Wells Fargo Taps New Head of Advisor Group

The executive began his career at Capital Analysts of Cincinnati and then Federated Securities of Pittsburgh, according to his Financial Industry Regulatroy Authority BrockerCheck records. He later working for Mentor Distributors, Mentor Services and Evergreen.   

“I’ve always believed that Wells Fargo’s advisors and team members are the best in the industry when it comes to serving clients,” said Kowach, in a statement. “I’m so proud and honored for the opportunity to work with them and our partners to take care of clients and prepare our business for the future.”

In the second quarter, the Wealth and Investment Management unit had a slight decrease in total revenue, which was $3.92 billion vs. $3.98 billion a year ago. The bank says this decline was related to lower asset-based fees and brokerage transaction revenue. The unit’s net income was $584 million, down from $586 million in Q2’15.

Wells Fargo’s Wealth & Investment unit has four business segments: retail brokerage, wealth management, retirement and asset management.

Client assets in the retail brokerage business improved 2% to $1.5 trillion, while advisory assets grew 2% as well to $444 billion, “primarily driven by positive net flows,” according to the bank. “Strong loan growth, with average balances up 20% from [the] prior year largely due to continued growth in nonconforming mortgage loans and security-based lending.”

The wealth group’s assets were $224 billion as of June 1. Its average loan balances expanded 9% on higher mortgage and commercial loans, as well as security-based lending.