Ameriprise Financial

As owner of Ameriprise Financial on Shallowford Road, Jimmy Scotchie doesn’t just count on his fi nancial skills, he counts on his people skills. The Furman University graduate says the best part of his job is helping someone reach goals that, without his help, would have slipped through their fi ngers.

“Above and beyond everything else, we care about our clients and want the best for them,” says Scotchie, whose father Jim started the local independent affi liate in 1978 where he continues to work today. “We are a family business and treat our clients like we would want to be treated.”

Jimmy Scotchie’s brother Jeff also works at the fi nancial advisory practice just off Highway 153.

Scotchie says he will continue banking on the inclusive and ongoing approach to fi nancial advising his family has used since day 1 to help other families plan for their future. It has already garnered the franchise a spot in the prestigious Ameriprise Circle of Success for the last four years.

Unlike fi rms that offer advice that focuses only on clients’ investment portfolios, Ameriprise planners like Scotchie take into consideration all aspects of their clients’ fi nancial life, including cash and liabilities, protection and taxes. From there, they can help show clients how to save, spend and invest more effectively while protecting what’s important.

“Through the fi nancial planning process we help clients monitor their cash fl ow in order to provide advice to meet their fi nancial goals,’” says Scotchie. “We strive to work more deeply with existing clients to ensure we are meeting all their fi nancial needs, and to continue to grow our business in a controlled manner.” Ameriprise uses a unique yet proven financial planning approach called Dream > Plan > Track >. Although based on the Certifi ed Financial Planning Board of Standards Inc., which is recognized as the standard of excellence for personal fi nancial planning, the approach revolves around clients’ evolving needs, dreams and goals. Dreams and situations may change, but Scotchie and his team are unwavering, always there to help keep clients on track or get them back on track.

“I love helping individuals sift through all the options out there to develop personal strategies to achieve their dreams,” says Scotchie. In addition to traditional and comprehensive planning, Scotchie’s team can help people with specifi c needs like women’s fi nancial strategies, cash management, long-term care insurance, retirement income solutions, education, and tax retirement and estate planning.

Statistics show that most people who use a fi nancial planner feel very satisfi ed and maintain an ongoing relationship with their advisor. Scotchie calls his clients “friends.’ Such consistency and security is especially important in today’s changing market. Recent research shows that those with a written fi nancial plan are more likely to feel their “retirement has worked out the way they planned,” despite changing market conditions.

With its more than 2 million individual, business and individual clients throughout its network, Ameriprise can safely say that more people come to them for fi nancial planning than any other company.