Grow your wealth. Grow your financial confidence in the future. Find the balance of pursuing your dreams of tomorrow with what you want today.
Jim Beste and Jackie Alderman at Beste & Associates in St. Cloud. Photo by Jim Palmer
These are goals that most people want to achieve, but may struggle to get there. Beste & Associates can help you get there.
Beste & Associates is a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services that is lead by Jim Beste, private wealth advisor, and Jackie Alderman, financial advisor. They have locations in St. Cloud and Sauk Centre.
Jim and Jackie are brother and sister, and grew up in Sauk Centre. Jackie joined her older brother at Beste & Associaties about four years ago.
“Jackie and I compliment each other well,” said Jim. “We bring the family-trusted relationship to our clients, and I believe that helps us deliver on our mission and vision, which focus on excellence, integrity and giving back to the community.”
Jim has a background in banking, marketing and finance and has been with Ameriprise for 15 years. And Jackie has a background in accounting, having worked for both Ernst & Young and Pine River Capital Hedge Fund.
Both Jim and Jackie take pride in getting to know their clients so they can truly find out how to help their clients achieve their financial goals, using investment options and comprehensive financial planning.
“We find out what the client goals are, and if we feel that it is going to be a good fit for not only the client, but for us, we move ahead,” he said. “Then we gather the data, analyze the data, and meet with the client and propose our recommendations. If it looks really good to them, they can feel very confident in the plan. If they are not quite on track, we provide specific recommendations to assist them with getting on track for their plan.”
After a plan of action is made and implemented, Beste & Associates tracks that plan from start to finish, reviewing the overall plan on a yearly basis. By tracking the plan regularly, Jim and Jackie are able to react quickly and be more proactive when changes take place in the market.
“If someone doesn’t have a plan, they are just hoping that things go well,” said Jim. “It is much better to have true goals and track them. Financial planning gives people the best chance of success, according to studies. If someone is just adamant that they don’t want a plan but want to work with us, we won’t turn them away, but it is definitely ideal to have a plan in place.” Comprehensive financial planning takes into account many different factors, and no two plans are the same.
“Financial planning at the root covers these six areas — financial position, tax, investments, protection, estate planning and retirement projection,” he said.
Both Jim and Jackie use all the resources they can to come up with a plan that fits the client’s short-term and long-term goals.
“I really enjoy the financial planning part of it,” said Jackie. “I’m quite detailed in my plans, and I like to come up with specific recommendations to achieve goals.”
Beste & Associates is independent, but is also backed by Ameriprise Financial.
“It’s good to have a Fortune 300 company, with its strength and stability, and it opens up the infrastructure to be able to utilize the best investments in the industry. We are not locked into one to five companies. We have literally thousands of choices and are completely independent in our thought process.”
That independence is very important, said Jim and Jackie.
“We are truly acting as fiduciaries, and doing what is the best interest of our clients,” he said. “ We feel like we can put people in the best position to achieve a comfortable and confident retirement.”
And when a client reaches their financial goals, it is a satisfying feeling for everyone involved.
“We had an appointment a few days ago with one of our clients who is an 80-year old widow,” said Jackie. “She lost her husband a few years ago, and we have been their financial advisors for several years. After our meeting, she gave us a big hug and thanked us for all we did for her. Experiences like that really show that we are making a difference and are very rewarding.”
Besides investments and financial planning, Beste & Associates can also help with Social Security.
“There are numerous ways to draw Social Security that can be unique to each client. We meet with our clients to discuss strategies that optimize their benefits,” said Jim.
One of the missions of Beste & Associates is to give back to the community. Each year, they participate in the Dollars for Scholars program at Sauk Centre High School, in which they give a scholarship in memory of a family friend from Sauk Centre who passed away at a young age.”
“It is our way of giving back to a high school that has given us a good foundation on life,” said Jim.
For the last four years, Beste & Associates has sponsored the Young Performers Competition through the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. In addition to a scholarship, the grand prize winner is also awarded the chance to play with the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra.
Beste & Associates is located at 30 25th Ave South, Suite 101, in St. Cloud., as well as 335 Main Street South, in Sauk Centre. Both offices can be reached by calling 320-230-1710 or emailing james.2.beste@ampf.com.
To learn more about Beste & Associates, visit www.jbeste.com