Jim’s career in wealth management spans more than a decade.  He has built a diverse background in pension, tax planning, estate planning strategies, financial planning and investments. 

His pension experience comes from Principal Financial Group where he served as a pension underwriter/pension issue professional from 1995 to 1998.  There, he consulted with other pension consultants and companies to help design pension benefits to match their goals within provided constraints.  He worked with defined contribution plans, including profit sharing, 401(k) profit sharing and money purchase plans.  He also worked with defined benefit plans and cross-tested profit sharing plans.  Jim still enjoys providing innovative, cost effective strategies for employers to provide benefits to reward and retain employees in a tax efficient manner.

Jim has earned the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) designation.  While he does not currently practice tax or public accounting, he did have his own tax practice for five years before he decided to concentrate on investments.  He still uses this background to help clients with their overall financial planning and to tailor investments appropriately to their mix of taxable and tax-deferred/Federal tax-free investments.  His continuing education to maintain his CPA designation remains focused on trusts, taxation and estate planning.

From 1998 to 2003, Jim was an analyst at Principal Global Investors - Equities (also known as Invista during that period). He was responsible for covering several industries, including financial services, outsourcing, health care, energy, and utility companies.  His most extensive analysis was with oil and gas companies where he had lead coverage of the energy industry, initially with domestic and then international companies. In addition, he performed quantitative functions - assisting in the management of a tax-loss harvesting index product and the management of one of the largest covered call programs on the street at the time it was in operation. Jim earned his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 2001. You can learn more about the CFA designation at www.cfainstitute.org.

Jim’s academic background includes graduating from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor's of Business Administration (BBA) degree, majoring in Accounting.  He also earned his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Iowa with a finance emphasis.

Jim and his wife, Melissa, have two children.  He enjoys outdoor activities and coaching his son in basketball and baseball.  Jim is active in the Des Moines community.  He serves as treasurer of Central Iowa Shelter & Services, is on the Investment Committee of United Way of Central Iowa, and the Investment Committee of the United Way Emerging Leaders Initiative.  He also volunteers at the University of Iowa, serving as an Investment Advisory Board Member of the University of Iowa Krause Fund where he helps oversee an investment fund run by students.