The announcement that Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) will be adding 1,400 brokers to their work force on the surface seems to be a nod toward significant growth prospects and an aggressive expansion into the sector, but the reality is, according to normal practices of financial institutions, this is more of a replenishing of workers than anything else and the maintaining of its existing work force.

As far as the specifics of the hiring goes, about 1,000 experienced brokers from other companies will be hired by Wells, while another 400 people new to the business will be trained to be brokers by the company.

When recently asked about the hiring plans and what it means, Wells Fargo spokeswoman Teresa Doughety said this when asked if this was about keeping the workforce brokerage at the company at about 15,000: “We believe quality of FAs and growth in assets are key, not sheer headcount for its own sake.”

Her response seems to confirm that the announcement by Wells Fargo, while true, was an attempt to make it look like Wells was expanding it brokerage to the average person on the street, when it truth they are simply doing what they do year after year, which is replenish the approximate 10 percent attrition rate in that particular segment of the company.

At the end of 2009 Wells has 14,961 brokers in that part of the business. The only financial institutions with more are Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) and Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) Merrill Lynch. Morgan Stanley is the leader with 18,135 global brokers.

Some in the headhunting and recruiting industries weren’t that impressed with the number of new brokers being hired by Wells Fargo, as it’s pretty much in line with the attrition rate of 10 percent mentioned above.

How it usually works in the industry is about 5 percent leave for everyday reasons like disability or death, while the other 5 percent are poached by other companies.

So each year all the companies deal with having to hire and/or train approximately 10 percent new people just to remain even for their brokerage employees. So the 1,400 new brokers is right in line with what is the usual practice, and there’s nothing at all to what some are reporting as a meaningful and important growth for Wells. It’s just maintenance of their broker force and nothing else.