Wells Fargo Advisors

Last updated
Wells Fargo Advisors
Company type Subsidiary
Genre Securities
Predecessor Wachovia Securities
Founded1879;146 years ago (1879) (as Leopold Cahn & Co.)
Headquarters
St Louis, Missouri
,
United States
Parent Wells Fargo
Website www.wellsfargoadvisors.com

Wells Fargo Advisors is a brokerage, investing, and financial advisory company. It is a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, and is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri.

Contents

The subsidiary was formerly known as Wachovia Securities until May 2009, when it legally changed names following Wells Fargo's acquisition of Wachovia Bank. [1]

History

The brokerage firm Leopold Cahn & Co. was founded in New York in 1879. [2] Cahn's nephew, Jules Semon Bache, began working there as a cashier in 1880. [2] In 1892, when Bache became head of the company, the firm's name was changed to J.S. Bache & Co. [2] By 1905, the firm was trading both stocks and commodities, and had seven offices, including in Montreal and Liverpool. [2] Prior to October 1929, Jules Bache became conservative with the firm's credit and avoided investing the firm's own capital in the stock market; consequently, it weathered the stock market crash of 1929. [2]

Upon the death of Jules S. Bache in 1944, he was succeeded by his nephew, Harold L. Bache, and the following year the firm's name was shortened to Bache & Co. [2] Harold Bache brought in new partners and fresh capital, [3] and in 1965 incorporated the firm [3] as Bache & Co, Inc., [2] which by his death had expanded to 124 offices worldwide and nearly 6,000 employees. [3]

After acquiring and merging with two firms – Halsey, Stuart & Co., Inc. and Shields Model Roland Inc. – in the 1970s, [2] in the late 1970s the Bache firm experienced financial difficulties. [2] The Bache Group, Inc. was acquired by Prudential Insurance Company of America in 1981. [2] The following year, the Bache securities firm was renamed Prudential-Bache Securities, [2] and in 1991 the Bache name was dropped when the firm became Prudential Securities, Inc. [2] The firm acquired two boutique investment banks shortly before 2000, but the post-bubble stock-market meltdown made the brokerage less profitable. [4]

In 2001, after de-mutualizing and instead going public, Prudential Insurance Company of America became Prudential Financial Inc. [2] In 2003 it sold its retail brokerage arm to Wachovia Bank, retaining a 38 percent stake in the new joint venture Wachovia Securities. [4] [5] [6] In 2007 Wachovia acquired the financial services firm A. G. Edwards and combined it with Wachovia Securities, which made it the second-largest brokerage firm after Merrill Lynch. [6] [7]

After Wachovia Bank experienced heavy losses during the subprime mortgage crisis, it was purchased by Wells Fargo; the deal closed on December 31, 2008. [8] Wachovia Securities became Wells Fargo Advisors, effective May 1, 2009. [1] Prudential sold its minority stake in the brokerage to Wells Fargo in December 2009. [9] [10]

In May 2022, Sol Gindi was appointed head of Wells Fargo Advisors. [11] Gindi replaced the retiring Jim Hayes, who had headed the subdivision since July 2019. [11]

References

  1. 1 2 "Wachovia Securities now Wells Fargo Advisors". Hartford Business Journal. May 4, 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Pak, Susie J. (Spring 2019). "Where Are They Now?: Bache & Co". Financial History. Museum of American Finance. pp. 32–35. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Harold L. Bache Is Dead at 73; Head of the Securities Concern; Joined Family Firm in 1914 as $5-a-Week Runner--Led Growth Since 1945". The New York Times. March 16, 1968.
  4. 1 2 "Prudential shuts down stock research, trading arm". Reuters . August 9, 2007. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  5. ↑ Winokur, Cheryl (July 1, 2003). "Wachovia and Prudential Complete Brokerage Deal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Wighton, David (June 6, 2007). "Prudential Financial closes US division". Financial Times . Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  7. ↑ Dash, Eric (June 1, 2007). "Wachovia in Deal to Acquire A.G. Edwards". The New York Times. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  8. ↑ Reckard, E. Scott (April 27, 2010). "Wachovia's California branches finally branded with Wells Fargo name". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  9. ↑ Frye, Andrew (December 16, 2009). "Prudential Rises After Forecasting $1.5 Billion Gain". Bloomberg News . Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  10. ↑ Marcinek, Laura; Buhayar, Noah (April 7, 2011). "Jefferies to Buy Prudential Commodities for $430 Million". Bloomberg News . Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  11. 1 2 Bradley, Robin (May 17, 2022). "Wells Fargo taps former JPMorgan exec to head financial advisory unit". BankingDive.com. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
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