Christopher S. Sargent

“It was fun and interesting. They did their own underwritings. The senior partners were on the boards of most of the locally prominent companies. They specialized in local stocks and you really got a flavor of what was going on in the community,” he says.

After graduating from Williams College and serving three years in the Navy as a line officer, Sargent adds: “I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I came back to Auchincloss.” That was in 1966 and while the firm’s name has changed — from Thompson McKinnon to Prudential Securities to Wachovia Securities, and soon to come, to Wells Fargo — one constant has remained: Chris Sargent.

Forrest E. Williams, Sargent’s branch manager and a colleague since 1972, calls Sargent a “classic,” saying he’s had an undeniable impact on the branch.

“Branches often take on some of the personality of their largest producers. My job has been made easier in many respects by the individuals in this branch emulating Chris Sargent in terms of his presence and demeanor, his class, work ethic and high standards. Plus, he likes stocks and loves to talk about them to all levels — from the seasoned vets to new trainees. And he does it on his own, one on one,” observes Williams. “He sets a tone here. His staff exhibits these same traits, so it really rubs off on the entire office.”

Sargent’s team includes two administrators, Pamela Smith Bolanis and Mary Hong Harte — who help with investment research and clients — along with their two assistants. Sargent — who with his wife, Anne, is a passionate collector of China trade art — has never advertised and his practice, with its $1 million minimum, has grown organically through word of mouth.

Sargent says he has been amazed at the reaction of clients to the current market downturn. “So many have called us to see how we are doing — not how they’re doing. It’s been extraordinary and really gratifying,” he says. “You hate to see people losing money, a lot of money in this kind of market. You just try and ride through a storm like this. It’s handholding, keeping people calm and rational, and trying not to let people let fear take over. You don’t sell a stock just because the market is treating it poorly.”

Twice named to Barron’s annual list of Top 100 Financial Advisors, it was the prestigious Wachovia Way award in 2005 — celebrating Sargent’s professional successes as well as the contributions he has made to his community — that has meant the most to him.

Sargent’s plan going forward? To keep doing what he’s doing.

“I’ve been going at it for 43 years. I will at least go for 50,” he says. “I do love the business.”

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Freelance writer Ellen Uzelac is based in Chestertown, Md.; the former West Coast bureau chief and national correspondent for The Baltimore Sun, can be reached at [email protected].