As the wirehouses and other financial firms announce their earnings results this week, rivals are sharing the news on recruiting.
Wells Fargo, for instance, said its Wealth and Investment Management Group grew assets 8% from last year to $1.8 trillion. Its net income hit $682 billion on revenue of $4.2 billion.
Its advisor headcount, though, dropped 1% in the most-recent quarter (by roughly 145) to hit 14,527 on June 30. That figure is down 3% (or by about 436 advisors) from a year ago.
“We continued to make progress this quarter in our efforts to rebuild trust and build a better Wells Fargo and, while there is still more work ahead of us, we are on the right track and I am confident about our future,” said CEO Tim Sloan in a press release.
Raymond James’ News
The independent channel of Raymond James said it recently recruited John Houchin III, CFP, and James A. Ernst, to its operations in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, according to Jodi Perry, Southeast regional director for Raymond James Financial Services.
The team operates as Houchin Ernst Wealth Advisors, and the two advisors used to work with Wells Fargo Clearing Services, where they previously managed over $230 million in client assets and had annual fees and commissions of about $1.6 million.
“We wanted a customer-centric firm that was primarily focused on wealth management,” said Houchin, who has been in the business for 25 years in a statement.
“We were seeking a firm with a Main Street orientation rather than Wall Street,” explained Ernst, who has 17 years of industry experience. “We looked at several options and decided that affiliating with Raymond James’ independent channel, with its superior platform and all its back-office support, was going to give us the control we desired and be the best fit for us and our clients.”