Wells Fargo's broker headcount snapped a three-quarter
The firm's
The rise in headcount is partially due to an increase in trainee numbers as well as hiring experienced brokers, a spokeswoman said.
"Attracting the industry’s top talent will always be a priority for Wells Fargo Advisors, and we feel good about the quality recruits in our pipeline," the spokeswoman said.
Wells Fargo has pursued
Wells Fargo's independent arm has picked up several new advisors, and the wirehouse also has had a few notable successes, including
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It seems that a long bull market in transition deals may be coming to an end.
May 23 -
"It's always nice when one poker player folds and it's down to two or three players," one recruiter says.
May 12 -
The wirehouse's executives think they've struck on the right formula to boost growth through a simplified comp plan, greater autonomy and an attractive retirement package.
April 17
But Wells Fargo has been
Even though headcount rose from the prior quarter it was down 3% year-over-year. The company's advisor ranks
That broker exodus was a shift from years past, when advisors perceived Wells Fargo's brand coming out of the financial crisis to be stronger than that of their Wall Street competitors, recruiter Danny Sarch says.
"The thing that kept them in their seat for years was the quality of the brand and reputation. With that gone there is little to keep them," Sarch says.
In contrast, regional firms such as Janney Montgomery Scott and RBC have been successfully courting wirehouse brokers. Janney said it netted about two dozen advisors managing $2.2 billion during the third quarter.
Independent and regional firms have been maintaining strong appeal with new recruits.
BURGEONING AUM
Favorable market conditions and positive flows helped boost Wells Fargo’s assets, which grew 8% year-over-year to reach a record $1.9 trillion.
That growth mirrored a similar increase at Bank of America, which reported Friday that client balances for its Merrill Lynch business reached a record $2.25 trillion, up 7.5% from the same period a year ago.
Wells Fargo's wealth management unit reported that revenue grew 3.5% to reach $4.2 billion. That growth was boosted by a strong increase in net interest income, which rose 19% to $1.1 billion.
Noninterest expenses increased 4% to $3.1 billion.
