Jim Whitesides

Jim has lived in St. Louis since 1998. He was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio as the youngest of three children, graduating from Turpin High School in 1979. After high school Jim attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduating in 1983 with a B.S. in Systems Engineering. After graduation Jim entered nuclear power training and eventually served on the ballistic missile submarines USS Georgia and USS Tennessee, qualifying as Reactor Plant Engineer, Strategic Missile Officer, and Officer of the Deck. After leaving the service, Jim attended the New York Institute of Technology and received his MBA while beginning his civilian career as a commodity broker in the oil and natural gas markets. Jim worked as a broker in New York and as a trader in Boston before moving to Chicago to work for Bank of America managing the oil and gas derivatives desk. Along the way, Jim earned his CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) designation. From Chicago Jim moved to St. Louis as President of Ameren Energy, the commodity trading subsidiary of the local utility. After leaving the energy markets, in 2003 Jim started Ace Storage, a self-storage business in St. Louis, growing from one to seven facilities through acquisition and development before selling the business in August 2017. Jim now owns and manages commercial office buildings in St. Louis, and is also a licensed realtor with Gitt Realty Services, a firm that assists clients nationwide who look to buy, sell, or trade commercial real estate. In addition, Jim has his Series 7 and 63 securities licenses, and through Great Point Capital he helps identify real-estate based securities that achieve his clients’ tax-deferral strategies. Jim became a client of Great Point Capital LLC in 2017 by becoming involved in a number of 1031-eligible securities when he sold his business, and his experience was and continues to be so positive that he decided to join Great Point Capital and share his experience with others who may benefit from similar tax-deferral and income generation strategies.