Former Wells Fargo Executive Joins Business and Economics Department

The Business and Economics department of the College of Arts & Sciences is pleased to announce the addition of Dean Junkans, CFA, as an adjunct faculty member. In December, Junkans retired from his role as chief investment officer for wealth, brokerage, and retirement at Wells Fargo.

Junkans spent 21 years with Wells Fargo and a total of more than 30 years in the industry, with proven expertise in investment management and client service. He began his career at the company as managing director of investments for Norwest Bank, prior to its merger with Wells Fargo. He then became a regional investment manager for Wells Fargo Private Bank, and later the chief investment officer for The Private Bank in 2004. He was given the additional role of chief investment officer for wealth, brokerage, and retirement in 2011, overseeing the assets managed or administered of a $2 trillion organization.

Junkans’ many accomplishments include establishing a broad four asset class allocation framework appropriate for private clients, developing a trademarked risk scoring approach to help strategically assess risk in the context of a portfolio, navigating the investment management team through the most challenging financial markets of our generation, and leading the team through the merger of Wachovia and Wells Fargo.

He has also played an important role in the industry, chairing the CFA Institute’s Claritas Advisory Committee, serving as a member of the National Chief Investment Officers’ Circle, and serving on the board of governors for Bethel University Foundation and the University of Wisconsin at River Falls Foundation. Junkans is a frequent media contributor, quoted regularly in major national news outlets, and has authored three books offering straightforward advice on money and investing. He is also a U.S. Army veteran, and served in the Gulf War.

“I’m really excited to bring my extensive background and practical insights in the investments world to Bethel students,” he says. “I hope to be able to connect students interested in pursuing a career in investments to my network within the field.” Junkans begins his teaching duties spring semester.