Rising interest rates helped finance a price war among U.S. retail brokers in the first quarter (Q1), while also boosting the revenues of industry independents, according to a report released on Wednesday by Moody’s Investors Service.

Higher interest rates in Q1 increased the value of cash balances in client accounts, intensifying industry competition for client assets, the report says.

As a result, big U.S. retail brokers such as Charles Schwab Corp., TD Ameritrade Holding Corp., and E*TRADE Financial Corp., “weighed the benefit of rising interest rates and asset inflows against the erosion of trading revenues.”

Although this led to a price war among brokers, the report says, firms nevertheless still managed to enjoy revenue growth during Q1.

“Schwab’s credit positive quarter was driven by higher interest revenues and higher percentage of client cash held as deposits on-balance-sheet. Similarly, TD Ameritrade net revenues were boosted mainly by higher fees on insured deposit accounts and higher net interest income,” the report says. “E*TRADE’s strong operating leverage was driven by the increase in balance sheet size, higher interest rates and the acquisition of OptionsHouse.”

At the same time, revenues at independent brokers were also supported by an increase in advisory fees and by rising interest rates, Moody’s says, including, Raymond James Financial, Inc.; LPL Holdings, Inc.; Blucora, Inc.; and Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc.

Separately, Moody’s says that the industry’s efforts to comply with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) fiduciary rule increased expenses for advisor training and client communication.

“The DOL fiduciary rule is also resulting in an increase in advisory fees and a decline in commission revenues as more client assets move to fee-based products,” says Fadi Abdel Massih, analyst at Moody’s, in a statement.

“At the same time, the investor shift from captive channels to independents continued to drive strong recruiting of financial advisors.”