Jim Bates

I have been a financial advisor with Edward Jones since 2007. Prior to joining Edward Jones, I spent 15 years in the health care industry, first as an EMT and then moving into long-term care where I was a nursing home administrator.

When people hear my background, they all want to know why would I make such a dramatic change? The change was not all that dramatic to me because in each role my job was, and still is, to help others with critical decisions. As an EMT, many of those were life and death decisions. As a nursing home administrator, my role was more of an educator. Residents and their families would come to me and say "we probably should've planned earlier, we don't know how to navigate all the intricacies and we're not sure how to determine quality." Today, clients have similar questions. If anything, my healthcare background has prepared me to understand how a client feels. Specifically, I help clients recognize what's most important to them. I then use an established process to create a plan unique to them, and I will then partner with them and their family throughout their lifetime. It is this partnership that I find incredibly satisfying.

I also know I'm part of a larger Mystic community. For that reason, I give back as much as possible. Currently, I'm on the board of directors for the Stonington COMO and serve on the Mystic Aquarium's Golf Classic committee. Previously, I have served on the board of the Center for Hospice Care, the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce and the Groton Business Association.

Professionally, I am Series 7 and Series 66 registered, as well as hold a life and long-term care insurance license to meet the wide-ranging needs of my clients.

Personally, I reside in Mystic, CT, with my wife of 23 years, Caryn, and our daughters, Sydney and Morgan, and our labradoodle, Josie.