Joe Montgomery is a Managing Director - Investments with Wells Fargo Advisors and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® practitioner. As an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® and a PIM® Portfolio Manager, he heads up The Optimal Service Group of Wells Fargo Advisors at the firm’s Williamsburg, Virginia office. Joe joined the firm in 1975 and has been routinely recognized in the industry. *Barron’s has named Joe every year to the Top 100 Financial Advisors ranking since its 2004 inception through 2023. In 2019, Joe was named to the Barron’s Advisor Hall of Fame which is reserved only for advisors who have been recognized by Barron’s as a Top 100 Advisor for ten years in a row. In addition, Barron’s has named The Optimal Service Group to the Top 100 Institutional Consulting Teams from 2020-2023. Forbes magazine has named Joe #1 in Virginia on the Best-In-State-Wealth Advisors ranking from 2020-2024. Since 2005 Joe has been a charter member of the Dow Jones Wealth Management Advisory Council. Joe has also been sought out for his viewpoint by several media outlets. Joe is a frequent guest on Asset TV.com where he discusses trends in the investment environment and provides commentary on the current state of the markets. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the College of William and Mary (Williamsburg, VA) and is a graduate of the Securities Industry Institute presented at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Finance and Commerce (Philadelphia, PA), where he has since lectured. *Barron’s Top 100 Institutional Consultants: The teams in the ranking were evaluated on a range of criteria, including institutional investment assets overseen by the team, the revenue generated by those assets, the number of clients served by the team, and the number of team members, their regulatory records, advanced professional designations and accomplishments represented on the team. To be named a Barron’s Hall of Fame Advisor the advisor has to have been named by Barron’s for the last ten years consecutively in any of their rankings. In Joseph W. Montgomery’s case from 2010-2019 he was named to Barron’s Top 100 Financial Advisors ranking. Barron’s Top 100 and Forbes Top 100 (via Shook Research, LLC): rankings are based on data provided by the advisor or their investment firm. While investment performance is not a criterion, the following factors are considered in all three; assets under management, experience and regulatory record. Specific publication factors include, Barron’s - revenue production, quality of practice and client retention; Financial Times - industry certifications and online accessibility; and Forbes - revenue production and other factors.