Wells Fargo has seen an exodus of financial advisers over the past few years amid multiple scandals that have tarnished the bank’s reputation. Now the company is laying off some advisers as it looks to cuts costs in a low-rate environment that amounts to a headwind for banks. During the third quarter, the number of advisers at the bank’s brokerage unit, Wells Fargo Advisors, fell by 390, or 2.9%, to 12,908. “While this change represents retirements and some natural adviser attrition, it also includes the displacement of a sizable group of salary/bonus advisers as a result of the company’s work to become as efficient as we can,” spokesperson Shea Leordeanu said in an email statement. “Wells Fargo has been transparent that we expect to reduce the size of our workforce through a combination of attrition, the elimination of open roles, and job displacements.”Below, some of the best analysis and insight from WSJ writers and columnists, the Dow Jones Newswires team and occasionally beyond, on investing, the wealth-management business and more.

Source: Wall Street Journal October 16, 2020 10:07 UTC