Wells Fargo, looming broker power?

Would it surprise you that Wells Fargo (WFC) is now the third largest brokerage? It employs 15,000 advisors and manages more than $1 trillion in wealth--and yet it somehow flies under the radar. Still, like its competitors, it wants to expand. Bank executives tell Reuters they would like to add no less than 10,000 more advisors. This will take some time of course. This year, they would appear to be happy boosting the head count by 1,400.

Does it look as like a top-tier power? Wells Fargo Advisers is just over a year into its integration of Wells Fargo and Wachovia's (Wachovia news) wealth management (wealth management news) unit, with the bulk of the combined entity coming from Wachovia. Interestingly, the bank has big plans for retail bank branches as a distribution mechanism. This is looked upon skeptically by some; the top brokers certainly do not want to be seen as mere tellers. They'd much rather work in dedicated office space. But the bank is convinced it can work. It'll take years before the fruits of this labor will be evident. But it looks like there's a third play to push Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (MS) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAC). 

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