Meet the Team
James Hartwell - MBA, President & CFO
Jim started Essex Financial in 1991. In 1997, along with Art Freedman, he started Essex, L.L.C. Jim received both his undergraduate degree and his MBA from Mankato State University in 1988 and 1994, respectively. He received his CFS, Certified Funds Specialist designation in 1994. In 1995 he helped create the Advisors Forum with other top investment advisors. He is a member of the Investment Committee for Essex as well as the Little City charity.
Arthur Freedman - MBA, CPA
Art is a CPA and a tenured member of the Essex team. Prior to joining Essex in 2000, he was a senior partner in the Chicago accounting firm of Friedman, Eisenstein, Raemer, and Schwartz where he headed their Personal Financial Planning division. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois (1971) and an MBA from Northwestern (1973). He is a member of the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society. Art also serves as a member of the Investment Committee.
Robert Tutela - CCO, Portfolio Manager & Financial Advisor
Rob joined Essex in 2016 from JP Morgan Asset Management in New York providing trading, compliance and operational services for a variety of products to both retail and private bank clients. His 20 years of experience provides him invaluable knowledge for portfolio management and the overall nature of the Investment Advisory business. He is a graduate from Montclair State University with a B.S. in Finance and Business Administration. He is the Chief Compliance Officer and a Portfolio Manager for Essex, as well as a member of the Investment Committee. He is honored for 2 consecutive years as a Five Star Wealth Manager* (2024 & 2025) and has been profiled in the Wall Street Journal and Chicago Magazine.
Debbie Gray - Chief Administrator
Debbie joined Essex in 2004. She has more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and is the head of Administration. Her previous work experience included her service at Rodman & Renshaw, Mesirow Financial, and Gardner Rick & Co.
Benjamin Cairns - CFP®, COO, & Financial Advisor
Ben joined ESSEX, LLC in 2014. He is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Essex LLC. In addition to earning a bachelor of business administration from Western Michigan University, he is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional. The rigorous educational requirement for the CFP® exam has prepared Ben to facilitate clients through all aspects of the financial planning process. Prior to joining ESSEX, he enjoyed a 20-year career in publishing. Ben also serves as a member of the Investment Committee.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
Ted Connolly - CFP®, Portfolio Manager & Financial Advisor
Ted joined Essex in 2021 as a Portfolio Manager and Financial Advisor. Prior to that he spent 15 years with Iron Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, where he ran a number of fixed income strategies as well as options, REITs, risk based ETF’s and mutual fund portfolios. He brings extensive experience as a trader and portfolio manager to his role at Essex. Ted is a graduate of Connecticut College with a BA in Economics and serves as a member of the Investment Committee.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board's initial and ongoing certification requirements.
Justin Nolan - Financial Advisor
Justin joined Essex in 2016 from JP Morgan Private Bank where he created and executed financial plans that ensured individual and family wealth preservation and growth. As a third generation member of the CBOT for over 20 years, Justin built and ran the largest order execution business on the financial floor at the exchange. Since then, Justin’s focus has been private investment and wealth management. With over 35 years of experience in equities, fixed income and alternatives, Justin brings a vast depth of knowledge in market strategy to Essex.
Nancy Effert – Wealth Manager
Nancy, previously president of Effert Financial Solutions, Inc. merged her financial advisory firm with Essex, LLC in late 2023 because of their team approach, shared vision, and values. Nancy had over 20 years of corporate leadership, strategic planning, and problem-solving experience for Fortune 500 companies when she started Effert Financial Solutions, Inc. in 2006. Nancy is a result-driven strategic consultant with a signature goal-based approach to wealth management and financial advisement. She has been honored for 12 consecutive years as a Five Star Wealth Manager* (2014-2025) and has been profiled and recognized in Forbes Magazine, the Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Magazine.
Dana Kreiman - MBA, Client Services Associate
Dana joined Essex in 2025. Her prior experience in the banking industry provides her invaluable knowledge in client services and relationship management. She holds a BA in Economics from DePaul University and an MBA in Business Administration from Southern New Hampshire University.
*FIVE STAR AWARD DISCLAIMER * This award was issued on 10/01/2025 by Five Star Professional (FSP) for the time period 01/01/2025 through 08/01/2025. Fee paid for use of marketing materials. Self-completed questionnaire was used for rating. This rating is not related to the quality of the investment advice and based solely on the disclosed criteria. 6399 Chicago-area wealth managers were considered for the award; 362 (6 % of candidates) were named 2025 Five Star Wealth Managers. The following prior year statistics use this format: YEAR: # Considered, # Winners, % of candidates, Issued Date, Research Period. 2024: 6,273, 400, 6%, 10/1/24, 1/9/24 - 8/9/24; 2023: 5,549, 405, 7%, 10/1/23, 1/9/23 - 7/31/23; 2022: 4912, 384, 8%, 10/1/22, 1/24/22 - 7/29/22; 2021: 5635, 386, 7%, 10/1/21, 12/28/20 - 8/6/21; 2020: 4636, 356, 8%, 10/1/20, 1/6/20 - 8/7/20; 2019: 5430, 429, 8%, 10/1/19, 1/7/19 - 8/9/19; 2018: 5449, 435, 8%, 10/1/18, 1/12/18 - 8/17/18; 2017: 3781, 438, 12%, 10/1/17, 12/16/16 - 8/3/17; 2016: 3411, 726, 22%, 9/1/16, 2/26/16 - 8/19/16; 2015: 5833, 716, 12%, 10/1/15, 2/4/15 - 8/3/15; 2014: 8161, 744, 9%, 10/1/14, 2/4/13 - 8/3/13; 2013: 3998, 772, 19%, 10/1/13, 2/4/12 - 8/3/12; 2012: 2970, 780, 26%, 10/1/12, 2/4/11 - 8/3/11. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. The award is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria - required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser (RIA) or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Actively licensed as a RIA or as a principal of a registered investment adviser firm for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by FSP, the wealth manager has not; A. Been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three settled or pending complaints filed against them and/or a total of five settled, pending, dismissed or denied complaints with any regulatory authority or FSP's consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through FSP's consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client's experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy within the past 11 years; E. Been terminated from a financial services firm within the past 11 years; F. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria - considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. FSP does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. The award is not indicative of the wealth manager's future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their clients' assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by FSP or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by FSP in the future. Visit www.fivestarprofessional.com.