Roger A. James, Jr.CTFA™, J.D.
Wealth Manager, Principal
Roger joined Modera Wealth Management in 2023 via acquisition of Parsec Financial where he has worked since 2007, most recently as Partner and Director of Trust Services. Previously, he was a senior vice president and senior trust advisor with Wachovia Trust. Roger began his career as an attorney, practicing exclusively in the areas of estate planning and estate administration with Strauss & Associates, P.A. in Asheville, NC.
What sparked your interest in financial planning? What fuels you every day at work?
Having started my career as an estate planning attorney, I quickly learned the importance of proper planning as it relates to the protection and preservation of one’s estate. Once I transitioned into wealth management, I became much more aware and interested in the role that proactive financial planning plays in client’s active lives. I became passionate about helping clients build, preserve, protect, and pass on what they have worked hard for and been blessed with.
I am passionate each day to help provide clients with solutions to their financial issues. I genuinely want to be a problem solver for those we work with. I learned from my father, who was a family practice physician, that helping provide solutions to others needs is a way to bring them peace of mind, comfort and security in life. He did that from a pure health perspective and my goal is to do that for clients from a financial health perspective.
What is the one thing people say you are best at?
People say that I am best at explaining and communicating more complex issues in a way that is easy to understand. From my years as an attorney, I learned that avoiding “legal jargon” translates also into not speaking “financial jargon” in my current role. I now instead try to do my best to explain economic, financial, and tax matters in a way that is easier for clients to better understand and act on.
What do you most enjoy about working with Modera?
Our firm joined Modera with the primary goal of continuing to build upon the great “client relationship first” culture that is so important to us. Modera provides us with many more great resources and a much larger group footprint of talented advisors and team members. What I enjoy most about being part of Modera is getting to partner with a group that shares our values and genuinely is focused on putting the client first.
What do you value most in your client relationships?
I have made so many wonderful and deep friendships with clients over my career. I tremendously value these relationships and strive to be a problem solver to clients. I am so honored to be working with many large families and it brings me great joy to be able to work with multiple family generations at the same time. I tremendously value the opportunity to work with and help parents financially educate and share their financial values with their children and grandchildren.