The brokerage venture of Wachovia Corp. and Prudential Insurance Co. of America has hired a Merrill Lynch & Co. executive as its chief financial officer.
Jeffrey Gelfand was the CFO of Merrill's global private client group, a rival of the joint venture, Wachovia Securities LLC.
He joined it Monday at its Richmond, Va., headquarters and has been appointed a member of its operating committee, which includes other executives who came from Wachovia, of Charlotte, and from Prudential, of New York.
The venture's 12,000 financial advisers, including those based in Wachovia bank branches, make it the country's fourth-largest retail brokerage, behind Merrill, Citigroup Inc., and Morgan Stanley.
Wachovia Securities and Prudential Securities were No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, before they merged July 1. Wachovia Corp. owns 62% of the venture, and Prudential owns 38%.
Mr. Gelfand reports to Emile Shahadi, the CFO of Wachovia's capital management group, which oversees the brokerage.
