UPDATE 3-TD to move U.S. adviser services to TD Ameritrade

By John McCrank

TORONTO, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank said on Thursday it is moving its U.S. financial advisers from its main banking unit to discount brokerage TD Ameritrade as part of a plan to streamline its operations south of the border.

TD, Canada's second-largest bank, is asking its clients to follow the move to TD Ameritrade, in which it holds a 47.5 percent stake, or to move to the bank's wealth-management division, geared to high-net-worth individuals.

'Really, the decision was centered around making sure that each of the businesses in the U.S. are focused on what they do best,' said TD spokeswoman Susan Webb.

There is no specific timetable to complete the move, which is part of a tighter integration between TD Bank's retail operations and TD Ameritrade's brokerage and advisory businesses, said Fred Tomczyk, president and chief executive of TD Ameritrade.

'We've always hinted at this,' he said.

TD Bank is looking to find positions at TD Ameritrade or, alternatively, its wealth management segment, for the more than 100 advisers in the unit that is being shut down.

TD's U.S. wealth management business provides private client services such as private banking, trust services, and investment counseling.

Tomczyk did not provide any specifics on how many employees would be absorbed into TD Ameritrade, the second-biggest U.S. discount broker, but said: 'We're obviously going to have to add sales people.'

He said that the two operations would not try to hurry the transfer of clients and employees.

'This will take time to get it right,' he said.

TD Bank does not disclose the number of clients it has in any particular division. But a report in Financial Planning, a trade publication, put the number that would be affected by the move at about 100,000.

'Our hope is that they will look to transition,' said Webb. 'We really believe the breadth of the TD Ameritrade product offering will more than meet the needs of these investors.'

She said those needs primarily centered on mutual funds and annuities.

TD Ameritrade spokeswoman Kim Hillyer said TD Bank has been trying out a referral program in New York for the past couple of weeks, steering banking customers seeking investment consultants towards TD Ameritrade.

The initiative is part of a broader effort to explore more ways that Omaha-based TD Ameritrade broker can work with TD, she said. 'Long term, we'll work closely with TD on other cross-selling opportunities,' she said.

Customers who seek detailed investment advice will be referred to TD Ameritrade's network of affiliated independent registered investment advisors, or RIAs.

She declined to disclose the number of TD Bank clients expected to move to Ameritrade.

Shares of TD Bank were down 56 Canadian cents at C$62.89 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Thursday afternoon. TD Ameritrade was down 38 cents at $16.89 on Nasdaq. Both Toronto's TSX index and the Nasdaq were down more than 2 percent.

($1=$1.06 Canadian)

(Additional reporting by Joe Rauch and Joseph A. Giannone; editing by Peter Galloway) Keywords: TORONTODOMINION/TDAMERITRADE ([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.