MutualFundWire.com: UBS and Wachovia Size Each Other's Wirehouses Up
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Tuesday, February 3, 2009

UBS and Wachovia Size Each Other's Wirehouses Up


It looks like the market logic of the pervasive 'rule of three' may soon apply to the world of wirehouses. The latest massive B-D merger, if it pans out, would create a giant distribution organization that few mutual fund companies could afford to ignore. Last month Citigroup and Morgan Stanley unveiled a joint venture that combines their brokerages (see MFWire, 1/9/2009, 1/12/2009 and 1/13/2009), and now the New York Post's Mark DeCambre reports that UBS and Wells Fargo-owned Wachovia held "preliminary talks" about launching a similar joint venture, combining UBS Global Wealth Management in the US with Wachovia Securities.

The Post estimates that the two wirehouses have a total of 24,000 reps between them, versus Citi-Smith Barney-Morgan Stanley's 20,000 reps.

Spokespeople for UBS and Wachovia both declined to comment.


Printed from: MFWire.com/story.asp?s=20634

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