Jim received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Notre Dame with a concentration in finance. Jim then served for three years as a mergers and acquisitions analyst with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he received the President's Award for Achievement in 1985.
Jim began his financial planning career with American Express Financial Advisors (“AEFA”) in May, 1986, achieved membership in the Advanced Advisor Group composed of select members of AEFA, and served on the Chicago Metro Advisory Board and as a panelist on AEFA’s national Quality of Advice program.
In 1995, Jim and a partner formed Azzarello, Teik & Associates, a division of AEFA and among the first “group practices” established nationwide at AEFA. They left AEFA in July of 1997 to expand the range and quality of products and services available to clients, and established Robert James Financial Group, Inc., affiliating with Linsco/Private Ledger (now LPL Financial), currently the largest independent broker-dealer in the country.*
In May of 2000, Jim established Copia Financial Solutions, Inc. (“Copia”). Through its own resources and in conjunction with clients’ legal and tax professionals (or through its local network of attorneys, accountants and other financial professionals), Copia is able to provide highly personalized financial planning advice and service. Through it’s affiliation with LPL Financial, Copia takes advantage of the reporting, trading and technical resources of a national firm, as well as their extensive, independent research support.
In addition to his professional designations, Jim has maintained membership with the Financial Planning Association since 1991.
Jim and his wife Lisa live in Palatine Illinois and enjoy travel – with and without their three grown daughters!
*As reported by Financial Planning magazine, 1996-2025, based on total revenue.