Wells Fargo Advisors Raises Required Asset Level for Fee Waiver
In September, the asset level required to avoid the fee will be raised from $250,000 to $500,000.
Wells Fargo Advisors has raised the asset level at which it waives an account fee.
As of Sept. 1, households will need $500,000 of assets in their accounts to avoid fees that typically are as high as $300 per year. In the past, the level to avoid the charge was $250,000.
“The fee amounts per account will remain the same, however, the threshold amount for clients who receive an automatic waiver has shifted from $250,000 in household AUM, to $500k household AUM. This will impact a small number of clients,” the bank said in a statement.
(The asset levels will be reviewed on June 30 and then charged to accounts in September.)
WFA also says it has other waivers in place, such as a $250,000 Advisory AUM Household Waiver and a $100,000 Net New Asset Household Waiver.
“The market and Household AUM have increased significantly since the $250,000 AUM Household Waiver was established,” it added.
With the market now down over 20% from its highs this year, client AUM levels are likely down from where they stood at Dec. 30, 2019.
Wells Fargo’s advisor headcount stands at some 13,500 vs. nearly 14,000 a year ago. It is part of the bank’s Wealth & Investment Management unit, which is set to get a new chief as part of a restructuring effort announced last month.
Jon Weiss is leading the unit in the interim, as he becomes CEO of Corporate & Investment Banking, previously part of the bank’s Wholesale Banking unit. In addition to WFA, the unit includes the Private Bank, Abbot Downing and Wells Fargo Asset Management.
— Related on ThinkAdvisor: