Wells Fargo to nearly double European fund offering
American asset manager to make push into European market with new launches, larger sales team
American bank Wells Fargo is to expand its European business by nearly doubling its fund offerings and increasing its salesforce.
Karla Rabusch, president of Wells Fargo Funds Management, said her firm was set to launch six new Luxembourg-based funds to bring its total number of offerings to 13.
The firm is also set to expand its sales and distribution force in Europe by hiring people on the ground in Germany, Italy and France.
Rabusch said the move is part of a wider plan to become a major player in the European market now the firm has positioned itself as the eleventh largest asset manager in the US after a period of acquisitions and organic growth.
“We would like to be in the top 20 in Europe in the next five years,” Rabusch said.
Wells Fargo’s Luxembourg offerings were launched in 2008 and include US growth, bond and money market funds, as well as a Chine-specific fund, an emerging markets fund and a global equity fund. All of the European funds were built specifically for the market are separate from the 113 funds the firm offers in the US market.
Details of the new funds were not available immediately but are expected to be released by the beginning of July.
Rabusch said Wells Fargo’s move into Europe is part of a natural global expansion caused by faster growth in the European and Asian markets compared to the US.