John was born and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, before attending a preparatory school at Deerfield Academy in Deerfield, Massachusetts, after which he went on to graduate from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. He entered the financial services industry after college, joining Merrill Lynch in 1980. In 1988, he made the decision to join RBC Wealth Management. Among the top advisors in the firm, John has been awarded annually and recognized as a member of RBC Wealth Management’s President’s Council and is a part of RBC Wealth Management’s Senior Consulting Group (see section below).
John is very active in the community in many ways and has been elected and served in many roles/positions to enhance specific causes about which he is passionate in Des Moines and Iowa. At the church he and his family have attended for over 40 years, he has served: as a deacon, on the Session, and as president of the Foundation. He is currently on the board of directors, and also served a term as the board chair, for the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation which is a statewide, non-profit conservation organization that protects and restores Iowa’s land, water, and wildlife and is the largest land trust in Iowa. John was also elected the Treasurer of the Wakonda Club, a private country club in the metropolitan area, in 2019 and served on the board of directors until 2022. In addition, John previously served on the boards of the Roosevelt High School Foundation and the Civic Music Association. John lives in Des Moines with his wife, Jann Freed. They have three sons: MacLean, and twins, Austin and Marshall and two granddaughters: Charlotte and Francis. In his spare time, John enjoys spending time with his family, reading, practicing yoga, playing golf and tennis, and working in his garden.
Senior Consulting Group
John is a member of RBC Wealth Management’s Consulting Group. The Consulting Group consists of financial advisors that have successfully dedicated their business to consultative, advisory fee-based businesses and discretionary, fee-based portfolio management practices. To be a member of this group, John had to meet very specific business structure and educational requirements. What does this mean to you? It is a more straightforward, dedicated approach to working with you, backed by intensive training and knowledge that other financial firms may not offer or advisors may not have.
