Piecing it all together

Trevor Wilde on work, life, and giving back

By Alison Bailin Batz

The big picture.

When you step back, it’s always a tapestry of small pieces that make it all come together as one.
At a glance, long-time resident Trevor Wilde’s big picture is an impressive one.
At work, he’s not only the co-founder and managing director of Wilde Wealth Management Group in Scottsdale, but was recently named to Barron’s annual list of top 1,200 advisors nationwide and seventh overall in Arizona-his 10th consecutive year being honored and highest ranking to date.
At home, he is the patriarch of a busy and beautiful family that includes four little girls: Peyton, Presley, Piper, and Paige.
And within the community, he’s known as a champion for causes including Cell Phones for Soldiers, Sunshine Acres, Shriners Hospital for Children, Toys for Tots, Child Crisis Arizona, and Briggs 4 Kidz.
If you stop there, at just the big picture, life seems like it’s nothing but smooth sailing for Wilde and his business and family. But, it’s truly all the little pieces that make his story resonate.

Pieces as a Player 

Wilde is the oldest of four kids, three of whom, including him, are adopted.
Growing up in the North Valley, he spent most of his days on the football field.

“Learning how to set short- and longterm goals, both big and small, was in¬grained in me from the first moment I stepped on the field,” says Wilde. ”And while not all goals were always realistic or immediately achievable, I learned that setbacks were only temporary and to always push forward.”

Push forward, he did, eventually earning a linebacker position on Horizon High School’s nationally ranked football team¬a team that would go on to win the 1995 Arizona State Football Championship.
Wilde continued to pursue football throughout college, eventually walking on to the University of Arizona’s football team, where he red-shirted one year and played two on the national stage.
During this time, Wilde also saw the critical role that understanding teamwork, taking calculated risks, and having the ability to be coached played in the lives of everyone around him.

Pieces as a new pro

Wilde moved back to Scottsdale in 2000 to embark on a career in finance.

“When I began in the industry, I worked for a big firm, but we focused very narrowly on retirement planning and investments,” says Wilde. “I found myself wanting to do more to help my clients beyond simply working toward their retirement goals.”
Though still relatively new in the industry, Wilde soon began talking to his father-also in the business-about taking a calculated risk.

“I had this vision that we could find a way to offer boutique, customized investment and planning advice in a fiduciary capacity as well as expanding 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,” says Wilde.
By 2003, father and son each left their respective firms to form Wilde Wealth Management Group. “It did not happen overnight, but within a few years, our team was able to not only take all the pieces of a client’s financial puzzle and organize them, but use them to build a solid foundation that serves not just the client, but his/her family for generations to come,” says Wilde.
They are now four offices strong across Arizona, and moved into a expanded headquarters in Scottsdale just a few years ago.

Pieces as a pop

While building his business, Wilde and his wife Meghan welcomed four daughters into the world.

“Once I became a father, I knew I had to change my approach to my business in a major way,” says Wilde. “Early on, the mistake that I made was feeling that every ounce of myself had to be poured into the business and not having any sort of work/life balance.”

About five years ago, he was pretty much at his wit’s end.

“When my kids were first born, it was easier because there weren’t as many activities. But as they aged and got into soccer and other activities that are important for me to be at, it just became impossible to balance,”he says.
He vividly remember running out of a meeting, trying to make a soccer game across town, while still having multiple conference calls left for the evening.
“I felt completely overwhelmed. The next day, I sat down with our staff and completely restructured my family/work scheduling rules,” says Wilde. “It took about seven months to fully make it all work.”

Pieces from his people 

With the business’ roots firmly planted, and Wilde making family a priority in practice each day, he began to look for ways that his team could make a positive impact beyond just the office, but within the community. Rather than mandate volunteerism projects and programs, however, he turned to members of his team and asked how they wanted to structure this idea.

The result: Wilde Wealth Management’s Wilde for Arizona Community Outreach Program, which empowers the entire firm to be active volunteers, fundraisers, and neighborhood champions.