There is nothing more inspiring for a kid than when a father swoops in to help fix something. Whether it’s building a shelf, changing a tire, sharing social wisdom, or just holding your hand when you need it. My father, James, has always enjoyed helping, fixing and tinkering to improve not only aspects of his families lives, but anyone in his community that needs help. As an engineer by trade, a musician by night, a home renovator and father, he taught us the art of creatively coming up with solutions to our problems.

When he started his career as a financial advisor nearly 15 years ago, the industry provided some basic tools for him to sell annuities and help his clients. He was trained and educated in the traditional, mainstream methods of financial planning. Naturally over time, he thought of a better solution- a more innovative one- that would help bring his ideas to life for his clients. At the time, there was nothing in the industry that showed how annuities work, and how they worked with other investments in a comprehensive, long-term financial plan. James began to format a fairly advanced spreadsheet on his computer that allowed him to convert the data into a visual representation of how an annuity works, but could also show how insurance and investment products worked together in unison. Thus began the seeds of a homegrown software that would capture the attention of financial planners and wholesalers nationally.

At the time, he became one of the top selling financial planners at his old firm, selling $6M in sales in his first year. Major wholesalers were asking, “who is this new guy and how did he do so well?”. They asked James to speak about his successes at a conference called “The Journey”. In front of hundreds of other top selling advisors, he presented his methods: a program he created that illustrated visual presentations to show his clients what the next 30 years of their financial lives would look like. Some of the features were put on display with several different hypothetical client situations:

Introducing the concept of “structured income planning”

Splitting client portfolios into “buckets” with different rules (i.e. savings accounts from 2 partners, business savings, emergency funds, aggressive investments) and showing how all of these different buckets interact and affect the long term plan

The ability to calculate tax returns for the rest of their lives

Examples of the estimated taxes due for IRA versus savings accounts

Optimizing how 401K’s and tax deferred assets can save clients a lot of money over the course of 20 years

Providing a eureka moment for clients who may not grasp complicated financial plans, but allowing them to see how it flows on a spreadsheet with its accompanying graphics

It was not expected or entirely surprising, that his fellow colleagues asked him, “when can we buy this program from you?” The gears began turning. A simple but innovative concept that was created in his living room, would become a software company overnight. In 2011 he launched his own firm, Waterstone Financial, while running a small software company that would eventually grow larger each year. He coined the program, “SIPS”, or “Structured Income Planning Software” and brought on a small team to help market and provide technical support for a group of subscribers.

Over the next few years, SIPS gained traction with a more professional team of employees: a marketer from an international 3M company and a successful software engineer to iron out the kinks. With hundreds of subscribers nationally, SIPS hit a very comfortable plateau providing a “boutique” software experience for financial planners.

As all great stories turn out, a stroke of luck and fantastic serendipity occurred. A friend and client of his, Raygar, reached out- already familiar with the program that James used to present his own financial plan to him. He had an idea that could develop better outcomes with SIPS. These two ambitious men spent countless weekends together brainstorming how to help more planners deliver effective plans for their own clients. Raygar and his partners learned as much about crafting plans in SIPS as possible; think tank sessions allowing them to see the possible future of James’ little software company. The winning concept was looking at SIPS as a great set of tools for financial planners to use, but the missing puzzle piece was the deep knowledge needed to use that tool. Instead of sending an advisor off with just the program and some instructions, the new company will actually produce the plans as a service, creating very effective and comprehensive world class financial plans using SIPS. Raygar’s team could see the potential. They pulled in a partner, John, who is a technology executive, entrepreneur, and investor with significant experience in startups to raise fresh capital, acquire SIPS, and reposition the new business for a fresh round of growth.

What seems like the end of a chapter, and a goodbye to James’ passion project over all of these years, became one of the proudest moments of his career. The new planning service built on top of SIPS will be launched as “PlanScout” with the mantra “great plans, simply delivered”. Instead of taking a step back and watching the program grow from afar, James will join Raygar’s team in a thoughtful leadership role for financial planning and an advocate for SIPS and PlanScout. He will now be a keynote speaker at major national conferences throughout the United States; a voice for the effectiveness of this program and a key social figure during its glow-up.

It is a memorable achievement to think of a solution to a problem and spearhead the creation of a new tool. It becomes a fundamental moment in your life when you initiate a way to teach others how to do the same. My father’s most commonly used phrase to his kids, is that “all you have in the end is your story”. The first chapter of his story was to innovate and problem solve, which led to augmentation. Now as the next chapter begins, James is able to focus on opportunities to educate and enhance others’ lives just as he always has. When financial planners succeed, they gain the ability to improve the lives of their clients. The seed of a simple idea, and it's growth on a larger platform, will leave something tangible behind for James. He is thrilled to have his planning methods optimized, and looks forward to teaching the next generation to come.

Congratulations James!