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Josh is the founder of the Arete companies. He is a seasoned financial executive, a visionary leader and an accomplished business developer.

In his ten years of experience in financial services, he has consistently implemented comprehensive, profitable, risk-managed financial strategies during a time of unprecedented change in financial markets, including the bull markets of the late '90's, the burst of the dot-com bubble, and the post-9/11 markets.

In 2007, Josh decided to take his extensive knowledge of financial markets, his years of operational experience, and his belief in being both excellent and ethical in doing business to the next level, opening the doors to Arete Wealth Management.

Background
During his 8 years at American Express Financial Advisors/Ameriprise Financial Josh started out based in Washington DC where he quickly rose to the level of a top-performing advisor and manager within the company. In 2003-4 the company promoted him to Field Vice President in the Chicago market group. He moved to Chicago, where he worked with his team to create the largest and highest performing office in the company by the end of 2005 according to the company's national scorecard of field vice presidents.

In his Chicago office, he needed only three years to grow his management team and field force from 11 to 70 advisors, with revenue growth increasing at an average rate of 61% per year. As one of the most influential executives at the firm (see article in Research Magazine), Josh was asked to speak to the national advisor force at conferences, mentor other executives, and participate in multiple committees to improve the way Ameriprise does business.

Before his days at American Express Josh spent a year at Wall Street brokerage firms, one of the toughest, dog-eat-dog places to learn the financial services business. He learned how to select and time transactions of securities and how to explain complex financial concepts to people.

Prior to Josh entering the financial services business, he worked as an inventor for an intellectual property studio called Walker Digital in Stamford, Connecticut. During his time there, Josh was a co-inventor of a number of patents. Those patents include the 'name your own price' e-commerce concepts that today are the backbone of Priceline.com. In addition to these patents, Josh is also an inventor on a number of patents involving improvements in the quick service restaurant industry.

Josh is now a regular contributor to Forbes.com, a leading source for reliable business news and financial information. Read his latest article, "Diversify Overseas: Skip Stocks, Look to Francs, Farms, Forests".

Personal
Josh's educational background is as unique as the skill set he brings to bear. He went to St. John's College in Annapolis, MD, where the Great Books curriculum focuses on reading "the best that has been thought and said" in Western civilization. He attributes his outlook on his professional life—a humanistic focus on helping others live their best life in a way that is honest and true—to his education at St. John's. Putting his love of his alma mater into action, Josh remains very actively involved with St. John's College including helping with fund raising and other projects.

Additionally, Josh is leading all fundraising efforts for the Chicago SFK program. He helps fund and sponsor three high-risk schools in order to improve their overall performance.

When Josh isn't working, he enjoys sailing, playing squash, yoga, interior design (See Josh in the TimeOut Chicago article) and traveling.