While the financial crisis led some advisers to abandon major brokerages and go independent, Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) offers one alternative that has a little bit of both approaches.

Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, the bank's independent broker-dealer operation, expects to finish 2009 with 140 more advisers, to add 85 advisory businesses, and to triple its net new assets from a year ago. That forecast, made in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires, comes as many advisers are leaving major companies - or wirehouses - to set up their own businesses.

Wells Fargo's Financial Network - or FiNet - is particularly attractive to advisers because they can set up their own practices, earn a higher payout than their wirehouse peers, but still have access to Wells Fargo's own technology and products.

"What makes [Financial Network] different from other independent brokerages is that it's the best of both worlds," said John Peluso, president of Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in an interview.

Wells Fargo, which acquired FiNet along with Wachovia Securities, is the only major brokerage to offer such a program. Wells Fargo also has its traditional private client group, which has roughly 15,500 advisers, as well its bank brokers.

FiNet is open to experienced brokers and independent advisers with a minimum of $25 million in assets under management. The firm has 405 practices, which include 705 advisers, and $32 billion in assets under management. FiNet expects to add $9 billion in net new assets in 2009. A year ago, FiNet had 645 brokers, 340 business and attracted $3 billion of new client assets.

Peluso said that, while 30% of FiNet brokers use the Wells Fargo name, some based upon their location, the remaining brokers have the option to choose "custom branding." Some brokers may prefer to select their own business names, given the reputation damage that wirehouses suffered over the past year, though Peluso says Wells Fargo is a "safe, reliable brand."

Besides being able to make their own marketing decisions, brokers who choose to go the independent route have the opportunity to generate more from commissions and fees than if they had remained at a major firm. Analysts say that, while independents typically have higher operational costs, they take home about 70% to 80% of their payout, compared with 40% to 50% at the wirehouses.

A Wells Fargo spokesman said "experienced brokers choose independence because they are seeking more control and more opportunities to make decisions about how they want to build equity in their practice. Their success often translates to higher payouts."

Bob Ellis, principal at research and consulting firm Novarica, compared FiNet to a similar independent affiliation offered by Raymond James Financial Inc. (RJF). Ellis said he expects more brokers to go independent with the stock market stabilizing and sees FiNet as a way for Wells Fargo to prevent some potential departures.

"If you know that you are going to lose some people to the independent [broker-dealers], why not maintain some of the relationships and some of the revenue? A little bit of something is better than nothing," he said.

Alois Pirker, a research director at Aite Group, said FiNet "can grow from both ends," adding that the firm has the ability to attract brokers from its own wirehouse side as well as recruit advisers from competitors such as Bank of America Corp.'s (BAC) Merrill Lynch.

-By Brett Philbin, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2173; brett.philbin@dowjones.com