Tuesday, January 21
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
Lawrence Business Magazine LLC
2017 First Quarter - Generation to Generation

PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Jason Edmonds

By on 95 Comments
PROFESSIONAL SPOTLIGHT: Jason Edmonds

Edmonds Duncan Registered Investment Advisors

| 2017 Q1 | by Jason Edmonds, new photos by Steven Hertzog
Professional Spotlight

What is your business’s most important commodity or service?

We provide a wide array of services for our clients, including financial planning, investment management, retirement income management, estate planning and settlement, and all related services. That said, our most valuable commodity may be sound advice based on experience spanning five decades. In a complex and constantly changing industry, though, we still encounter something new just about every week.

What is your business’s most important priority?

Integrity. Our clients honor us with their trust, and we are dedicated to remaining worthy of it. This means complete honesty, confidentiality and prompt, personal service. Additionally, we are obligated to stay on top of any information that will be of benefit to our clients. While no one can consistently predict the future, paying close attention to the details does increase the odds of being prepared for it.

What have been some of the most important aspects of your success?

Personally, I have many people to thank for my success, but my father is certainly at the top of that list, as he built the solid foundation that our firm stands on top of today. In addition to being an expert at his profession, he is also a genuinely nice man who keeps his commitments through dedication, hard work and honesty. I can’t imagine a better role model, and I strive to live up to his example every day.

My business partner, Don Duncan, also deserves a great deal of credit for the success of our business today. Don’s attention to detail and entrepreneurial vision for the future of our firm and industry have helped advance us to a level that I would not have achieved alone. Through many years of practice, we have developed a method of approaching challenges from our unique perspectives, which seems to result in better overall decision-making. Given enough time, we are confident we can arrive at the right answers together.

How many people do you work with, serve, interact with on a daily basis and are responsible to?

That’s an interesting question to think about. We serve approximately 500 client families, which translates to more than 1000 individuals. These are the people we are responsible to. I would estimate that between personal meetings, email and phone calls, we interact personally with 20 to 30 clients each day on average. We have a dedicated back-office team at our custodian in Texas and our broker dealer in New Jersey, with whom we speak throughout the business day. We contract with an institutional research firm in Chicago that we communicate with weekly. Finally, we hear from a seemingly limitless number of representatives from various investment, research and technology companies that are interested in developing relationships with us.

How do you and your industry make a positive impact on the Lawrence community?

Our objective is to improve our client’s personal economies. So, to the extent they are better off, I would expect that to be good for Lawrence’s economy, too. As a locally owned business, we are also proud of the impact we have by doing business and providing employment opportunities locally. Finally, we contribute volunteer time as well as sponsorship and direct contributions to local organizations.

What do you see as your personal responsibility and the industry’s responsibility to the community?

As a fourth-generation native of Lawrence, I feel a strong sense of gratitude and an obligation to support the community that has been so great to my family. I attempt to honor this commitment by volunteering a significant amount of my time to community organizations and efforts. I am pleased that the financial-services industry as a whole is a consistent source of sponsorship and volunteer energy in Lawrence. Of course, we can always do more.

What would you change about doing business (or working with businesses) in Lawrence?

The Lawrence businesses we work with are fantastic. My only wish is that there were more of them. Lawrence is a wonderful community, and I believe we can grow and prosper if we continue to say yes to new opportunities. More local businesses would mean more and better employment opportunities, more professional and volunteer leadership, and a more vibrant economy in general.

Why did you become involved or what inspires you? Is there a specific thing, person or incident?

We are in a people business, so when Machaela and I came back to Lawrence after living in San Diego for a few years after college, my Dad encouraged me to look for ways to get involved in the community. I joined the Chamber and then the Envoy Committee, and I remember Gary Toebben telling new members that they would “get out of it what they put into it.” That stuck with me, and I have certainly found it to be true. Along the way, I have met some wonderful people who clearly share that belief, and they have become great friends. I am inspired by people who contribute their time, talent and treasure to making our community a better place for everyone.

I am also inspired by optimism and the people who practice it. I believe that optimism is a habit—a choice we make over and over again, which actually shapes our future. It’s a choice that requires active effort and reinvestment though—just like exercise. Pessimism requires far less effort …

What is the biggest challenge you feel your industry faces?

My greatest concern is that people, in general, are just not saving enough money to be able to retire or support themselves in the future. Involuntary plans such as pensions, which allowed current and past generations to retire, are not going to be there for future retirees. Even people with good employer-sponsored retirement plans tend to save only the amount needed to get the employer match. Experience tells us that most young people will need to save 10-plus percent of their income in order to successfully fund retirement. And for every year they wait to start, that percentage grows. We do our best to educate our clients and their children about this issue, and are looking for ways to do more. Our industry needs to take the lead on this issue and educate young people about the importance of saving and investing in their own future.

Share.

Related Posts

95 Comments

  4. xmas wall art on

    An additional issue is that video games are generally serious anyway with the key focus on finding out rather than leisure. Although, there is an entertainment factor to keep your children engaged, every single game is frequently designed to develop a specific group of skills or program, such as numbers or scientific disciplines. Thanks for your post.

  26. neurotest official website on

    Hi would you mind sharing which blog platform you’re using? I’m planning to start my own blog in the near future but I’m having a tough time selecting between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and I’m looking for something unique. P.S My apologies for being off-topic but I had to ask!|

  27. つむじはげ 写真 on

    For big meetings, being strict about meetings administration is the only manner and employing professional instruments to track participant responses, ensure that they have locations to remain, copies of supporting materials in advance and that the assembly venue booked is still appropriate when it comes to measurement and site as the participant listing is firmed up is crucial if oversights are to be prevented.

  31. mitothrive official website on

    I do agree with all of the concepts you’ve offered for your post. They are really convincing and can certainly work. Still, the posts are very quick for newbies. May just you please lengthen them a little from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.|

  39. blood sugar on

    Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I’ve been looking for a plug-in like this for quite some time and was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this. Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.|

  51. vnsi4hcom on

    I’m extremely pleased to find this web site. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly wonderful read!! I definitely liked every bit of it and I have you bookmarked to look at new things in your website.

  54. libido capsules on

    Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?|

  56. New88 on

    I blog often and I seriously thank you for your information. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your website and keep checking for new information about once per week. I opted in for your Feed as well.

  62. bet88 on

    You’re so interesting! I don’t think I have read through a single thing like that before. So great to discover someone with genuine thoughts on this subject. Really.. thanks for starting this up. This site is one thing that’s needed on the internet, someone with a bit of originality.

  63. Bắn Cá Đổi Thưởng on

    After I originally commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on each time a comment is added I get 4 emails with the same comment. Is there a way you are able to remove me from that service? Kudos.

  65. Bu günə olan is elanları on

    Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyhow, I’m definitely pleased I came across it and I’ll be bookmarking it and checking back frequently.

  67. KS79 on

    Hi, I do believe this is an excellent site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I am going to revisit once again since i have saved as a favorite it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.

  70. ニードル脱毛 on

    A fascinating discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you should write more on this issue, it might not be a taboo subject but typically people do not speak about these topics. To the next! Best wishes!

  75. bong88 on

    I blog quite often and I truly appreciate your content. This great article has truly peaked my interest. I will take a note of your blog and keep checking for new details about once a week. I opted in for your Feed too.

  76. bk8 on

    I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your content. Your article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to book mark your website and keep checking for new information about once a week. I subscribed to your Feed too.

  78. 789win on

    It’s nearly impossible to find well-informed people about this topic, but you sound like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks

  79. xocdia88 on

    Howdy! This article couldn’t be written much better! Going through this post reminds me of my previous roommate! He constantly kept preaching about this. I will send this post to him. Fairly certain he’ll have a good read. I appreciate you for sharing!

  80. Nohu on

    Good day! I simply want to offer you a huge thumbs up for your excellent information you have right here on this post. I will be coming back to your web site for more soon.

  82. jeetbuzz on

    Hello there, I do believe your web site might be having internet browser compatibility problems. Whenever I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine however when opening in I.E., it’s got some overlapping issues. I simply wanted to give you a quick heads up! Apart from that, fantastic website!

  83. jeetbuzz on

    Good post. I learn something totally new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon on a daily basis. It will always be exciting to read through articles from other authors and practice a little something from their sites.

  84. Baji Live on

    Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day. It’s always exciting to read through articles from other authors and use something from their websites.

  85. shbet casino on

    I seriously love your site.. Pleasant colors & theme. Did you create this amazing site yourself? Please reply back as I’m attempting to create my own website and would like to learn where you got this from or just what the theme is named. Thanks!

  91. 먹튀검증 on

    You’re so interesting! I do not suppose I’ve read through a single thing like this before. So nice to discover somebody with unique thoughts on this issue. Really.. thank you for starting this up. This site is one thing that is required on the internet, someone with a little originality.

Leave A Reply

Contact to Listing Owner

Captcha Code