Wells Fargo Targets FA Growth with Tech Capabilities, AI Investment

Wells Fargo is leaning into its technology and investment offerings, as the bank seeks to bolster its wealth division and strengthen its relationships with affluent clients. 

“We have made significant investments in our technology platforms and expanded investment capabilities to provide advisors with a stronger platform to serve clients,” Chief Executive Officer Charlie Scharf said on the firm’s third-quarter earnings call on Tuesday. 

Over the summer, Wells Fargo rolled out its artificial intelligence-powered capability, dubbed AI Teammate, which is embedded within its Advisor Gateway feature.

The tool helps financial advisors, support team members, and client associates access information and support administrative tasks.  

The tool is available to advisors across all channels, including independent advisors who are part of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network. 

“We identified this as a significant opportunity several years ago and have since enhanced our products and processes to better serve clients and scale the portfolio,” Scharf said. 

The bank has also introduced a new portfolio analysis tool for advisors, which leverages BlackRock’s Aladdin wealth capabilities. 

The bank also reported growth of financial advisors and Premier bankers across its wealth and investment management business. 

“We continue to invest in talent with double-digit growth in Premier bankers and financial advisors year-over-year. We’ve been investing in business banking, including adding over 130 business bankers over the past year,” Scharf said. 

Recently, Wells Fargo added Naples, FL-based Strong Wealth Management Group, which manages $410 million in total client assets from UBS. 

Wells Fargo’s wealth unit‘s reported $2.45 trillion in total client assets at the end of the third quarter, up by 1.7% reported in the previous quarter and about an 11% increase from $2.21 trillion year-over-year.