Meet James

Photo of James Burmane

James Burmane, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, RICP®

Founder and Principal

Most people, even many advisors, view financial planning as mainly a math exercise. While there are certainly a lot of numbers involved, James views financial planning as a holistic process that centers around helping our clients gain a clear understanding of their relationship with their finances; what money means to you, what you want your wealth to do for you; how you want to live your life and the role that your wealth will play in supporting your lifestyle, as well as the impact you want to make on those you love and the causes that matter to you. Once that clarity of purpose has been achieved, James then works with you to determine the most efficient strategies to maximize your results.

Education and Designations

James obtained a Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance; however, some of the most important guiding lessons about money came from his father, a small business owner. He taught James the rule of 72 (the formula for how money doubles), the importance of living below one’s means and always investing and making your money work for you. Because of his father’s guidance and encouragement, he opened his first investment brokerage account at age 15 and established a Roth IRA by age 18. James has been in the financial services industry since 2007 and has been training and mentoring financial advisors for over a decade.

As a CFP®, James believes deeply in the fiduciary standard that he is held to, and in creating relationships of trust and value where his clients know that he is always acting with their long-term best interests in mind. Although many call themselves “financial planners,” only CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® (CFP®) professionals have completed rigorous training requirements and are held to the highest educational and ethical standards. In addition to the the CFP® Designation, James also holds the esteemed Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), and Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP®) designations.

Philosophy and Personal Life

James considers himself a lifelong learner; and as such, both personal and professional development have always been extremely important to him. He continually adds to his knowledge base through additional designations, workshops, study groups and affiliations, as well as pursuing personal enrichment through reading, connecting with nature and physical fitness pursuits.

James is married to his beautiful wife Vanessa, and together they have two children and a Belgian Malinois, Bella. James loves the outdoors, and his favorite activities are snowboarding, bicycling and, his biggest passion: motorcycling; James has traveled through 35 of the 50 states by motorcycle and is working on making it through the remaining 15.