Parthenon Capital Partners and Wells Fargo & Company Enter Definitive Agreement

Wireless News
07-05-2011
Parthenon Capital Partners and Wells Fargo & Company Enter Definitive Agreement
Type: News

Parthenon Capital Partners and Wells Fargo & Company announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Parthenon Capital Partners to acquire Wells Fargo's H.D. Vest Financial Services business.

According to a release, following the transaction, H.D. Vest's existing management team, led by Roger Ochs, will continue to operate the business. Founded in 1983 and based in Irving, TX, H.D. Vest provides independent financial solutions to over 1.8 million retail investors through an advisor base of over 4,800 securities- licensed tax professionals.
H.D. Vest's CEO, Roger Ochs, stated: "We are excited to partner with Parthenon Capital Partners to complete the purchase of H.D. Vest from Wells Fargo. As a standalone entity under this new ownership structure, H.D. Vest will benefit from Parthenon's expertise within the financial services industry as well as Parthenon's significant financial and strategic resources. Both the management team and Parthenon are committed to investing in the future growth of H.D. Vest and have high expectations for the company's potential. The executive leadership team of H.D. Vest, Wells Fargo, and Parthenon are each committed to ensuring a smooth and seamless transition for our advisors and our clients. There will be no changes to the H.D. Vest leadership team or home office staffing levels as a result of this transaction. Additionally, our advisors will continue to have access to the same products, services, and tools to offer clients as they do today. Wells Fargo's clearing business, First Clearing Correspondent Services, will continue to provide brokerage clearing services for H.D. Vest. We are excited to have Parthenon as our strategic partner and look forward to working together to achieve our goals."

Andrew Dodson, a Partner at Parthenon Capital Partners who is involved in the firm's financial services investments, commented, "We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Roger Ochs and the executive team at H.D. Vest to execute the company's growth strategy. H.D. Vest is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for independent financial advice, particularly as the country's large Baby Boomer population begins to reach retirement age. After years of thorough industry benchmarking, we concluded that H.D. Vest has a uniquely attractive operating model serving a large, but specialized market."

Wells Fargo noted that its decision to sell H.D. Vest followed a strategic assessment that determined that the firm's business does not align precisely with the business model of Wells Fargo Advisors, Wells Fargo's retail brokerage unit, which is centered on supporting full time financial advisors who are focused primarily on serving and advising affluent and wealthy clients. Danny Ludeman, president and CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, noted that the agreement to sell H.D. Vest does not reflect a change in the brokerage firm's approach to serving independent advisors through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (FiNet). "Wells Fargo Advisors remains firmly committed to serving financial advisors though multiple channels, including FiNet, which is an integral part of our business model," Ludeman said.

Based in Irving, Texas, H.D. Vest is an independent broker/ dealer providing investment and financial advisory solutions to retail investors through tax professionals located throughout the United States.

Parthenon Capital Partners is a mid-market private equity firm based in Boston and San Francisco.

Wells Fargo & Company is a nationwide, diversified, community- based financial services company. Headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet, and other distribution channels across North America and internationally.

First Clearing Correspondent Services provides a suite of solutions to help full-service and independent retail broker- dealers run more efficiently, grow more confidently and protect more effectively. These include trade execution and clearance, securities settlement, record keeping, advisor workstation technology, access to a full range of advisory investment products and services, and a growth-consulting program to help correspondent firms and advisors take their businesses to the next level.

More Information:

hdvest.com

parthenoncapitalpartners.com

wellsfargoadvisors.com

firstclearing.com

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