$258M UBS team goes independent with Wells Fargo FiNet

A team of financial advisers have parted ways with UBS to join a Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network practice in Irvine, Calif. Curtis Rach and Jud Crary, former senior vice presidents of wealth management at UBS in Irvine, resigned from UBS last Oct. 8, according to Mr. Rach. The two oversaw more than $258 million in client assets combined, he confirmed. Explaining the move, Mr. Rach said Wells Fargo FiNet, the independent brokerage arm of the wirehouse, has “a better support, range of products and research” than what UBS had to offer. Mr. Rach spent 17 years at UBS, according to BrokerCheck records. He held the title of first vice president of Smith Barney prior to coming aboard UBS. Mr. Crary joined UBS in 2003 where he met Mr. Rach. Mr. Rach and Mr. Crary are following a trend of financial advisers seeking independence by leaving a wirehouse to join an independent advisory firm. The move comes on the heels of a new Cerulli report that found financial advisers who make the switch out of a wirehouse, bank or regional brokerage are less inclined to create their own independent firm than they are to join an established RIA as a partial owner or principal. A UBS spokesman was not available for comment.