Wells Fargo has opened another Abbot Downing office in Houston, Texas, while recruiting Karl Farmer as a portfolio manager.

Farmer has 20 years of experience working in the financial services industry and was latterly a senior portfolio manager at BBVA Compass, working with HNW clients.

Before BBVA Compass, Farmer was a portfolio manager and equity analyst at Invesco Aim in Houston, having previously been an equity analyst for Greenlight Capital in New York. He began his career with William M Mercer as an analyst in Fort Worth.  

Abbot Downing, with $35 billion in client assets and a 40-year history working with ultra high net worth clients, is part of Wells Fargo’s wealth, brokerage and retirement group. Wells Fargo launched the Abbot Downing brand on 2 April, 2012, in a move combining two of the firm's UHNW businesses. 

Last week, Wells recruited industry veteran Lester Law – latterly a managing director at US Trust – to serve as director of client management at Abbot Downing in Naples, Florida.

Headquartered in San Francisco, Abbot Downing serves ultra high net worth clients across the US.