Wells Fargo to Sell Full-Service Brokerage Unit

Contributing Editor

13 January 2005

Wells Fargo plans to sell its First Allied Securities unit to Advanced Equities Financial. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. First Allied is a full-service brokerage and investment services firm for retail clients working with independent financial consultants and broker-dealers. It has 92 team members and 465 contracted representatives. First Allied is to be operated as a separate broker-dealer within Advanced Equities' financial services group. Advanced Equities said the purchase would give its financial services group a strong presence in the independent brokerage community. It said it believes that First Allied would make it one of the 20 largest independent brokerage firms in the US.