage giant TD Ameritrade, index-fund specialist Vanguard Group, E*Trade, and discount broker Charles Schwab.

“About three years ago we realized that we needed to offer more to our small-business clients,” says Diane Young, director of retirement and planning at TD Ameritrade. The company added a Small Business tab to the Planning and Retirement section of its website last fall.

Traditional financial-service leaders such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs didn’t lose more spots in the rankings, but they had already been pummeled in the preceding year, and were still not able to rebound from the earlier falls.

“Many of these big brokerages neglected to cultivate personal relationships with their clients,” says Wayne Russo, president of Pittsburgh Financial Consultants. “They viewed the relationship as a simple transaction.”

Russo says small-business owners tend to want more from their adviser. “They want to know how much things will cost. They want us to help them. They want added value.”

“It goes back to the idea of confidence,” says ACBJ's Phillips. “Even those that have financial planners are pretty confident they have a plan in place to retire, and they would rather use cheaper options to achieve those goals.”