By David Wignall

Wells Fargo Advisors is beefing up its presence in Baton Rouge. The bank announced Friday that it has recruited the Feld Weinstein Group, a wealth advising team that previously oversaw $1.7 billion in client assets at Morgan Stanley.

The group is led by advisors David Weinstein, Ira Feld, Sergio Collette, and Brandon Chagnard, each with more than a decade of industry experience. Before joining Morgan Stanley in 2016, all four advisors were affiliated with Merrill Lynch, according to BrokerCheck, a public database maintained by Finra. The team will join Wells Fargo's branch in Baton Rouge, La.

The Feld Weinstein Group aren't the only ones jumping ship in Louisiana. Nicole Fawley, who oversaw roughly $100 million in client assets at Morgan Stanley, is also decamping to Wells Fargo's Baton Rouge office. Fawley previously held roles at Merrill Lynch and Banc One, which was acquired by J.P. Morgan, according to BrokerCheck.

Heather Hunt-Reddy, central division leader at Wells Fargo, said that the recruits were "renowned for their deep expertise in serving high-net-worth families, institutions, and business owners."

It has been an exceptionally competitive year for advisor recruitment, as private equity-backed firms, banks, asset managers, and independent registered advisors all vie for industry talent.

Morgan Stanley has mounted its own recruitment efforts in recent months, picking up large-dollar teams from Merrill Lynch and UBS. In May, Wells Fargo recruited a team that managed $800 million in client assets from UBS.

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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August 15, 2025 13:47 ET (17:47 GMT)

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