Jim Hays stepping down as head of Wells Fargo Advisors

In a reshuffling of the senior management that oversees its 12,250 financial advisers, Wells Fargo & Co. said Friday afternoon that Jim Hays, who has been head of Wells Fargo Advisors since July 2019, was retiring.

Hays is being replaced by Sol Gindi, who will also head the Wealth & Investment Management client relationship group. Gindi will report to Barry Sommers, head of Wealth & Investment Management.

Gindi takes the lead at Wells Fargo Advisors at a point when the firm is in flux and the financial advice industry is grappling with a turbulent stock market after a record 2021 for many firms. Wells Fargo has been focusing on recruiting larger advisers at a time when its wirehouse competitors have been shying away from bringing on experienced advisers, which is expensive.

The Wealth & Investment Management unit — known as WIM internally — has Wells Fargo Advisors under its roof in the bank's wider corporate structure.

In this role, Gindi will lead the Wells Fargo traditional employee brokerage and wealth management channels, the independent brokerage and registered investment adviser business, and First Clearing. Every adviser leading a client relationship reports up to him, the company said in a statement.

Hays is announcing his retirement after 35 years in financial services. He will remain at Wells Fargo over the coming months to ensure a smooth leadership transition.

Gindi joined Wells Fargo in October 2020 as chief financial officer for Wealth & Investment Management.