Download the 2010 OC FINANCIAL ADVISERS List (pdf)
The county’s largest financial advisers grew at a small clip during the past 12 months in a sign the industry is stabilizing after cutting and consolidating hundreds of jobs after the financial meltdown.
The 18 largest companies here that trade stocks, make investments and manage money for investors gained 31 licensed brokers in the past 12 months, a 2% rise to 1,616 people, according to this week’s Business Journal list.
A year earlier, the group saw an 11% decline in brokers as the late 2008 and early 2009 Wall Street meltdown led to a number of cuts and office closures here.
The list includes brokers at investment banks, financial services companies and money management arms of banks. It ranks companies by registered representatives who hold licenses to sell stocks and other investments.
In all, the 18 companies on the list employ 10,592 people here, including brokers and other workers, down 7.7% from a year earlier.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. accounted for most of the overall employment loss, cutting 400 jobs, or 8.3% of its local operation.
The bank consolidated positions after integrating late 2008 acquisition Wachovia Corp. here and cutting some jobs in its mortgage division.
While Wells de-creased its overall em-ployment here, it drove the gain in brokers on the list, adding 57 registered representatives for a total of 457, up more than 14% from a year earlier.
That helped Wells easily hold the list’s top spot, ahead of No. 2 Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, which has 302 local brokers, and No. 3 Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch with 251.
Without Wells, the other companies shed 26 brokers, a 2.2% decline.
“We really look to grow even during the tough years,” said John Evans, regional managing director for Wells’ wealth, brokerage and retirement division.
Evans attributed the growth to the selling of investment services by the bank’s branches, which boosted revenue, assets under management and market share across Orange County.
Wells, which has 131 branches here, controls $15.7 billion, or 21% of OC deposits as of June 30, up 6% from a year earlier.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America is the market’s deposit leader with $16.1 billion in deposits.
“Brokers who come here get more leads than other places,” Evans said.
Wells has plans to boost hiring in the next year, according to Evans. He declined to cite any numbers.
“I’m feeling better about things as we move into next year,” he said.
Wells was among four companies that posted gains in brokers. Six on the list had losses. Two were flat. Six were Business Journal estimates.
Morgan Stanley held its No. 2 position from a year ago. The New York-based company lost 12 brokers here. It also closed an OC office and now operates 12 here.
Merrill Lynch held on to its No. 3 ranking, despite losing nine brokers.
BofA’s New York-based financial advisory arm became the dominant local player in wealth management last year after its hasty marriage with BofA in the chaotic days of the market crash in late 2008.
Merrill manages more than $25 billion in local money, believed to be the top in the industry here.
Greg Mech, Orange County market president for Bank of America, said Merrill plans to grow its operations here as clients age and baby boomers seek retirement strategies.
“This is clearly an important market for us as it is for our competitors,” he said.
Many of Merrill’s clients have changed their investment strategy in the downturn, eliminating risk and moving money into safer fixed-income products rather than seeking high returns through stocks.
“Clients are a bit more conservative today and really trying to make sure they have themselves positioned in an appropriate way,” Mech said.
No. 6 Centaurus Financial Inc., which moved down two spots on the list, lost 16 registered brokers, the most of any company. The 17% drop for the Anaheim-based company also was the steepest.
Centaurus officials didn’t return calls for comment.
Switzerland’s UBS Financial Inc. moved past Centaurus to claim the No. 5 spot, despite staying flat from a year ago with 79 brokers.
The company, which operates offices in Brea, Irvine and Newport Beach, manages nearly $9 billion in local money, up a couple hundred million from the end of 2009, according to Randy Grossblatt, regional director of the Southern California market.
UBS has been trying to right the ship since it nearly collapsed early last year after betting heavily on the U.S. subprime market. The company has slashed hundreds of jobs globally in its brokerage and investment banking divisions.
In the next year, UBS is expected to hire 150 financial advisers as it continues to cut lower performers and shore up existing operations.
The days of hiring announcements in the thousands are over.
“The failure rates were excessive,” Grossblatt said.
The company targets investors with more than $1 million in investible assets. It is concentrating on building its money under management, revenue and lending, according to Grossblatt.
“We want to do a better job for our clients,” he said.
