Wells Fargo Doubles Recruiting; Starts a New Ad Campaign

Wells Fargo Advisors Recruited 545 veteran financial advisors in the first eight months of 2008 and has nearly doubled that figure in the same period of 2009, attracting 1,054 experienced FAs.
In addition, the majority -- 80 percent -- of those recruited in 2009 are from the wirehouses, the company says.
Last year, it recruited a total of 766 experienced financial advisors. If it is able to keep recruiting at the current pace, Wells Fargo Advisors could recruit about 1,500 veteran advisors or more.

"The first months of 2009 were extraordinary," says Chip Walker, who has been leading the firm's integration and recruiting efforts. "
There's been an incredible amount of dislocation of advisors in the wirehouse model," Walker says. That has to do with the fact that there "are so many advisors in the wirehouses," whereas, in the past, many of them were with regional firms, he explains.
In addition, many advisors have been "forced to look at their options," Walker adds. "We have had a lot of success recruiting experienced FAs from the wirehouses. There's no question about it."
The average industry length of service of recruited veteran FAs is now close to 16.5 years, he says, vs. about 13.5 in 2004. "The increase in the length of service has spiked dramatically in 2009," Walker explains. Average trailing-12-month fees and commissions have held up well, he adds, and have even increased in some of the brokerage's FA channels.
As of June 30, the Wells Fargo brokerage business included 15,500 financial advisors in the United States and Latin America and 6,100 licensed financial specialists with roughly $1 trillion in client assets. The firm's private client group has 11,600 financial advisors, and the bank group has about 2,800 financial advisors. Most of the remaining FAs are in the firm's independent group.
"We peel the onion," the recruiting executive says, when it comes to looking at potential recruits. Beyond fees and commissions, other factors the brokerage firm looks at include an advisor's ability to grow his or her business before the economic downturn and how well he or she held up during the crisis.
As for the firm's recruiting and sales practices, "We have a consistent, repeatable due diligence process," he explains, that emphasizes putting the client and the client's interests first.
Walker also says Wells Fargo Advisors, formed by Wells Fargo's purchase of Wachovia earlier this year, is now focused on growing as a good operator rather than as a good integrator.
"It's been over two years since we announced the merger with A.G. Edwards," he explains, "and in October, it will be exactly two years ago that the merger was finalized." Some rivals, Walker notes, "are just entering the integration phase."
Through the legacy A.G. Edwards training program, Wells Fargo Advisors is likely to hire 400-500 new advisors in 2010, according to the executive. "This is a great growth lever," Walker notes.
"We can compete with any firm out there," says Walker. "We have the scale and scope of products, services, technology and human capital. We are firmly positioned with a great corporate parent."
Its corporate parent, Wells Fargo, can help advisors grow their business by providing them with "a steady source of leads and referrals," he explains. Plus, the brokerage business has a strong regional culture.
"We feel very good when we look at the number of FAs that we're having conversations with and the responses we get to our multi-channel business model," explains Walker. The combined financial advisory businesses of Wells Fargo and Wachovia unveiled a new national advertising campaign in mid-September, after introducing the Wells Fargo Advisor brand in May.
"The new advertisements allow us to emphasize Wells Fargo Advisors' position as the financial advice arm of Wells Fargo, while reengaging with our clients and demonstrating how our union with Wells Fargo creates a brokerage firm that is even more qualified to help our clients achieve their life goals," says David Monday, executive director of marketing, innovation and growth.
The TV ads can be seen on Sunday morning talk shows, NFL football games and select cable television stations, including CNN, CNBC, Fox News, MSNBC, the Weather and Travel channels and ESPN. In addition, a sponsorship message will appear on select PBS programs. Print and online ads will also appear in various publications and on websites.

Fundamentals and a strong technical picture point to upside

So far this year, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) shares have plummeted nearly 30%, making it one of the worst-performing stocks on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
While many claim the stock will continue to drop, I see a more bullish picture ahead.

In fact, I agree with my colleague, Jeff Reeves, who in his June 16 article, Why Bank of America (or Any Financial Stock) May Be Your Best Buy Now, suggested several reasons why BAC may be a potential buy at current levels.
In addition to Jeff�s insights, here are six more reasons why buying shares of America�s second largest bank �could put money �BAC� in your pockets:
1) Shedding of noncore assets
As a growth strategy, Bank of America aggressively pursued a number of mergers and acquisitions in years past.
Most notably, in 2008, the bank purchased mortgage lender Countrywide Financial for $4.1 billion. The deal was intended to expand BofA�s empire. But, in reality, it devastated the bank, making it incredibly vulnerable during the height of the housing bubble.
Coming to terms with this big mistake, BofA implemented a strategy to sell noncore assets, in order to increase capital, over time. On Monday, BofA announced plans to sell a portion of its holdings in China Construction Bank. BofA also recently spun off its last largest private equity firm, known now as North Cove Partners. And it recently sold its Balboa Insurance unit.
Last year, BofA sold 46.1 million shares of its stake in BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) and raised additional capital by completing the $1.9 billion sale of First Republic Bank.
BofA will likely to continue to strategically shed noncore assets in the years to come to improve capital and help strength its balance sheet, ultimately bringing better value to shareholders.
2) Slowly improving housing situat! ion
Through its Countrywide purchase � and the huge number of home foreclosures that followed � BofA unintentionally became one of the largest private home owners in the U.S. As a result, the bank is highly exposed to fluctuations in housing market.
While we are certainly not out of the woods yet, there are subtle signs the housing market may be slowly improving. This week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that home prices increased 0.8% in April, their first rise in over a year. In addition, May existing home sales fell less than expected.
With BofA�s heavy exposure to the housing market, a lift in the housing sector could equally translate to a lift in Bank of America shares.
3) Bank of America is hiring
A growing company often needs to hire new employees. Available jobs, therefore, can be a way to casually gauge a company�s financial health. This week, BofA announced plans to hire over 500 so-called Financial Solution Advisors.

With these hirings, the bank�s intention is to enhance relationships with �preferred customers� who have BofA assets worth between $50,000-$250,000. The move should improve customer service and may even attract new clients to the bank, potentially bringing in new capital.
4) Bullish technicals

You need not be an astute technical analyst to see that BAC�s chart has been in a steady downtrend all year. �As you can see on the chart below, shares toppled from a high of $15.29 in early January to a low of $10.40 in mid-June.

Coincident with this tumble, the 50-day moving average bearishly crossed below the sinking 200-day moving average, creating a bearish formation known as a �death cross�! .
However, BAC may have hit bottom. The stock appears to have found support around the $10.40 level. And over the past couple weeks, it has lifted off this support level. It now appears the stock is attempting to break the downtrend line — which acts as an important resistance point.
If BAC can challenge this downtrend line, it will shatter the bearish descending-triangle pattern. With enough momentum, the stock could feasibly climb back to its January $15.29 high. At the stock�s current price, traders could potentially see gains upward of 40%.
5) Solid fundamentals
The fundamentals also indicate moderate growth potential ahead.
Although analysts project 2011 revenue will drop 4% to $105.8 billion from $110.2 billion last year, the situation should slowly improve. By 2012, the 23 analysts following the company expect revenue will increase 5.1% to $111.2 billion.
The earnings outlook is also strong. Analysts expect 2011 earnings per share to increase to $1.06 from 86 cents last year. By 2012, earnings are projected to rise to $1.70 a share.
6) Fair valuation
At current levels, the stock is also fairly valued, based on its forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 6.3 and price-to-book (P/B) ratio of about 0.5. In comparison, competing banks Citigroup (NYSE: C) and JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) have higher P/E ratios of around 7.4 and 7.2, respectively. They also have higher respective P/B ratios of about 0.7 and 0.9. Based on these metrics, BAC is slightly more attractive than its peers.
Given the six factors outlined above, BAC may be a buy at current levels. If the stock can break the downtrend line and the ensuing descending triangle pattern, the technicals suggest BAC could, well, give you a run for your money.

Show Me the Love... Or Not

Chuck Ford tells his wife often how much he loves her. He likes to hold hands when they walk, cuddle when they watch TV and hug—a lot.
His wife has learned to like it. "I don't like to sit on the couch and cuddle for two hours," says Judy Ford, a 66-year-old retired high-school counselor from Carmel, Ind.

Robert Neubecker

Does your partner expect you to pick up subtle cues about whether he or she is upset? A partner who isn't great at communicating their feelings directly may hope you'll be quick to notice when they are upset and make things right. This tendency points to an Anxious attachment style.

Of all the ways that opposites attract, the thorniest may be when emotionally giving types pair up with types who are emotionally reserved.
Givers love to show affection: Hugs, kisses, flowers, skywriting—there's no such thing as too much. They crave receiving displays of love, as well.
Reserved types certainly may love deeply, but they are uncomfortable showing it. Often, they rely on their partner to initiate a display of affection. Sometimes, they don't even enjoy receiving expressions of love.
Initially, emotionally giving types are attracted to emotionally reserved types, and vice versa, because they are so different, experts say. Giving people often find reserved people intriguing; they like to elicit affection from someone who doesn't express it easily. And deep down, reserved types often like to be drawn out.

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Over time, though, the two types can bring out the worst in each other. The giver starts to seem needy. The reserved partner reacts by pulling away. This makes the giver give even more in order to elicit attention; the reserved one backs away even further.

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Early in their 20-year marriage, Mr. Ford, a 61-year-old retired social-studies teacher, began to feel his wife didn't fully reciprocate his affection. She rarely initiated hugs and kisses. And while she let him hold her hand sometimes, Mr. Ford says he could tell she didn't really enjoy it. He began to pull away. "I didn't want to waste my time," he recalls. "If the marriage isn't working so well, I can go fish or hunt or work on my studies or business relationships." He worried the relationship wouldn't last.
Then Ms. Ford asked her husband what was wrong. He told her, "I need more physical closeness, and not necessarily sex." She reminded him that she had been raised in a German-American household that wasn't "huggy-kissy." She told him she prefers to show lov! e throug h actions—making a nice home, planning vacations, setting up get-togethers with his family. "I was raised in a very bonded family that showed their love by spending time together," she says.

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Robert Neubecker

When your partner is away, are you afraid that he or she might become interested in someone else? Constant worry about the relationship points to an Anxious attachment style. But if your partner is an Avoidant type, there may be reason to worry: Research indicates Avoidants are more likely to cheat in the long run.

In the psychology field, these different ways of relating are called "attachment style," and they are partly learned and partly genetic. Attachment is believed to be a basic human need with an evolutionary basis. Many children, such as orphans, who aren't held or given physical affection fail to grow at normal rates.
Amir Levine, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist at Columbia University in New York, identifies three types of attachment styles: Secure, Anxious and Avoidant. Secure people make up more than half the population and are typically warm, caring and comfortable with intimacy, he says.

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Robert Neubecker

Does your partner act out when things go wrong in the relationship, or even threaten to leave? A partner may engage in 'protest behavior' to get the other to pay attention and later regret things they said or did. This behavior may be typical of an Anxious attachment style.

Those with an Anxious attachment style, about 20% of the population, often worry about their relationship and whether their partner loves them, says Dr. Levine, co-author of the book "Attached: The New Science of Adult Attachment and How It Can Help You Find—and Keep—Love." They typically are emotionally giving. Those with an Avoidant attachment style, about 25% of the population, tend to think intimacy leads to loss of autonomy and try to minimize closeness, he says.
In the mid-1960s, a Johns Hopkins University psychologist, Mary Ainsworth, developed an experiment known as "the Strange Situation": A young child plays with her mother in a room. Her mother leaves, and a stranger remains. Then the mother returns. Most children were distressed when their mothers left the room, says Robert S. Marvin, director of the Mary D. Ainsworth Child-Parent Attachment Clinic, in Charlottesville, Va.

Robert Neubecker

Do you find it difficult to be emotionally supportive when your partner is feeling down? Supporting someone in times of need is a big opportunity to be close. An Avoidant attachment style makes it difficult for some people to deal with closeness, and they tend to pull back.

Dr. Ainsworth examined what took place during the mother-child reunion. Some children rushed to their mothers and were easily consoled; Dr. Ainsworth concluded they were secure. Other children were unable to be consoled by their mothers; these she called "anxious-resistant." Some didn't rush to their mothers, or they started to approach but then turned away; these she called "anxious-avoidant."
Another experiment, "the Still Face," conducted by Edward Tronick, now a developmental psychologist at the University of Massachusetts Boston, demonstrates that a child can experience a mother's emotional withdrawal at an early age. Dr. Tronick videotaped a mother engaging lovingly with her approximately 1-year-old baby. Then the mother makes her face immobile. The baby notices and tries to re-engage with her by smiling, then by pointing, then shrieking and finally crying.
The good news, Dr. Levine says, is that attachment style can change. Experts say couples need to tell each other what they need and be specific. For example, they can say, "I know it's difficult for you to be affectionate in front of my friends, but at home I really need a hug every day."

Does your partner or spouse make you feel that your well-being is your own responsibility, and not his or hers?
'You take care of your needs, I'! ll take care of mine,' is the credo of the Avoidant attachment style.
Do you often worry that your partner will stop loving you?
People who think relationships are immensely fragile and any wrong move can trigger the end tend to have an Anxious attachment style.
Do you dislike being dependent on your spouse or partner?
'Dependency' is a dirty word to Avoidants, who believe they should be self-reliant.

Displays of love don't have to be 50-50, as long as both people show something. "Each partner will need to make some slight movements in the opposite direction from which they are comfortable," says Sharon Gilchrest O'Neill, a Mount Kisco, N.Y., marriage and family therapist. She says she is more emotionally reserved than her husband, and he asked her to give him a kiss when he comes home.
The Fords worked on their differences, and now Ms. Ford gives her husband hugs when he comes home and before bed. She has become more comfortable holding hands and often initiates it. Mr. Ford has altered his expectations and doesn't take his wife's lack of verbal or physical expression personally. He also pays attention to the other ways she tells him she loves him: planning special weekends together, washing his hunting clothes, preparing and freezing meals before he goes camping. "We've moved to a mutual center," Mr. Ford says. "It comes from communication."
—Email Elizabeth Bernstein at bonds@wsj.com or follow her column at www.Facebook.com/EBernsteinWSJ.
Write to Elizabeth Bernstein at Bonds@wsj.com