Advisors

When I was 12 years old, I knew I wanted to be in finance. I used to spend the summers at my grandparent's home in southern Pennsylvania picking cherries and shelling crabs. Many years before, my grandfather was in a head on car accident that resulted in him losing most of his vision. He had a passion for investing and enjoyed reading the Wall Street Journal every day. It was during these summers that we sat on the front porch while I read him the paper and the daily market commentary. At first, I hated the fact that I had to read a newspaper that had no comics or sports sections. However, over the course of that summer he showed me how the investment world worked and how to analyze the handful of stocks he owned. After a few years I was hooked and closely watched his small but impressive portfolio.

In high school, I started working at a local bank to get closer to finance and then went on to college where I graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1985. Following my passion for investments, I began my career with a small investment bank named G.K. Scott where I earned my CFP® (CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™ Practitioner) credentials in 1989. I then went on to the Guardian Insurance Company to ingrain my skills in estate and retirement planning. There I administered and managed corporate retirement plans and created complex estate plans for families and businesses.

By 1999, I began to look for my next challenge. After a thorough review of various companies, I decided to join LPL Financial. LPL Financial is the nation's largest independent broker dealer (*As reported in Financial Planning Magazine, June 1996-2025, based on total revenue) that provides me with quality research and support. This relationship gave me the clarity and conviction to provide my clients what I felt they deserve, and something I felt the industry lacks.

Today, my primary focus is designing fee-based investment portfolios with a bias towards income producing securities. “Slow nickels are better than fast dollars”, was one of my grandfather's favorite quotes and served him well during market volatility. For this reason, I am steadfast in my discipline of conservative money management and welcome the responsibility I have been given by each and every client.

Now with over 25 years of professional experience, I have formed an alliance with other like-minded individuals who also place their client's interest first. As Co-Founder and Managing Director of IBEX Wealth Advisors, we have brought together a group of professionals that share a vision to assist clients grow and preserve their wealth through the use of time-tested strategies.

James is an independent, fee-based Financial Advisor and Wealth Manager.  With over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, he provides investors with personalized advice, flexible investment strategies, and complete transparency, utilizing an open architecture approach to investing.

By incorporating a combination of Fundamental and Technical Analysis, James applies his experience to craft a plan designed to help grow and preserve the investment portfolio of each client.  Clients are affluent individuals, retirees, corporations and their owners, private foundations, and other high net worth individuals with a minimum of $500,000 of investable assets.

James is a Managing Director and Co-Founder of IBEX Wealth Advisors, a best-of-class group of advisors, with a shared vision of independence, objectivity and excellence.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey.  James holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 7, 31 and 24 registrations with LPL Financial and the Series 66 with both LPL Financial and IBEX Wealth Advisors.

In his personal life, James is a dedicated father and triathlete (Ironman Finisher), and has an insatiable passion for food, music, and life.  James has also volunteered in his community by serving on two different first aid and rescue squads concurrently.

https://philiprongo.com

No different than many others, my family and I spent a great-deal of time conversing at the dining table.  In this case it was the breakfast table.  My Dad and I, both early risers, would have private-time together—which otherwise would have been difficult in our large family.  His favorite subjects beyond sports were saving and growing money.  He would profess the “miracles” of compound interest and the stock market, all the while hoping to trigger my interest.

Eventually the elder Mr. Rongo hit a nerve.  Luckily, the small town in which we lived did have a branch office of a bona-fide New York Stock Exchange member brokerage firm.

Inspired by these talks and being an adventurous fourth-grader, I decided to see for myself, and walked the two miles into our small down-town and paid an unannounced visit to the local brokerage firm.  To my good fortune, the manager was gracious enough to spend 15 minutes or so with me.  I remember as though it were yesterday, asking the manager “how would one know if they were cut-out for the investment business?”  The Managers reply still rings clear:  “if you can watch "Wall $treet Week with Louis Rukeyser "without falling asleep, you'll do just fine.”  Following the challenge of this manager, I did indeed watch Wall $treet Week, stayed completely awake, became fascinated, and decided what I wanted to do with my life.

I obtained my BS in International Trade and Economics at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Then soon after, began my investment career at IDS Financial Services in 1992.  By 1995 the smaller firm was purchased by American Express Financial Advisors, where in addition to serving my clients, I became responsible for the oversight of 35+ financial advisors, approximately 25% of the advisors in our state.  In an effort to distance myself from the world of proprietary products, in 1997 I co-founded a small, independent investment firm and chose LPL Financial (Linsco-Private Ledger at the time) as custodian of our clients' funds.  Fast-forwarding to 2026, I still use LPL Financial as custodian of client funds, and with new friends and business partners, co-founded IBEX Wealth Advisors, LLC (founded 2014).

My clients are typically successful corporate executives, professionals and business owners.  I hold the Series 7, 24 31, 63 with LPL Financial and 65 securities registration with IBEX Wealth Advisors. I also serve clients in 19 states, and Europe.  One of the most valuable services I provide is an assessment of risk in the markets as it relates to clients' portfolios.  I am a proponent of sophisticated technical analysis, and relate this analysis to clients in understandable, plain English.  I have learned that “money leaves footprints”.  Through technical analysis of a financial vehicle, we can create strategies to help determine where that stock, ETF/mutual, or sector is likely headed, including fixed-income, currency and commodity markets.  This is the kind of effective financial planning/asset management and analysis for which most clients do not have the time, expertise, nor patience.

Finally, I have earned the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) professional designations from the American College.

Banking and strong women are part of my DNA.  My grandparents started a small bank in Montana during the Depression, and my father followed suit with a career in investment banking in New York City and San Francisco.  Personally, I preferred the environment of sales and trading, and joined Salomon Brothers' fixed-income trading floor, where I focused on foreign exchange, derivatives and fixed-income instruments.  My career brought me to London, where my client base expanded to include global institutions.  Although exciting and enlightening from a geo-political and economics point of view, I soon began to feel less than inspired and decided to turn my focus to the individual client.

Today I work as an independent, fee-based Financial Advisor and Wealth Manager.  What does that mean?  It means that I am bound to provide my clients with the best service possible and be loyal above all things. My practice strives to bring bespoke institutional services to private clients, and with over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry in the U.S. and Europe, I am well-equipped to offer personalized, professional advice. Having been an expat, I appreciate the challenges people face when moving to a new country and can provide guidance for those relocating to the U.S. from abroad. And my passion for educating women about financial services (and debunking certain myths surrounding these services) is also central to my practice.

Investment strategy at IBEX Wealth Advisors focuses on incorporating a combination of fundamental and technical analysis. The objective is to help produce and preserve wealth for generations by crafting an individual plan for each client, whether they are a corporation, foundation, business owner or individual.  Our advisors act in accordance with the fiduciary standard, bound to put clients' interests first.

Joining IBEX Wealth Advisors, a dynamic group of advisors with a shared vision of independence, collaboration and excellence, is a wonderful opportunity to expand my platform. I hold the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 6 and 63 registrations with LPL Financial and the Series 65 with IBEX Wealth Advisors, as well as licenses for life, health and disability insurances.  My BA in Economics is from Reed College, and I have an MBA in International Finance and Economics from Columbia Business School.

In my personal life, I'm a dedicated single mother, soccer coach and avid sailor. I volunteer in my community by serving as the Treasurer of the PTO, which is actively supplementing the educational experience of children in our school district.

Final Fun Facts:  I'm a qualified gemologist and love to talk rocks. I am a citizen of both the UK and the U.S, and enjoy practicing the playful art of sarcasm.