An open letter to Wells & Wachovia execs
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What you do in the next couple months will be a turning point for the Wachovia Securities business. You have a small window here to become the TOP firm in the industry. Follow this advice and you will become number 1, I promise you.
1. Immediately ditch the Wachovia Securities name. Go back to AG Edwards. Don’t delay.
2. Fold ALL Wells Fargo brokers into the existing WS securities side. This includes the wealth management brokers AND the ones in the branches.
3. Create a teller/bank referral program to the securities offices.
4. Put forth a retention plan that is slightly better than Merrills plan, but a little fatter in the middle range, going down to about 300K. Have it include up and coming newer brokers.
5. Have the retention bonus contract NOT include non-compete language.
6. OPENLY recruit Merrill lynch brokers that are not satisfied with the non-compete clause and lowball retention bonus.
7. Run your shop like a brokerage firm and keep the bank away from compliance and broker compensation.
Don’t do these things and continue to watch brokers leave and the firm slowly die.
If they did that, I would be inclined to stay.
I am not holding my breath unless the beatdown that Danny has been taking from fcs a lot higher up the totem pole than myself has gotten through.How about:
8. Stop sending brokers useless little trinkets on holidays. 9. Only have a conference call with Danny when you have some flippin news on all the points Ferris listed.11. Keep client information confidential between the bank and the brokerage offices. Brokers will be spooked by a client getting a call for a cd promotion by the local bank rep.
Although I forgot, the firm does own the client accounts, so you can do whatever you like. Continue to do what's best for the shareholder and management.12. Leave brokers alone to do what we do best, help our clients. We do not need 3 conference calls a week.
13. Put out a compensation plan that will cause other firms to explain to their brokers why theirs is so low. For the price you paid for WB, you got the brokerage for free and can afford it. You can also pay for this by eliminating at least two layers of management, they are not needed. 14. Get rid of nuisanse (sp?) fees. We are profitable enough not to charge ticket fees, account fees and so on. Clients will come (and leave) for this reason alone.Good post, Primo. Seems like SF is already running with that model. I am sure they have the pain in the rear fees too but they don’t have the fat that WS does.
15. Additions to the retention bonus for all AGE FC’S who have lost their ass on WB stock since the takeover. It was not the choice of AGE brokers for WB management to buy Golden West a year before buying AGE. It was also not the choice of AGE brokers to destroy shareholder wealth by keeping such pisspoor management in place. But it is the AGE brokers who have lost more than anyone since May 2007. I am briefly entertaining the idea that this might become a great place to work once again, but only if management starts to play their cards right. So far, they have dealt nothing but busts… Their opportunity to redeem themselves is rapidly diminishing. Someone please forward this to Danny, I seem to have misplaced his e-mail address and have forgotten my infomax, pulse, and whatever the hell else passwords.