CS Credit Suisse Group

Wells Fargo & Co. is "pleased" so far with its courtship of Credit Suisse Group AG's U.S. brokers, but the bank's brokerage head says it doesn't expect to hire all of them.

"We're learning more about them and they're learning more about us," said Wells Fargo Advisors head Mary Mack at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association's annual meeting in Washington on Tuesday.

"There will be some for whom it's not a good fit based on the style of their practice. And there will be others for whom it's a really good fit, and for those I'd like to get all of them."

Last month, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse announced a recruiting arrangement that lets Credit Suisse U.S. brokers who are hired by Wells Fargo smoothly transition their practices and clients to Wells Fargo's brokerage arm by early 2016. Credit Suisse is shutting down its U.S. private-banking arm and Wells Fargo Advisors wants to deepen its presence in the high-net-worth client segment.

Wells Fargo Advisors has flown most of Credit Suisse's brokers to its St. Louis headquarters over the past two weeks to explain its operations and services, and so far the firm has "been really pleased with the reception to that," Ms. Mack said.

But the recruiting arrangement doesn't guarantee all Credit Suisse brokers a job at Wells Fargo, meaning brokers can opt to join other brokerages or Wells Fargo can choose not to extend an offer to some brokers. Ms. Mack described the conversations as being "one on one."

Ms. Mack, who has led the brokerage since last year, didn't specifically say how many advisers will join from Credit Suisse. Wells Fargo Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry said last week that Wells Fargo expects 100 to 300 Credit Suisse advisers to join in the coming weeks, but added that it wasn't yet clear where the bank is in that range.

For Wells Fargo, the deal is expected to strengthen its presence in the ultrawealthy client arena in the Eastern U.S., an area where it has lagged behind competitors such as Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp.'s Merrill Lynch brokerage.

"Wells Fargo is a great brand, a great name but still relatively new particularly on the East Coast in the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth space," said Ms. Mack, who referenced cities such as New York, Boston and Atlanta. Ms. Mack also highlighted other markets such as Chicago.

While brokerage recruiters say Wells Fargo will likely attract a significant number of Credit Suisse brokers, the biggest producers may look for deals elsewhere.

Dozens of top Credit Suisse brokers said they were unhappy with the initial recruitment package put forward by Wells Fargo, which includes a $5 million limit on the total upfront payout being offered to brokers, people with knowledge of the matter previously told The Wall Street Journal.

Those terms are creating an opening for rival brokerages firms to poach some of Credit Suisse's top producers and hinder Wells Fargo's effort to bolster its high-net-worth segment.

For example, one Credit Suisse broker, Nicole Primack Andres, who manages more than $600 million in client assets, opted to join Merrill last week.

Wells Fargo is aware of the backlash and moved to sweeten the pot for Credit Suisse brokers who run into that $5 million limit, offering them as much as $2.5 million in new deferred compensation, people with knowledge of the situation said.

Ms. Mack says she hopes to hire Credit Suisse brokers who want to "take advantage of a real [financial] planning focus."

"There's a lot we can offer in terms of our platform and suite of products," Ms. Mack said. "That has been incredibly well received."

Write to Michael Wursthorn at Michael.Wursthorn@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 10, 2015 14:55 ET (19:55 GMT)

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