For most of us, investing in our future is a lot like maintaining a healthy diet: we know we should do it and it certainly benefits us long-term, however most of us have room for improvement! Well, much like a personal nutritionist, Charles Schwab‘s investment professionals provide the personalized help to you need to make smart and healthy decisions with your money.

We recently sat down with Jim Gallagher, Manager of the Jacksonville Branch of Charles Schwab, to learn more about the company and how they can help you.

I see you’re located in the St. Johns Town Center. How long has your branch been open? We’ve been in the Town Center for almost three years – the branch opened in December 2011. Through my conversations with clients, I’ve seen first-hand how important it is for people to have local access to actionable investing help and guidance that makes sense for their specific financial goals. Schwab has been an advocate for the individual investor since its founding, and our branch is proud to play that role in Jacksonville.

Tell us about the services that Charles Schwab offers. We help our clients choose from a variety of services based on their goals, including financial planning, portfolio management, banking, retirement planning, trading, insurance, annuities and more. As we get to know our clients, we make sure we provide access to the right products, services, and insights from experts throughout Schwab. We also have experienced specialists in areas like fixed income, global investing, charitable giving, and tax, trust and estate planning.

I hear that you offer workshops for the public at your location? We offer a variety of workshops at our branches – we think it’s really important for our clients and the general public to have access to in-person education on the topics that matter to them. The topics of the workshops cover everything from financial essentials to complex trading strategies.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be hosting ones to help investors learn how to use our trading tools to find and analyze potential trade opportunities, generate income using options strategies, and understand everything there is to know about Social Security benefits. For those who aren’t able to come in to the branch, Schwab also offers online workshops.

Tell us a bit about your career in financial services. I began my career in financial services nearly 20 years ago and have never looked back. After graduating from University of New Hampshire, I jumped right into the business because I was fascinated by the fast-paced nature of the stock market and I have always enjoyed working with people. As a branch manager at Schwab, it has given me great satisfaction to work with clients over the years and help them achieve their goals and take greater financial ownership over their future, whether that’s buying their first home, saving for their child’s education or retiring.

What is the best piece of financial advice you have ever received? Save and invest early and often. My father taught me that at a young age. He told me that the greatest asset young people have is time. By starting in your twenties and saving just 10% of your salary each year, you give yourself a significant advantage. Much of that is thanks to the power of compounding – reinvesting your earnings and keeping them invested to generate more earnings.

Just as an example, let’s say you invested $1,200 annually for 25 years: Assuming a standard 6% annual rate of return, you’d end up with almost $70,000 at the end of that period, according to Schwab Center for Financial Research. But if you invest $1,200 a year for almost 50 years, you’ll end up with more than $300,000 – only double the time period but more than four times the amount.

What would you say are the top reasons people choose Charles Schwab? Schwab was founded on the belief that the financial services industry too often gets in the way of investor success, and we’re always challenging the status quo. At its core, Schwab is a champion for the individual investor, and we believe in transparency, encourage client involvement, and think investors deserve accountability from a financial services provider.

I may be the financial professional, but I believe in getting to know my clients, working on their terms, partnering with them to really understand their specific goals and preferences, and making sure they understand the reasoning behind the recommendations we make.

If someone is looking to open an account or invest, how should they get started? For anyone looking to get started, or even looking to make a change, we invite them to come visit our branch and see what Schwab has to offer.

Visit Jim and his team at the Jacksonville Branch of Charles Schwab at 4853 Town Center Parkway. Check out their website, as well as sign up for a workshop or schedule an appointment, by visiting their website.

Charles Schwab’s Jacksonville Branch is also a valued Title Sponsor of Davidson Cares, the corporate giving program of Davidson Realty, which provides grants to local schools including Mill Creek Elementary, Wards Creek Elementary, Palencia Elementary and Pacetti Bay Middle.