About Us
ABOUT THE TRUST GROUP
The Trust Group Financial is an independent estate and retirement planning group serving the Tampa Bay community since 1985. For more than 32 years, we have specialized in helping people protect and preserve their hard-earned assets with strategies many financial professionals are unaware of.
From business continuation and key person buy-sell agreements, to retirement income strategies that guarantee our clients' assets will provide for them as long as they live. The Trust Group Financial team is here to help you. We also provide legacy, tax and estate planning techniques that seek to preserve the maximum amount of wealth and ensure that wealth will be there for our clients, ultimately passing that wealth directly to their beneficiaries without the expense and interference from attorneys and the probate court system.
We do many things at The Trust Group Financial, but our priorities are to serve our clients and put their interest first. We do our best to guide clients in accomplishing their goals. We are not in the business of selling financial products like other advisors you may have met in the past. We’re in the business of using our experience, knowledge and access to products to create reliable strategies to get our clients where they need to be.
There are tough and important decisions that must be discussed regarding estate and retirement income planning.
Many clients don’t know their options, and making the wrong decisions could have devastating consequences. We listen to our clients’ needs and goals and work diligently to make sure we’re guiding our clients down the right path, solving the problems they face and most importantly, meeting their expectations.
At The Trust Group Financial Services, we strive to provide our clients with an exceptional level of service and are committed to working with them to accomplish their goals with our innovative four-step process.
It starts with an initial conversation where we get to know the client’s goals, objectives and identify issues that possibly put them at risk. From there, we research, develop strategies and complete a comprehensive analysis of where the client is at and determine a cost-effective course of action. We then implement the strategies discussed to protect and preserve their hard-earned assets and fill the gaps in their estate and retirement income plan. Finally, we provide ongoing service and support to building our relationship and keep our clients on the right path.
Take that first step now! Get to know us and start the conversation today.
MEET JAMES
James was born at St. Joseph Mercy Medical in St. Louis, Missouri, before parents Gary and Patricia Spicuzza moved their family of five to Clearwater, Florida, in 1981.
James’ father will tell you at a young age James always wanted to build something. He loved drawing and creating plans to build many things. The process of creating something from an idea was rewarding. His knack for thinking ahead and creating plans led to a desire to become an architect. Seeing buildings develop from nothing more than an idea and a piece of drafting paper was inspiring to him. Yet, there was one aspect missing from the career of an architect sitting in front of a drafting table: people.
James has a love for interacting with people. He enjoys constantly meeting new people, hearing about where they came from and where they are headed. He loves listening to his clients' stories and learning more about what makes them so amazing. Coincidentally, financial planning has many parallels to being an architect. Financial plans are created from solid principals and ideas, just like architectural plans. Both industries utilize paper to draft these creative ideas. Both industries are inspiring, as one sees the result become a real, tangible thing.
James looks at financial planning much like building a house. Every plan needs a solid foundation of legal and estate protection. Assets structured properly work as building blocks to hold everything together to allow someone to live comfortably for their lifetime. Finally, a roof that ensures no matter what outside forces come, that person will be able to weather the storm.
It wasn’t by chance James became a financial professional. After graduating from Countryside High School, James attended St. Petersburg College and The University of South Florida. After college, James followed the path of his father who has been in the financial services industry serving Tampa Bay since 1985.