Extending efforts across the company to protect older customers
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced it has formed a corporate center of excellence focused on protecting elder clients from financial abuse. Ron Long, who has led similar efforts within Wells Fargo Advisors, will head this work for the corporation. Long will report into Wells Fargo Wealth & Investment Management while extending efforts across the company to ensure a steady focus on protecting the hard-earned savings and investments of older customers.
The older population is the fastest growing segment in the U.S., with baby boomers turning 65 at a rate of 10,000 per day — a trajectory projected to continue until at least 2030.1 Total annual losses from elder financial abuse across the U.S. are as much as $36.5 Billion.2
Wells Fargo has made the fight to protect older clients from financial abuse a top priority and is taking a leading role in raising awareness and taking steps to help prevent it. Wells Fargo Advisors led the financial industry with elder focus when it created the Elder Client Initiatives team in 2014, with Long as the director. His team influenced the “trusted contact” concept and worked not only to help protect Wells Fargo Advisors but every brokerage client by advocating for a consistent approach across the industry.
“Ron is an industry expert on effective approaches to protecting older clients,” said Bob Mooney, Wealth & Investment Management control executive. “He has expertise partnering across the company and with external groups on solutions that help older Americans with brokerage or banking accounts. Elevating his work to more consistently benefit each part of Wells Fargo helps ensures every customer benefits.”
In addition to the work undertaken by Long’s team, Wells Fargo provides free education resources on the risks of elder financial abuse through its senior curriculum of Hands on Banking®, offered in communities across the U.S.
Prior to his work at Wells Fargo Advisors and now Wells Fargo, Long was a district administrator in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Philadelphia District. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
1 United States Census Bureau. “An Aging Nation: The Older Population in the United States,” 2014. 2 True Link Financial. "True Link Report on Elder Financial Abuse." 2015.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,800 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 37 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 259,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 26 on Fortune’s 2018 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management (WIM) is a division within Wells Fargo & Company. WIM provides financial products and services through various bank and brokerage affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company.
About Wells Fargo Advisors
With $1.5 trillion in client assets as of December 31, 2018, Wells Fargo Advisors provides investment advice and guidance to clients through 13,968 full-service financial advisors and referrals from 5,254 licensed bankers. This vast network of advisors, one of the nation’s largest, serves investors through locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Wells Fargo Advisors is the trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, Members SIPC, separate registered broker-dealers and non-bank affiliates of Wells Fargo & Company. All data includes Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC and Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network, LLC, as of December 31, 2018. www.wellsfargoadvisors.com
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