Wells Fargo hires another JPMorgan executive for wealth management

Wells Fargo & Co. said Thursday it had hired Barry Simmons to be the new head of national sales at Wells Fargo Advisors, which puts him in charge of recruiting at the wirehouse, one of the largest wealth management firms in the country with more than $1.9 trillion in client assets.

Most recently, Simmons had been managing director and divisional director at J.P. Morgan Securities. He'd been at the bank for seven years. He was replaced by Mike Ayerov, who last week was named eastern divisional director of branch-based advisors at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management.

Simmons is at least the third senior executive Wells Fargo has hired in the last few years from JPMorgan for a senior role in its wealth and investment management division, which includes Wells Fargo Advisors.

In 2020, Wells Fargo hired Barry Sommers from JPMorgan to lead its Wealth and Investment Management group, known internally as WIM. Then it hired Sol Gindi from JPMorgan as chief financial officer of WIM; two years later, he was promoted to head of Wells Fargo Advisors. Simmons reports to Gindi, according to a statement from the company.

"We are at a pivotal point in delivering on our growth strategy, with new technology and enhanced product offerings rolling out this year," Gindi said in a statement. "Barry’s deep industry experience will help us carry out our strategic objective to deliver all of Wells Fargo Advisors’ capabilities to serve clients and help advisors grow their businesses."