Wells Fargo Advisors
| File:Wells fargo advisors.jpg | |
| Company type | LLC |
|---|---|
| Genre | Securities |
| Founded | Roots to 1887 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Total assets | $1.17 trillion[1] |
Number of employees | 17,900[1] |
| Parent | Wells Fargo |
| Website | wachoviasec.com |
Wells Fargo Advisors, is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, located in St. Louis, Missouri. It is the second largest brokerage firm in the United States as of October 1, 2007 with $1.17 trillion retail client assets under management.[1]
The subsidiary was known as Wachovia Securities until May 1, 2009, when it legally changed names. Throughout 2009, the company will rebrand its website, offices, and marketing materials with the Wells Fargo name. [2]
History
Wells Fargo Advisors was originally founded in 1934 as the investment firm of J.C. Wheat & Co.
Wheat fostered growth through mergers, including the 1971 merger with First Securities that created Wheat First Securities, Inc. and the 1988 merger with Butcher & Singer, a successful Philadelphia-based securities firm established in 1910; the firm then became known as Wheat First Butcher Singer. In August 1997, the privately held Wheat First Butcher Singer agreed to be acquired for just under $500 million by the Charlotte, North Carolina-based First Union bank. The brokerage firm changed its name to Wheat First Union, reflecting its newly acquired status. In April 1999, First Union acquired Chicago-based investment bank and brokerage Everen Capital Corp. for $1.1 billion.
Separately, Wachovia Corporation acquired the brokerage firm Interstate Johnson Lane in April 1999, and changed the name to IJL Wachovia.
In 2001, the firm became known as Wachovia Securities when parent companies of Wheat First Union and IJL Wachovia, First Union and Wachovia Corporation, merged. The newly formed Wachovia then merged the brokerage operations to form Wachovia Securities.
Wachovia Securities and the Prudential Securities Division of Prudential Financial combined on July 1, 2003. Wachovia owned 62% of this entity, while Prudential Financial owned 38%.[3] At the time, the new firm had client assets of $532.1 billion, making it the nation's third largest full service retail brokerage firm based on assets.[3]
In May 2007, Wachovia Securities announced the purchase of A. G. Edwards of St. Louis, Missouri and its upcoming move to St. Louis as its new world headquarters. The new firm is the second largest brokerage firm in the United States. The shareholder vote took place and was finalized on October 1, 2007.
Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia Securities when it purchased Wachovia on January 1, 2009. On May 1, 2009, the firm legally changed its name to Wells Fargo Advisors.
NASD
On June 21, 2007, the NASD fined Wachovia Securities $2 million for failing to adequately supervise its fee-based brokerage business between 2001 through 2004. In addition, NASD ordered Wachovia to identify and pay restitution to approximately 1,300 customers who were inappropriately allowed to continue maintaining fee-based accounts, or who were inappropriately charged account fees on Class A mutual fund share holdings for which they had already paid a sales load.[4]
References
- ^ a b c "Why Wachovia Securities?". Wachovia Corporation. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ "Wells Fargo Advisors" (PDF). Wells Fargo Advisors. Retrieved 2009-05-01.
- ^ a b "Wachovia Corp. and Prudential Financial, Inc. Complete Combination of Brokerage Units" (Press release). Wachovia Corporation. 2003-07-01. Retrieved 2007-10-14.
- ^ "NASD Fines Wachovia Securities $2 Million for Fee-Based Account Violations" (Press release). Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. 2007-06-21. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
External links
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