2025 Trusted Advisers: Todd Larsen

Editor's note: Incorrect data that appeared in the print edition has been corrected in the online version.

Now the senior vice president and senior wealth management officer for Guaranty Bank, Todd Larsen began as a financial advisor for A.G. Edwards in Iowa’s Quad Cities in 2001.

“I discovered that I was passionate about helping people achieve their financial goals and objectives,” he says.

As a wealth management officer, Larsen helps individuals, families and business owners to build thriving portfolios that serve their own needs and often those of their communities, he says.

“Daily, I work with clients to understand their financial goals and share my insights and expertise to help them achieve them,” he says. “This is not something I take lightly.”

Larsen says he focuses on the individual.

“My main objective is assisting clients in creating strategy that is fully customized to their specific life situation and needs,” he says. “We work together as a team.”

Larsen asks clients to share insights about themselves and to take an active role in creating their investment strategy.

“I feel that if a client is actively involved in the creation process, their financial future becomes clearer and more impactful,” he says. “The more active they are, the more confident they feel in their ability to achieve their financial goals.”

Over time, his clients come to realize the need to revisit their plan before making large financial decisions, and they recognize how each decision impacts the next.

“This is a great example of how the work we have done together has been educational, meaningful and created value for them and their families on a long-term scale,” he says.

Larsen says he sets himself apart from others in the industry by finding a way to say yes.

“When working with clients, it is easy to tell them that they should not spend their money when they are concerned about overspending and running low before they have achieved their goals,” he says. “Instead, I look for ways to accomplish their goals even if it looks different than they originally thought.”

Larsen places a great deal of value in talking things over with clients who are looking to make a financial move.

“Conversation seems like a simple solution, and it is,” he says. “You have to spend time and really understand what your clients are trying to accomplish and know what’s important to them. You must understand their whys and carve a path to exceed their dreams. This brings me great joy.”

One of his clients, James R. Batten, attests to Larsen’s professionalism, integrity and ethical standards – but he also praises Larsen’s steadiness.

“His advice has always been sound, thoughtful and delivered with a calm, reassuring demeanor, even during volatile market periods,” Batten says.