Meet the Team Behind Your Financial Confidence

A firm believer that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all retirement strategy, Amie invests time getting to know her clients — and their goals, hopes and dreams — so she can create comprehensive strategies that align their financial plans with their priorities.

Amie originally joined the financial services industry in 2007 to work alongside her husband, James, who also is co-founder of Global Financial Trust. She has been helping individuals and families live the retirements they desire ever since — first as an administrative assistant and licensed insurance agent, and since 2019 as a financial advisor who can offer both investment and insurance products and services.

Amie enjoys meeting new clients, learning who they are and what inspires them so she can help develop comprehensive, custom plans. She advises clients to constantly ask questions and share their thoughts. “It’s true I may never know you as well as you know yourself,” she says, “but I’d sure like to try. And in order to do that, I need to hear your questions and know what you’re thinking.”

Born and raised in the greater Grand Rapids area, Amie credits her parents and grandparents for instilling in her a passion for hard work and deep family values. She attributes her success to her devotion to treating every client like a member of her family.

Amie and James have four adult children, the youngest of whom is married and expecting their first child in the fall. James and Amie are counting down the days! In addition to the grandbaby, they also have two grand-dogs and three grand-cats. When she isn’t helping families create plans intended to find financial confidence, Amie can be found spending quality time with family, making early morning trips to the gym, leading a women’s small group at her church, and mentoring women.

Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor™, CRPC™, and the CRPC™ logo are certification marks or registered certification marks of The College for Financial Planning Institutes Corp. in the United States.

James has always held firmly to the philosophy that, when considering your retirement, everything starts with an income strategy that is understandable and will stand the test of time. He believes that if you don’t know where you are going, you might not like where you end up. He has made it his mission to assist the families they serve with the guidance, resources, and knowledge to help them prepare for their best retirement.

Prior to pivoting to the financial services industry over 30 years ago, James held executive-level positions within large corporations. However, after watching his grandmother face financial ruin in her later life, he knew there had to be a better way to go through retirement. Therefore, he made the career change into providing income strategies for retirement and has never looked back.

From a personal perspective, James was born in the back seat of his grandfather’s car on the Walt Whitman Bridge that runs between Philadelphia and New Jersey. As he would say, “It has been a wild ride ever since.” Although originally from the East Coast, he has spent the vast majority of his life, and certainly his entire adult life, in Western Michigan. James enjoys being able to call Western Michigan home.

As Amie shared, they have four beautiful, successful children, and James is beyond excited about the new grandbaby expected later this year. James enjoys spending time with family and friends and is an avid hunter, fisherman, and outdoorsman. He has requested that you not ask him about his golf game.