As vice president and manager of Compliance at Benjamin F. Edwards & Co., Bill Wisdom brings with him industry sales experience, along with a deep understanding of compliance and oversight in the securities industry.
Mr. Wisdom began his career in 1987 as a sales representative for Metropolitan Life. Later, he held similar sales and sales support positions at F&G Securities and A.G. Edwards. In 1995, Mr. Wisdom joined Edward Jones as a field supervision director, developing the firm's procedures for supervising the sales of insurance products.
Mr. Wisdom returned to A.G. Edwards in 1996 as a senior sales practice associate in the company’s Compliance Department, performing branch examinations, responding to branch and Home Office regulatory inquiries, and enforcing the firm’s compliance procedures.
Based on his knowledge of the company’s compliance policies and procedures and his familiarity with the branch system, in 2003, Mr. Wisdom was named a manager review senior associate in the Branch Division and tasked with developing a department that reviewed sales activities for producing branch managers. In 2005, his responsibilities were broadened again when he was asked to create a pilot program to identify and centralize some branch manager responsibilities in the company’s Home Office. The pilot program was deemed successful and was rolled out to additional branches and regions with Mr. Wisdom heading the new department, Manager Support Services.
In March 2007, Mr. Wisdom was named an associate vice president of the firm and added to his existing responsibilities the Account Review Department, which provided oversight on the firm’s advisory services products.
A year later, after A.G. Edwards was acquired by Wachovia Securities (now Wells Fargo Advisors), Mr. Wisdom was named a senior vice president and business process director for the Wachovia Securities Financial Network. In that capacity, he reviewed and monitored risk management controls while working frequently with the company’s Compliance, Legal, Internal Audit, and Risk Management Departments.
In 2009, Mr. Wisdom resigned and accepted a position as a vice president and manager of compliance for Benjamin F. Edwards & Co.
Mr. Wisdom holds a number of industry licenses, including his Series 6, 7, 63, 8, 24, 65, 14, and holds the Certified Regulatory & Compliance Professional (CRCP) designation from the Wharton School of Business. He is a graduate of Webster University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Education.
