Wells Fargo Preps for Wealth Battle After $1 Billion Turnaround

Three years and nearly $1 billion later, Wells Fargo & Co. is finally playing offense in one of Wall Street’s hottest battlegrounds: wealth management.

The banking giant is trying to lure hundreds of independent advisers to join its platform as part of a larger push to expand the firm’s business catering to rich clients, according to Barry Sommers, who oversees Wells Fargo’s wealth and investment management unit. The independent offering is already Wells Fargo’s fastest-growing wealth channel.

Barry Sommers

Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

“We believe over the next three to five years there’s a significant opportunity to gain a lot of market share,” Sommers ...