By Andrew Welsch
Wells Fargo's brokerage unit scored another big financial advisor recruiting win. On Friday, the company hired a top-ranked advisor team from Morgan Stanley, where the advisors managed $5.94 billion in client assets, according to Wells Fargo.
The Taylor Group joined Wells Fargo in New York. The Taylor team is ranked No. 146 on Barron's Top 250 Private Wealth Management Teams for 2025. The group includes advisor James Taylor, who is ranked among Barron's Top Advisors for 2026. He was named to Morgan Stanley's Chairman's Club, an elite group of Morgan Stanley financial advisors in the country, according to the team's profile on Morgan Stanley's website, which was still available on Friday afternoon. His team specializes in serving engineers and executives working at publicly traded companies in Silicon Valley.
A spokeswoman for Morgan Stanley declined to comment on the group's departure.
The team also includes advisors Shane Drumm, Michaella Irvine, Marcus Briscoe, Cameron Irvine, Jamison Embury, Roger McGlynn, Hunter Embury, and Kyle Drumm. Moving with them are support staff Paul Santavicca, Samantha Lynch, Alan Sorokin, Tayte Irvine, Henry Saleeby, Julia Dinota, Aidan Kelly, Isabella Tonuzi, Christina Livacarri, and Eloise Earle.
"This team is a catalyst for growth and is raising the bar in our industry. We're excited to see what they build from here," Patrick Baumann, New York City market leader for Wells Fargo Advisors, said in a statement. The Taylor Group now operates from Wells Fargo Advisors' branch in the GM building in Manhattan, which is led by Branch Director Michael Freiheit, according to Wells Fargo. The company has been striving to step up its recruiting efforts. In February, it hired The Weikes Slattery Group from JPMorgan Chase, where the team oversaw $3.1 billion.
Write to Andrew Welsch at andrew.welsch@barrons.com
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.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 01, 2026 15:31 ET (19:31 GMT)
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