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More than 35 years ago, Jan Earley started her career as a secretary at a national wirehouse. It didn’t take long for her to realize she wanted to become an advisor herself. When an opening popped up, she told her boss she wanted to be considered. She was passed over and the job was given to the next man who applied.
Earley eventually decided to study for the Series 7 exam on her own time. With her Series 7 and 63, she was hired as financial advisor at another firm. In no time, she became the top producing advisor in Tucson—male or female—and has been shattering the glass ceiling ever since.
After much success in the business, Earley decided to go independent. In 2005, forming the Presidio Group Wealth Management team, she joined Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network (WFAFN). Her reputation of caring about her clients has led to Presidio becoming one of the top investment practices in the Tucson-area.
“Clients can go anywhere to invest their money,” Earley said. “I don’t believe that everyone cares about their clients like we do. At Presidio, we are client-centric and do our best to take care of not only their money, but also the person and their family.”
That culture was so appealing to Ryan Thompson, that after 11 years as the Pacific North regional director for WFAFN, he left that position and joined Earley’s team.
In 2018, Earley started to consider retirement and was looking for someone to come onboard and take over the practice for her. Serving as one of her points of contact with WFAFN, Thompson helped her line up potential matches. Earley did not find a good fit with the candidates and eventually asked Thompson if he would be interested in buying into the business, knowing how much he cared about Presidio.
Thompson’s plan is to help Presidio grow, while maintaining the culture Earley has established. Since Thompson joined the group, the practice has already added locations outside of San Francisco and in Chico, CA, with no plans of stopping there.
“We want to be a growth engine and bring the Presidio culture to advisors across the U.S.,” Thompson explained. “We’re not just running a business. We want to build an enterprise with the Presidio culture and brand. Having enterprise scale allows advisors to focus on their clients, while leveraging the consistency and support Presidio can provide around items like marketing and supervision.”
With Presidio being part of WFAFN for nearly 15 years, Earley and her colleagues have been able to take advantage of any outside support that’s been needed.
“The help we have received from WFAFN has been great,” Earley said. “Our supervision audits have always been clean and part of the reason is the oversight WFAFN has provided.”
WFAFN has also provided Earley—and now Thompson—the freedom to run Presidio the way they envision.
“For 11 years, I advocated for people to join WFAFN and become business owners so they could be their own boss,” Thompson concluded. “Now, I’m on the other side of the table and can help Presidio build their business and take advantage of the complete freedom that WFAFN offers its advisors.”
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The experiences discussed in this article may not be representative of the experiences of other Financial Advisors.
Wells Fargo recognizes and values the diversity of its employees, customers, and business partners. Wells Fargo is an Affirmative Action and Equal Opportunity Employer, Minority/Female/Disabled/Veteran/Gender Identity/Sexual Orientation.
Investment products and services are offered through Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC (WFAFN). Presidio Group Wealth Management is a separate entity from WFAFN. CAR-0921-00465
