From the second his feet hit the hot summer asphalt, jumping barefoot out of his family’s moving truck in 1982, Trevor Wilde, managing director of Wilde Wealth Management Group, knew Arizona was home.
“I still remember feeling the heat beneath my feet,” remarked Wilde. “Moving to Arizona from Utah was a big adjustment, but I haven’t left since and now I’m raising my own family here.”
For Wilde, a north Valley father of four, family comes first. Above all else, family is a central element that is woven throughout his entire life – from his early years to his business to how he gives back to his community.
Growing Up
As the oldest of four kids – three of whom were adopted, including himself – you would assume Wilde had a nontraditional upbringing. However, that was not the case.
“My parents raised my siblings and me with very strong family values,” said Wilde. “They never let us feel like we were anything other than completely their children – there was never an ‘a-ha’ moment of realizing we were adopted, we always knew.”
Throughout his childhood, family closeness was imbedded in every element of his life – from Monday family nights to regular family dinners. When it came to his future, Wilde always wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to grow up to be when I was a kid; I just knew I wanted to help people,” remarked Wilde. “My whole childhood, I looked up to my dad’s business experience as an example of what to do right. He really opened my eyes to financial services.”
After graduating from Horizon High School, Wilde went on to the University of Arizona, where he studied business and financial studies.
“After my dad spurred my interest, I pretty much knew where I wanted to end up,” said Wilde. “It wasn’t long after that we decided to go into business together.”
The Family Business
In 2003, after surviving a winter in Minneapolis with a large firm primarily focused on retirement planning and investments, Wilde partnered with his father Bill to found Wilde Wealth Management Group.
“Partnerships are hard – especially with the added element of a family dynamic,” said Wilde. “My dad allowed me to run with ideas and wasn’t afraid to let me fail. I can’t imagine how he did it, now that I’m a father myself.”
With Wilde Wealth Management Group, their mission was to offer boutique, customized investment and planning advice in a holistic fashion, and to offer clients expanded in-house service offerings from fellow independent experts and specialists in the fields of legal, taxes, risk management, family services, real estate and even insurance.
After taking over the business five years ago, Wilde still works to keep the family dynamic alive. It’s easy when five people out of the 23 employees have been family members.
“In addition to all the work my dad and I did together, my siblings Vanessa, Seth and Whitney have all been employed by our company at one time or another,” said Wilde. “It’s important to not treat them too much like family at work – so I make sure to treat everyone like family instead.”
Wilde Wealth Management Group ensures that family love extends out to the community through their local involvement, which was very important to Wilde growing up.
“As kids, my brother and I were both Eagle Scouts – and so was my dad,” said Wilde. “There was a strong emphasis on community giving, and I make sure to include that in the business today.”
As such, he champions the Wilde for Arizona™ Community Outreach Program, which empowers the entire firm to be active in community involvement. Throughout the program, they have been able to positively impactorganizations including Feed my Starving Children, St. Mary’s Food Bank, Cell Phones for Soldiers, Sunshine Acres, Briggs 4 Kidz, Child Crisis Arizona and many more. Their annual Toys for Tots fundraiser, which recently celebrated its 15thyear, collected 550 new toys for local children, along with a $5,000 cash donation. In addition, the program gives back to local community partners by hosting dozens of events from backpack drives to school fundraisers, in addition to regular financial contributions
“We love to be able to give back to the community and always invite our clients to be a part of that,” said Wilde. “At our latest trip to Feed my Starving Children, we were joined by 45 clients. I love the people we serve, as well as the people we employ and work with every day.”
Home Life
Now a father to four daughters, Peyton, Presley, Piper and Paige, Wilde is instilling the same family-centric qualities he was raised with on his own children.
“My upbringing and the way I run my business definitely impact how my wife, Meghan, and I are raising our kids,” said Wilde. “She’s also from a close-knit family and understands the importance it has had on her life.”
Above all else – one central theme remains.
“For me, family is everything,” said Wilde.
Written by: Annelise Krafft
Annelise Krafft, the daughter of local reporter Steve Krafft, earned her Bachelor of Arts in Strategic Communication with a dual emphasis in Public Relations and Advertising and a minor in Spanish from Northern Arizona University before settling into the world of freelance writer and public relations at HMA Public Relations in Phoenix earlier this year. In her spare time, the Arizona native enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, Daniel, playing with her two dogs and tracking the latest celebrity gossip. akrafft@hmapr.com.
