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Massachusetts launches investigation of Wells Fargo Advisors

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Wells Fargo’s wealth management business is facing a fresh investigation into whether clients were sold inappropriate investments and steered into high-cost advisory accounts, Financial Planning reported. On Thursday, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced that he has opened a probe into Wells Fargo Advisors on the heels of federal scrutiny of the firm’s sales practices and adviser conduct. Galvin said his office will explore whether Wells Fargo Advisors moved clients from the brokerage wing of the practice into higher-cost managed and advisory accounts, as well as whether advisers made unsuitable product and retirement planning recommendations. He also highlighted the issue of 401(k) rollovers as one warranting close examination in the context of “the retirement savings crisis” and the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.