Laura has been in the financial services industry for over 30 years. She now serves as Managing Director-Investments at Wells Fargo Advisors. She has been a Wells Fargo Advisors Platinum Council* from 1995 - 2024. Laura has been a guest speaker at various educational conferences for Smith Barney, Prudential Securities and Wells Fargo Advisors.
She was recognized nationally as one of the Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-In-State for 2023** and in 2021 as one of the Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors, In 2022 and 2024 she made the Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisor &In 2023 she made the Forbes Top Wealth Management Teams High Net Worth. She completed the designation of Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) in 1995, completing the certification program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
She has been an active member of Investments & Wealth Institute (formerly Investment Management Consultants Association-IMCA) for over 25 years. Laura holds her FINRA Series 7, Series 63, Series 65 registrations and her CA Insurance License Number: #0A11302, Resident State: CA.
As a philanthropist Laura has been supporting many organizations and non-profits and served on many non-profit boards. She recently resigned from being President Emeritus of Family Rescue Center to devote 3 years with her husband as deacons to their church. She currently is on the board for Haven Hills and is giving several scholarships to young women.
Laura was born in Naples, Italy and spent her childhood traveling with her family. Her dad was in Naval Intelligence and retired after serving 20 years and went to work in top secret with North American Rockwell in Columbus, Ohio. She did her undergraduate studies at Ohio State University. She has lived in Los Angeles since 1979 and currently lives with her husband Craig Smith in Encino.
*The Platinum Council (previously known as Premier Advisor) distinction is held by a select group of Financial Advisors within Wells Fargo Advisors as measured by completion of educational components, business production based on the past year, and professionalism. Additional criteria, best practices and team structure, may also be used to determine recipients.
**Best In State Wealth Advisors 2024 - 2024 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors: Awarded April 2024; Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on the time period from 6/30/22 - 6/30/23 (Source: Forbes.com). Fee paid for use of marketing materials. The 2024 Forbes Best In State Wealth Advisors rating algorithm is based on the previous year’s industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC. Investment performance is not a criterion. Self-completed survey was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria.
2023 Forbes Top Wealth Management Teams High Net Worth: Awarded April 2023; Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on the time period from 6/30/21 – 6/30/22 (Source: Forbes.com). Fee paid for use of marketing materials. The 2023 Forbes Top Wealth Management Teams High-Net-Worth rating algorithm is based on the previous year’s industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC. Investment performance is not a criterion. Self-completed survey was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria.
2023 Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State: Awarded February 2023; Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on the time period from 9/30/21 - 9/30/22 (Source: Forbes.com). Fee paid for use of marketing materials. The Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors Best-in-State rating algorithm is based on the previous year’s industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC. Investment performance is not a criterion. Self-completed survey was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria.
2022 Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors: Awarded April 2022; Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on the time period from 9/30/20 - 9/30/21 (Source: Forbes.com). Fee paid for use of marketing materials. The Forbes Best In State Wealth Advisors rating algorithm is based on the previous year’s industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC. Investment performance is not a criterion. Self-completed survey was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria.
2021 Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors: Awarded March 2021; Data compiled by SHOOK Research LLC based on the time period from 9/30/19 - 9/30/20 (Source: Forbes.com). Fee paid for use of marketing materials. The Forbes Top Women Wealth Advisors rating algorithm is based on the previous year’s industry experience, interviews, compliance records, assets under management, revenue and other criteria by SHOOK Research, LLC. Investment performance is not a criterion. Self-completed survey was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria.
