By Kenneth Corbin
Wells Fargo has recruited a large investment advisory practice that previously oversaw more than $1.7 billion in client assets at UBS. The Snow Pine Private Wealth team, based in the Twin Cities suburb of Wayzata, Minn., joined FiNet, Wells Fargo's independent channel, on Tuesday.
Snow Pine's clients include entrepreneurs and family business owners, including "first-generation wealth builders who created something from nothing," says CEO Derek Cherne, who says that affiliating as an independent practice with Wells Fargo will allow his team to deliver those clients a more holistic service model.
"They deserve an advisor who can serve them across their entire financial lives, not just one piece of it," he says. "As they navigate increasing financial complexities, they require a trusted steward who understands them and their goals."
UBS declined to comment on the departure. One advisor on the team, Michael Walker, along with Tamara Grochala, a support staffer, remains with UBS.
In addition to Cherne, the team joining Wells Fargo includes advisors Keith Burke, Andrew Knutson, Daniel Miller, Dean Breitbach, Peter Knutson, and Clayton Knutsen, as well as support staffers Patrick Mulheran, Jacob Johnson, Laurie Knutson, Renee Gubrud, and Kathleen Freiderich. Andrew and Peter Knutson are brothers; Laurie is their mother.
The move is the latest recruiting win for Wells Fargo's FiNet, which the bank has been promoting to advisors looking to go independent but still have access to the institutional resources of a large brokerage firm and bank.
Wells Fargo remains an active recruiter in other channels, as well. It recently announced several February additions to its Private Client Group, which caters to wealthy individuals and families.
Those additions include three advisory practices from Morgan Stanley. Most recently, the New Hampshire-based father-son team of Richard Lyons and Daniel Lyons joined Wells Fargo from Morgan, where they managed about $270 million in assets.
Wells Fargo also hired Dallas-based advisor Michelle Bennett and Allie Walls, a client associate, away from Morgan Stanley, where Bennett oversaw more than $140 million in assets. Robert Hill, a Florida advisor who managed $130 million in client assets, also joined Wells Fargo from Morgan Stanley with his daughter, financial consultant Alex Hill.
Wells Fargo also recruited a $210 million Florida practice led by Keith Kordich and Barry Dershaw, who joined from Ameriprise.
Spokeswomen for Morgan Stanley and Ameriprise didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the departures.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 05, 2026 16:18 ET (21:18 GMT)
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