Warren Buffett demonstrated he’s still bullish on U.S. retail banking — but not on Wells Fargo & Co.
The billionaire investor ended his long-running bet on Wells Fargo during the first quarter, according to a filing Monday from his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Berkshire also reported new stakes in banking giant Citigroup Inc. and in auto lender Ally Financial Inc.
Berkshire sold off its remaining Wells Fargo shares after months of paring a holding that once ranked as the conglomerate’s biggest common-stock bet. Buffett, Berkshire’s chairman and chief executive officer, began building the investment three decades ago and has long lauded its business, sticking by the firm after its scandals began erupting in 2016.
Buffett’s exit comes as Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf continues to grapple with legacy regulatory issues and takes steps to improve efficiency, which include job cuts and the exploration of potential sales of businesses. The San Francisco-based bank’s shares have declined about 12% this year.
Buffett had publicly urged the Wells Fargo board not to hire a leader from Wall Street. Though Scharf has a track record of running consumer-facing businesses and improving them with technology, his resume featured time at securities-industry giant JPMorgan Chase & Co., and more recently atop Bank of New York Mellon Corp. Scharf also struck an agreement to work from New York, instead of the San Francisco headquarters, a move Buffett’s business partner, Charlie Munger, called “outrageous.”
The firm's CFO and EVP of Wealth Management Solutions are the latest executives to exit the broker-dealer.
Clients are saying they would consider switching advisors if another professional offered estate planning services, according to a new Trust & Will survey.
CEO Laurel Taylor says the fintech's composable AI stack helps workers optimize dollars across Trump Accounts, 529s, 401(k)s, and other employee benefits.
The bank has swiped three private banking veterans from BNY as the city climbs the ranks of America's fastest-growing wealth hubs.
Employee accounts, crypto trials and job cuts frame a pivotal year for the Swiss lender.
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.
