Wells Fargo recruits brokers with $1.1 billion in AUM

In a recent round of recruiting, Wells Fargo Advisors has picked up 11 advisers who previously managed a combined $1.1 billion in assets for competitor firms UBS Wealth Management Americas and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The moves cap off a strong round of summer hires for Wells Fargo, which previously had brought on nearly $1.4 billion in assets from Morgan Stanley alone since June, according to moves tracked in InvestmentNews' Advisers on the Move database . All of the most recent recruits jumped to Wells Fargo offices in California within the last two weeks. Eight brokers and most of the assets — about $1 billion — came from UBS Wealth Management. Another three brokers came from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Wells Fargo, which reported having around 15,300 advisers at the end of the second quarter, hired Teresa Harmon in Seal Beach, Calif., on Aug. 28, the firm said. At UBS, Ms. Harmon had operated on a team known as The Harmon Financial Group and oversaw $244 million in client assets. She had been registered with UBS Financial Services Inc. since 1997 and began her career at E.F. Hutton & Co. Inc. in 1983, according to records with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. Another UBS team, the MDC Group of Jose Moreno, Michael Dye and Oliver Cervantes also joined Wells Fargo's Seal Beach office on Aug. 28, according to Wells Fargo spokeswoman Emily Acquisto. They previously managed some $479 million in combined client assets. In Irvine, Calif., Wells Fargo picked up former UBS advisers Robert Rotstan and James Vale. Together, they oversaw more than $95 million in assets, according to Ms. Acquisto. They joined the Bennett Greco Group, which operates as part of Wells Fargo Advisors' independent broker-dealer network, FiNet, on Aug. 28. Another former UBS duo, Kate Eiland and Elise Kausen, joined Wells Fargo in Fresno, Calif. The two managed around $141 million in client assets, combined. A UBS spokesman, Gregg Rosenberg, said that the firm does not comment on adviser departures. Wells Fargo Advisors also nabbed three former Merrill Lynch advisers who had around $142 million in assets. Bruce Lin, Michael Hartmeyer and Patrick Chan joined Wells Fargo in San Francisco. A spokeswoman for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Ana Katherine Solito did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.