One day, the financial crisis will end, the economy will recover and life will go on, but the financial services industry will be changed forever by this episode. Firms and advisors cannot afford to be complacent, expecting an easy return to business as usual.

Almost every corner of the financial services industry has been adversely affected by the crisis. But even amid this unprecedented market meltdown, there are winners. Oddly, bank-based financial advisors appear to be in that select group. According to Investment Executive’s latest survey of bank-based advisors, this segment of the industry has made meaningful gains in assets under management and productivity. These advisors have managed to take their books upscale in this decidedly downbeat environment.

Two complementary trends appear to be driving the action. For one, there’s a flight to safety among clients. Although the banks haven’t been completely untouched by the crisis, they have outshone many of their global and domestic rivals. Moreover, they are the logical source for the safe products that clients look for when almost every other asset class is getting thumped.

Second, our survey indicates that bankers are increasingly driven to accumulate assets. Long gone are the days when bankers were salaried drones who couldn’t hope to compete with the aggressive entrepreneurs that populate independent dealers.

In the past, independents could be confident that any sort of major migration of clients to the banks could easily be reversed once market conditions improved. After all, the banks could never match the quality or quantity of service that an independent could provide. Indeed, the independent mutual fund industry grew so quickly in the mid-’90s because the banks had no way to retain their so-called “GIC refugees.” Not so today.

The banks have always had unparalleled financial resources. Now, with their human resources much improved, the investor assets the banks have recently attracted from independents are going to be tougher to lure back.

Independent firms must work harder than ever to earn their keep. Pitching products they don’t understand, such as asset-backed commercial paper or principal-protected notes based on hedge funds of funds, to clients who don’t need them isn’t going to be a winning strategy. Instead, a race to the top — in terms of ethics, proficiency and service — is surely the way to go.