Joe Ready has been named Wells Fargo’s head of Trust & Fiduciary Services and chief fiduciary officer in Wealth & Investment Management (WIM). Ready has served most recently as director of Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement & Trust.
In his new role, Ready will lead a team that has responsibility and oversight for investment management and administration of WIM’s Trust & Fiduciary services, reporting to Julie Caperton, head of Wealth Client Solutions. He and his team will work with leaders across Wells Fargo Advisors, Wells Fargo Private Bank and Abbot Downing to deliver Wells Fargo’s trust and fiduciary services to meet client needs, while effectively managing fiduciary and compliance risk.
“Joe’s appointment to this important leadership role is a testament to his many years of managing complex fiduciary institutional and retail businesses in a way that prudently balances growth, risk and compliance and efficiency,” Caperton said. “We are committed to growing our fiduciary business responsibly as we deliver services that meet our clients’ financial needs.”
Ready has more than 30 years of trust and investment experience, including leadership roles at First Fidelity Bank in corporate trust, as chief administrative officer of a large trust division and head of a mutual fund business. Since 1999, he has served as head of Wells Fargo’s Institutional Retirement & Trust business, where he has overseen more than 5,000 employer-sponsored retirement plans and custody accounts with 4 million employees representing almost $750 billion in assets. Wells Fargo announced on April 9 it has entered into an agreement to sell the Institutional Retirement & Trust business to Principal Financial Group.
Ready and his team also will help drive product development for the Investment & Fiduciary Services platform, which includes investment management, personal trust services and a number of specialized services designed to meet the diverse needs of high net worth clients. At the same time, he will continue to serve as chair of the Wells Fargo Bank N.A. Trust Committee to oversee and review business, products, services, operations, controls, investment activities and results of fiduciary activities.
Ready also will remain connected to the Institutional Retirement & Trust transition to Principal Financial Group. His focus will include activities related to client retention, steering committee and business oversight and offering advice on transition-related issues.
