Edelman Financial Services, an independent financial planning and investment management firm, has hired industry veteran James Barnash to serve as Financial Planning Manager.
With more than 30 years of experience in the financial services business, Barnash has occupied a variety of roles including independent financial planner, corporate executive and advisor for successful financial services firms. Most recently, Barnash was the president of JABarnash & Associates, a consultant for RIA and broker-dealer firms.
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Barnash spent six years on the national board of the Financial Planning Association, including serving as President in 2005 and Chairman in 2006. He played a critical role at the FPA and worked with advisors around the country to provide advice to investors with limited financial resources. He also oversaw the FPA’s successful litigation of the SEC to clearly define advisors who provide service and those who sell products.
As Edelman Financial Services continues its nationwide expansion, adding 30 advisors this year, Barnash will have an integral role in their training, support and management. The firm’s advisors are prohibited from spending time marketing; instead, the firm provides each advisor with all the clients he or she can handle, along with complete support services to enable the advisors to provide excellent advice and service to each client. The firm currently has 20,000 clients nationwide, with $10 billion in assets under management(2).
"Our goal is to attract exceptional advisors who are committed to the long-term financial success of our clients, and the success of our advisors is equally important," said Chairman and CEO Ric Edelman. "Jim will enhance our abilities, and we are very excited that he has joined our team."
"I’m looking forward to helping the firm achieve its goals," said Barnash. "Edelman Financial Services is recognized for recruiting some of the top advisors in our industry, and I’m excited to be working for Ric and helping him continue to deliver world-class service to EFS clients."
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By GlobalDataBarnash earned a B.A. in History from DePaul University, and he currently serves as a member of the school’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Advisory Council, co-chair of the Planned Giving Advisory Council and co-chair of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Campaign 2012 task force.
