RBC recruits $200M team from Wells Fargo

RBC's latest grab: $200M Wells Fargo team

By Yueqi Yang November 15, 2017, 3:55 p.m. EST 1 Min Read

RBC poached a $200-million team from Wells Fargo to join its Tucson, Arizona branch furthering its expansion in the region, the regional firm said.

Advisors Joe Ballantyne and Stacy Quiri are the fourth wirehouse team hired by RBC in November. They joined a week after two UBS advisors moved to the same branch with similar AUM size.

Like other regional firms, RBC has been aggressively poaching wirehouse talent amid a rapidly changing recruiting landscape. It picked up a $180-million Morgan Stanley team one day before the wirehouse exited the Broker Protocol, and added a $182-million team from Wells Fargo the same day.

RBC now boasts $310 billion in total client assets with about 1,800 advisors, according to the firm.

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Meanwhile, Wells Fargo has been losing advisors to smaller regional and independent rivals. Plagued by fake accounts and data breach issues, it has emerged as a recruiting target for firms like RBC and Janney. To stem the exodus of advisors, it has pursued aggressive recruiting tactics this year, unlike its three wirehouse competitors, which all announced hiring cutbacks. After losing more than 500 advisors in consecutive three quarters, the firm recently reversed that trend, adding 37 new advisors in the most recent quarter.

Small signage is displayed outside of a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch during the company's annual general meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, April 6, 2017 — Signage is displayed outside of a Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) branch during the company's annual general meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on Thursday, April 6, 2017. RBC Chief Executive Officer David urged lawmakers to coordinate interventions and act quickly to cool housing markets, particularly in Toronto and Vancouver. Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg

The Ballantyne-Quiri Investment Group is Wells Fargo’s latest loss. Ballantyne had worked at Wells Fargo for 14 years. He has 38 years of total industry experience and began his career with Rauscher Pierce Refsnes, according to FINRA BrokerCheck records.

Quiri made her start in 2007 with A.G. Edwards, staying with the firm following its subsequent acquisition by Wells Fargo.

They are joined by client associate Mark Marecek.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman confirmed their departure and provided no additional comment.

Yueqi Yang