Wells Fargo & Co. on Wednesday said it had tapped a former JPMorgan Chase executive to lead its wealth and investment management group, dubbed internally as WIM, which includes its more than 13,000 advisers and registered reps.
The executive, Barry Sommers, will officially start on Monday, June 22. He will report to the bank's CEO, Charlie Scharf, according to a statement from the company.
The bank had been searching for a new head of its wealth and investment management group since February, when it promoted the group's former chief, Jon Weiss, to CEO of corporate and investment banking.
Until April 2019, Sommers was CEO of Wealth Management at JPMorgan Chase, where he was responsible for its private bank and brokerage businesses. Sommers also served as CEO of the Consumer Bank, where he managed the bank branch network.
Many advisers at Wells Fargo have been under a cloud since 2016; that’s when Wells Fargo & Co., the parent of Wells Fargo Advisors, reported that bank employees had secretly created millions of unauthorized accounts in the names of customers without their consent. The bank was fined $185 million and then-CEO John Stumpf resigned. Myriad bank-related scandals followed.
Wells Fargo Advisors’ head count continued to drop at the end of last year, with the firm reporting 13,512 financial advisers at the end of December, a drop of 456 — or 3.3% — over the twelve months of 2019.
Billionaire CEO says he'll cut back work on DOGE.
Ameriprise is offering up to 125% of trailing revenue to poach top-producing Commonwealth advisors from LPL as a recruiting battle continues to rock the independent advisor industry.
Amid growing regulatory and demographic tailwinds, advisors who embrace retirement planning can tap into an entirely new pool of clients.
Inflation, Social Security uncertainty, and day-to-day expenses are fueling retirement insecurity across all generations.
The former Treasury secretary envisions an avalanche of noncompliance as the federal tax agency weathers massive workforce reductions and a string of walkouts in its leadership.
RIAs face rising regulatory pressure in 2025. Forward-looking firms are responding with embedded technology, not more paperwork.
As inheritances are set to reshape client portfolios and next-gen heirs demand digital-first experiences, firms are retooling their wealth tech stacks and succession models in real time.
