For the last 19 years Jim has served the needs of organizations and individuals around the country contributing in many roles working with or for private clients, corporations, membership associations, regulatory organizations, and academic institutions as a financial consultant, educator, and advisor.
In 1998 Jim created Dobbs Wealth Management Group, LLC, a fee-only financial planning and investment advisory practice serving private clients which he continues to manage today. Jim has helped hundreds of clients achieve their financial goals and minimize stress by teaching them to manage their lives through their values and vision rather than their circumstances.
Jim founded and managed the financial planning certificate programs and served as program director at The University of Texas at Austin and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Jim developed curriculum, hired and managed instructors, marketed the program, and taught as an adjunct instructor.
Working as consultant in partnership with the Wharton School (at the University of Pennsylvania) and the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, Jim helped develop and deliver certification programs to financial services professionals.
Serving on Charles Schwab & Co.'s inaugural institutional advisor committee, the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. as Director of Education, and the Investment Management Consultants Association as certification consultant; Jim works directly with executive management, board members, and the staffs of various organizations.
As an independent financial consultant and educator Jim has built a significant network of strategic relationships with fellow financial planners, insurance professionals, investment managers, CPA’s, tax and retirement specialists, asset protection specialists, and estate planning attorneys.
Before founding Dobbs Wealth, Jim worked for several financial services firms including Mercer, Ameriprise Financial, Sanders Morris Harris Group, and Citigroup’s Primerica. In addition to serving clients at each firm Jim held managerial roles in the areas of marketing and sales, human resources, operations, and regulatory compliance.
Jim earned the designation of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner in 1996, and later helped develop the Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWASM) designation program for the Investment Management Consultants Association.
Jim is frequently interviewed and asked for his conclusions and recommendations on current financial topics and for his analysis and opinion on the financial services industry.
Jim earned his B.B.A. in Financial Planning from Baylor's Hankamer School of Business and wrote freelance for the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and Austin American Statesman while an undergraduate.
Jim earned a Post-Baccalaureate Award in Taxation from UCLA Extension and completed the Management Development for Entrepreneurs Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
While at UCLA Jim authored a white paper titled “The History and Future of Fee-Only Financial Planning Firms: An In-Depth Look at the Structural Challenges of Capacity and Scalability”.
Jim’s current research is in behavioral economics, market history, and the future of the financial services industry. Jim is also working on the development of a national Coach Training Certificate Program for youth sports coaches.
Jim played collegiate and professional baseball and appeared in a national television commercial with baseball legend Nolan Ryan.
