Wells Fargo Advisors president Mary Mack pleased with reception from Credit Suisse brokers

Wells Fargo & Co. is drawing interest from the Credit Suisse brokers it is trying persuade to come on board, according to a Wells Fargo executive. In late October, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse entered an agreement for Wells to pursue nearly 250 financial advisers who currently work for Credit Suisse's U.S. private bank. The move came after Credit Suisse, a Switzerland-based financial firm, determined that it couldn't grow big enough in the United States without an acquisition. Wells Fargo first started meeting with Credit Suisse brokers three weeks ago in Wells Fargo's St. Louis headquarters and in Credit Suisse offices in New York, Boston, Atlanta and Chicago. “We have been really pleased with the reception to that,” Mary T. Mack, president of Wells Fargo Advisors, said on Nov. 10 in an appearance at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association annual conference in Washington. “It's a recruiting opportunity for us.” HIGH NET WORTH Wells Fargo has not released the details of its recruiting package. Bringing Credit Suisse brokers into its fold would give Wells Fargo a foothold among high-net-worth investors on the East Coast, a market where Wells Fargo is not as well-known as elsewhere in the country, according to Ms. Mack. Some of the Credit Suisse personnel will be a good fit for Wells Fargo and others won't, based on the characteristics of their practice. “It is person-by-person [recruiting],” she said. “Those who want to take advantage of a real planning focus are good candidates because there's a lot that we can offer in terms of our planning and suite of products. That has been incredibly well received.” Wells Fargo, one of the biggest brokerage firms in the United States, has roughly 15,000 advisers and consists of a broker-dealer, in which its brokers are employees, and Wells Fargo Advisors, which is comprised of independent contractors in the Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network. Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management, which includes both divisions, manages $1.6 trillion in client assets.