With most large wealth managers already offering generous sign-on deals to advisory teams who come over from rivals, firms are having to find other ways to
Brendan Krebs, the recently appointed head of advisor recruiting at
That consists partly of a
And there's its independent channel, Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, or FiNet. This line of business — still unique among Wells' direct wirehouse competitors — allows financial planners to sign on as independent contractors while still enjoying support from Wells Fargo and access to its investing products.
Krebs said he's fully aware that most wealth managers have a preference for going independent, whether or not they have actually made such a move. A report released in December 2022 by the
Krebs called Wells Fargo's FiNet "the only independent broker-dealer that can offer the full spectrum of solutions from both a brokerage and lending capability of a major wealth management firm."
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Another industry trend not lost on Krebs is the quickening pace of retirements.
That's an alarming development in an industry in which three out of four new recruits notoriously end up not sticking around long enough to fashion a career. Krebs said he's optimistic Wells' bank channel can help backfill the ranks by giving newcomers a way into the industry without coming under pressure to build large books of business from scratch.
"We have advisors that are joining our firm, who are perhaps newer in their careers," Krebs said. "And they're entering into our bank channel, where there's great growth opportunities for partnering with other team members across the bank channels, and opportunities for referrals, etc."
Krebs, who started his career at Merrill Lynch in 1998, comes into his new role after serving for five years as Wells' managing director and market leader for its New England and Upstate New York region. That previous position had him overseeing roughly 600 advisors, client associates and other staffers in six states.
His promotion is part of a larger management overhaul at the firm. He'll now report to
Wells has also appointed four divisional directors responsible for recruiting in specific regions of the country: Patrick Baumann in the Northeast; Jason McLaughlin in the central states; George Fekete in the Southeast; and Matt Arnold in the West.
Krebs sat down with Financial Planning on Tuesday to discuss his plans and what Wells can do to further stand out from its competitors. This article has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Financial Planning: Are these recent organizational changes a sign of an increased commitment to recruiting?
Brendan Krebs: I would say that it signifies a heightened emphasis and focus on certainly the growth opportunity that recruiting represents. But a real focus on extending our work to ensure that not only are we attracting the most successful and the most talented advisors and teams across the industry, but ultimately broadening that mandate so that we have an opportunity to help support those advisors.
Really, it's everything across the advisor life cycle. So when you think about advisors joining us, it's with goals around teaming and succession, practice management, looking to potentially bring in the next generation of advisors through our new advisor development program, looking for strategic growth opportunities, perhaps through external book acquisition. All of that now falls under my scope and my team's scope.
FP: How often does Wells' independent channel come up in your recruiting conversations?
BK: Advisors who are looking at our independent channel, what they've come to recognize is that perhaps we are the only solution out there whereby they can continue to deliver all of the solutions that their clients need and have come to expect from a major wealth management firm, but also enjoy all the benefits and flexibility that comes with an independent offering. It's certainly an area that we continue to devote a lot of resources and support around.
I would also say, though, that when you think about Wells Fargo wealth investment, while independence is an incredible growth opportunity for us, we're also really excited about our bank-based channel. That really speaks to identifying ways to ensure that we're attracting advisors across the life cycle, right? It's not just highly talented, experienced and successful advisors, but also those advisors that have built a successful career in a bank-based brokerage model and are aspiring to enter into the wealth management spectrum.
By the way, we're expanding our bank branches with dedicated advisors to ensure that we're positioning them to deliver the Wells Fargo Premier affluent client experience [for clients with $250,000 or more to invest]. This path is an excellent way for them to really continue to build their practice of access to bank referrals and then, at some point, perhaps consider a path to independence if that fits their career aspirations.
FP: Who is the "bread and butter" wealth management client for Wells? Is it the high net worth and ultrahigh net worth investors we hear so much about? Or are you also going for the so-called mass affluent market?
BK: We're really well positioned to offer advice and solutions to clients across their life cycle. You know, one of the areas that has been really rapidly growing that I mentioned is our Wells Fargo Premier model, which is a way for us to provide solutions to affluent clients.
Today, perhaps their relationship with Wells is exclusive to consumer banking. But having an opportunity to provide wealth management solutions through an introduction of a financial advisor is really important to our growth as a business, but also expanding from there, looking at our traditional wealth management business, serving the needs of the high net worth and the ultrahigh net worth clients across their life cycles as well.
FP: What sort of
BK: Similarly perhaps with most of our industry peers, we don't broadly disclose individual recruiting deals. And every transition package is unique to the advisor. Ultimately, what we try to present to a financial advisor or team that's considering joining us is the totality of what we can deliver to them and their practice.
I would just say that we have one of the best, if not the best, overall compensation offerings on the Street. And that would include, of course, a highly competitive transition package. But it also includes overall compensation plans or retirement programs.
FP: Pay policies also have a lot to do with advisor retention. What are you doing on
BK: More than anything, financial advisors tell us that they want to know that every single day they have the support and resources that they need to take care of their clients. That's paramount.
The other piece of it is, yes, certainly advisors want to know that they're affiliated with a firm that offers a best-in-class compensation offering across the spectrum of cash compensation, rewards recognition, and that's focused on all the right areas that the advisors are focused on, which is supporting clients and helping them be successful.
One of the beautiful things about our business is that our advisors, and ultimately the firms that they affiliate with like Wells Fargo, is that our success is entirely predicated on the success of our clients. So when you put that focus on supporting clients' success, and have that same level of success translate to our advisors, and ultimately our firm, it's a great proposition.
FP: Wells Fargo has stopped reporting its advisor headcount. The last time the number was aired, in 2023, it
BK: So, we no longer share advisor headcount. But what I can tell you is that we finished 2023 with our highest level of net advisor hiring in years. And that's an important trend that we obviously want to continue to focus on and grow.
