Jim began his financial services career in 1976 at AMA Advisors Inc. as a registered representative and retirement planning consultant. In the early 1980s, he co-founded Rutherford Financial Corp., parent company to Rutherford, Brown & Catherwood, Inc. (formerly Rutherford & Company, Inc.), a securities broker/dealer as well as Walnut Asset Management, Inc., a registered investment adviser, where he served as president and chief executive officer.

In 1999, Jim founded Bickley & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm providing guidance to companies in their formative and developmental stages, and co-founded Trident Advisors, Inc., a registered investment adviser. Jim served as chairman of Trident until 2003, working with a select group of clients and expanding the scope of services offered by the firm. With his extensive experience in serving the needs of investors on multiple levels, Jim took his commitment to personalized service to new heights when he founded Gibraltar Wealth Management, LLC, in 2003, as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA).

Jim was affiliated with Cresap, Inc., a broker/dealer registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) until August 2015. Up to that point he had maintained the securities licenses of General Securities Representative, General Securities Principal, NASAA Uniform Investment Adviser, Financial and Operations Principal, Registered Municipal Securities Principal, and Registered Options Principal.

From 2002 to 2004, Jim served a three-year term as a member of the Philadelphia District Committee of the National Association of Securities Dealers (now known as FINRA). He continued his involvement with FINRA as a member of the Consultative Committee post his term with the District Committee.

Jim earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Drexel University in 1977 and received the designation of Certified Public Accountant in Pennsylvania in 1988. He has served on the boards of directors of multiple private companies and is active in many community service activities.