Armed with seven professionals from Wells Fargo Advisors, Benjamin F. Edwards & Co. opened its newest office in suburban Chicago.
The new location, which opened Tuesday, is the company’s seventh since opening last year.
Among those making the move from Wells Fargo [WFC] are the Hanson-Fisher Wealth Management Group, composed of David Hanson, David Fisher and Brian VanderLugt; financial consultant Jeff Wynsma and Susan Hedman, Linda Sabo and Amy VanderLugt, who all provide sales support to the Hanson-Fisher group.
“We are interested in building branches in middle market and metro areas around experienced and accomplished financial consultants who are a good fit and share our desire to do what’s right for our clients,” Benjamin “Tad” Edwards, the company's CEO, said in a press release.
The company has been steadily adding branches and advisors since opening, although Edwards said Tuesday that the company’s success will not be defined by “the number of pins on a map or the total number of employees."
In a previous interview with On Wall Street, Edwards said he decided to launch his own brokerage soon after Wachovia bought his long-time family firm A.G. Edwards in 2007. And in 2008, Wachovia was, in turn, acquired by Wells Fargo, giving Wells two new corporate cultures to meld into it own.
But for Edwards’ part, losing his family firm to the bureaucracy of two different national banks was too much to bear. His hope with his new firm is to recapture the spirit of A.G. Edwards, which was founded by his great-great grandfather Albert Gallatin Edwards. He says that there has to be a good “fit” before he’ll hire any new advisor. Only about one in 50 applicants have been hired, he told On Wall Street.
