Our Team
Jim Ridley, CFP®
President
of
Elkmont Wealth Management
Financial Advisor,
Certified Financial Planner
Jim Ridley, CFP® was born in Knoxville, and raised in Memphis. He returned to Knoxville to complete his degree with a Bachelor of Science, in Business Administration in 1993.After an internship with Pru-Bache Securities as a Senior at UT, he entered the financial services industry after graduation. He began his career back in Memphis with Guardian Life and New York Life, before moving back to East Tennessee in 20 where he spent the next 11 years in banking as an Insurance Officer, Certified Financial Planner®, practitioner, and Investment Counselor. In 2014, he left banking to follow his dream since 8th grade of owning his own company, Elkmont Wealth Management, PLLC, and being able to serve his clients as an Independent Representative with Cambridge Investment Research.
Elkmont Wealth Management, PLLC is named after the campground, Elkmont, in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Jim's Great Grandfather , Henry Brandau, Sr, had one of the first cabins at Elkmont, built in the 1920's. It was located next to the Spence cabin, which is also where he and Kristy were married in May 2016. Along with his Series 6,7, and 63 securities licenses with FINRA, he holds life and health, property and casualty, and viatical licenses. He has held the Certified Financial Planner , designation from the CFP board since 2003. His hobbies include fishing, golf, movies, music, hiking, boating, rock-crawling and UT athletics. He is married to Kristy Ridley, and has one daughter, Allison and two step-sons , Max and Ben.
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Gary Johnson, AAMS, is a sixth generation Sevier County resident,having graduated from Sevier County High School. He has spent his career years assisting others in numerous sales positions, having spent the previous five years with Edward Jones before joining Elkmont Wealth Management.
A graduate of AAMS(Accredited Asset Management Specialists), a course offered through College for Financial Planning. He has a life and health license, along with FINRA Series 7 and 63.
Gary has three children and one grandchild.
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Kristy Ridley was born in California and raised in Peterborough, England. After school she left the UK to move back to the United States to pursue a career in print, television and movies. She settled in Miami, Florida, where she spent 20 years before moving to Sevier County in 2014. She is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and American Federation of Television and Radio Artist (AFTRA).
Her hobbies include hiking, photography, music, fishing, boating and painting. She is married to Jim Ridley and has two sons and a step-daughter.
After over 40 successful years of excellent service in the industry, serving Sevier County, Neil recently retired . We will miss seeing Neil everyday, but he will always be an important part of the family here at Elkmont Wealth Management.
Neil Cubberley
ChFC®, CLU®
CASL®
BROKER DEALER CAMBRIDGE INVESTMENT RESEARCH GROUP, INC.
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Cambridge Investment Research, Inc. (Cambridge) is an independent, privately-controlled broker-dealer with over $73 billion assets under management*, 700 home office associates, and over 3,000 independent registered representatives serving hundreds of thousands of clients across the United States. As an industry leader, we strive to create a workplace that reflects our four core values of integrity, commitment, flexibility, and kindness while fostering an atmosphere that allows our associates to thrive and enjoy our mutual success. Cambridge has been honored as ‘Broker Dealer of the Year’ for 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2007, and 2003 by Investment Advisor magazine;1and was ranked 10th in the ‘2016 FP50 IBD Revenue Growth’ by Financial Planning magazine.2 Cambridge is also among the top 25 large companies honored as a ‘Top Workplace in Iowa’ for 2015, and is one of only 13 companies consecutively ranked among the Top Workplaces since the ranking began in 2011 by the Des Moines Register.3
* AUM reflects commission and fee-based assets
1Investment Advisor magazine, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2010, 2008, 2007, Division IV; 2003, Division III. Cambridge received the highest marks from its rep-advisors in the Investment Advisor Broker-Dealer of the Year 2015 Division IV category. A broker-dealer becomes eligible for this honor only after a minimum of 10 percent of its producing rep-advisors cast valid ballots. These ballots also rate the broker-dealer in 15 different categories defined by Investment Advisor as relevant challenges and concerns by rep-advisors. The broker-dealers receiving the highest marks in each of four divisions are declared Broker-Dealer of the Year by Investment Advisor magazine. Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of participating rep-advisors surveyed in June of the eight years listed. Your experience may vary. Visit thinkadvisor.com.
2 Financial Planning magazine, June “FP50”, Top 50 Independent Broker-Dealer Issue, 2016
3 Des Moines Register, “Top Workplaces in Iowa,” 2011-2015
A Commitment to True Independence
Cambridge is one of the two remaining large, privately owned and independent broker-dealers. Owned by its senior management team, Cambridge believes this is important to its ability to act as a truly independent broker-dealer and operate with an unbiased view and approach to financial services products.
Although it serves more than 3,000 rep-advisors across the country, Cambridge has been based in the great plains of the Midwest since 1992. Having begun with only a handful of associates, the number grew to 85 in 2002 and now includes 7003 associates. The firm continues to grow and is beginning early plans to add a third building to its corporate campus in order to the accommodate growth and ability to best serve the solutions delivered to the ever increasing family of rep-advisors choosing Cambridge as their broker-dealer. The Cambridge campus currently includes building I and II – both are 40,000 square foot office buildings, completed in 2005 and 2009, respectively. The 60-acre campus features a pond with a half mile walking trail used daily by associates.
Unwavering Values of Commitment, Flexibility, Integrity, and Kindness
Although Cambridge’s growth is impressive, the best part of the Cambridge story may be its long-standing culture and values. A firm’s culture influences its reputation. Further, a firm’s stated mission and values can be compared to how the firm’s management and staff engage with advisors and manage business activity. Since its earliest days, the management and associates at Cambridge have been committed to a set of core values that shape everything the firm does – especially the quality of service delivered to financial professionals and their clients. In short, Cambridge is proud that advisors who share their values of commitment, flexibility, integrity and kindness choose Cambridge. Together, we focus on a common priority: you.