Growing up in Elmwood Park, Jim learned a lot about stocks from his Nonno. When he wasn’t playing sports, Jim would often walk to the public library and research publicly traded companies. With money he made caddying at Oak Park Country Club, he purchased his first stock at the age of twelve during the bear market of 1972.
That experience sparked his fascination with the stock market and after graduating from college in 1982, he found a way to align his investing hobby with his love of helping others by entering the financial services industry.
For more than three decades, Jim Sr. has found great pleasure in helping clients through their retirement years. He understands that clients want a long-term relationship with a financial advisor that cares; one that often extends to family members long after they pass. Jim has always believed that clients don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Jim received his certified financial planner™ designation in 1986 and founded Platania Financial in 1991. He went on to serve as President and Chairman of the Board of the Chicago Society of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners (ICFP), the largest society of CFPs in the country.
Throughout the years, Jim has conducted retirement and financial planning seminars for major corporations and institutions, such as UOP, Motorola, American Dental Association, ADP Corporation, Encyclopedia Britannica, Quaker Oats Company, and United Airlines. He’s been quoted in USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, The Daily Herald. Consumer Digest, Crain’s Chicago Business, CFP® Today, Morningstar 5-Star Investor, Financial Planning Magazine, The Journal of Financial Planning, and the Wall Street Journal’s Smart Money. He has appeared on WLS-TV, CNBC’s special edition “The Bull Run” and “Market Wrap", as well as CLTV’s “Making Money”. He has also appeared on a variety of Chicagoland radio stations, including WGN and WBBM, to discuss investment and retirement planning related topics.
Jim is extremely blessed to work with his wife Bridget and son Jim Jr. as they strive to provide a meaningful experience to clients of the firm. Although Jim and Bridget occasionally try to recruit their daughter Brianna into the family business, she opts to continue the calling she truly loves, working as a nurse in the city of Chicago.
Jim and Bridget were married in 1983 and live in downtown Arlington Heights, a few blocks from their office. Outside of work, Jim’s joys in life include spending time with his family and friends and eating Italian food.