St. Johns Asset Management, LLC / JW Cole Advisors

St. Johns Asset Management, LLC / JW Cole Advisors Independent fiduciary advisory firm serving professionals, families & business owners in Northeast Florida & beyond. The Independence You Trust.

Wealth management, retirement, estate-aware planning & more — built around your goals. The Logic You Value.

One of the most consequential decisions people make as they approach retirement gets very little attention compared to h...
09/10/2026

One of the most consequential decisions people make as they approach retirement gets very little attention compared to how much it deserves: when to claim Social Security.

Claim at 62 and your monthly benefit is reduced — permanently. Wait until 70 and your benefit is significantly higher — for life. For a married couple, the sequence of who claims when and at what age can affect lifetime household income by more than most people realize.

There's no single right answer. The right decision depends on your health, your other income sources, your situation, and your broader financial picture. What there is — is a decision worth making intentionally rather than by default.
This is one of the planning conversations we have with clients regularly. If you're within ten years of retirement and you haven't run through the Social Security timing question with an advisor, it may be worth doing.

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

09/08/2026

Most people plan for Medicare premiums in retirement. Fewer plan for the costs that fall outside of what Medicare covers.

Some of them are surprisingly significant — and they don't show up until you need them.

We wrote about three of them on the blog. Worth a read if retirement is on your horizon.

Read more → stjohnsasset.com/insights/healthcare-costs-that-catch-retirees-off-guard

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

Here's something most people don't realize: your beneficiary designations override your will.If your IRA names someone w...
09/03/2026

Here's something most people don't realize: your beneficiary designations override your will.

If your IRA names someone who is no longer the right person — a former spouse, a deceased parent, someone whose circumstances have changed — that's who inherits it. Your will doesn't change it. A trust doesn't change it. A conversation you had with your family doesn't change it.

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies transfer directly to the named person, outside of your estate plan entirely. Which means if those designations are out of date, the most carefully drafted estate plan in the world can't fix it.
When did you last review yours?

This is one of the first things we look at with new clients. It takes almost no time to review and can matter enormously.

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. We coordinate financial planning considerations alongside your estate planning team — we do not provide legal advice.

Most people have a financial advisor, a CPA, and an estate attorney. What most people don't have is anyone looking at al...
09/01/2026

Most people have a financial advisor, a CPA, and an estate attorney. What most people don't have is anyone looking at all three at the same time.

Each advisor does their job well. The tax return gets filed. The will gets drafted. The investments get managed. But the decisions made in one conversation often affect what's possible in another — and no one is connecting those dots.

That's the gap independent financial planning is meant to fill. Not replacing your CPA or your attorney, but sitting alongside them as the coordinating point for your full financial picture.

It's a different kind of relationship than most people have experienced with a financial advisor. And for the clients we work with, it's usually the thing that matters most.

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice. We do not provide legal or tax advice — we coordinate alongside your existing professionals.

Most people delay financial planning conversations because they think they should have more figured out first.The truth ...
08/27/2026

Most people delay financial planning conversations because they think they should have more figured out first.

The truth is the best conversations start well before you feel ready. That's kind of the whole point.

At St. Johns Asset Management, we work with people who want clarity on their financial picture — not people who already have all the answers. A short introductory call. No agenda. No pressure. Just an honest conversation about where you are and whether we can help.

If you've been meaning to have this conversation, we'd make it easy.
stjohnsasset.com/contact

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

There's a difference between saving for retirement and planning for retirement income. Most people focus almost entirely...
08/25/2026

There's a difference between saving for retirement and planning for retirement income. Most people focus almost entirely on the first one.

Saving for retirement means accumulating assets — contributing to a 401(k), an IRA, a brokerage account. That part most people understand reasonably well.

Planning for retirement income means answering a different set of questions. At what point do your savings become sustainable income? How do you sequence withdrawals across different account types? When does it make sense to take Social Security, and how does that interact with everything else?

The gap between those two things is where most retirement plans run into trouble — not because the savings weren't there, but because the income strategy wasn't built.

This is one of the most important planning conversations we have with clients. If you're within ten years of retirement and you haven't thought through the income side of the picture, it's worth some attention.

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

Meet Rhonda — Client Relationship Manager and Insurance Advisor, serving clients across our Jacksonville, St. Augustine,...
08/23/2026

Meet Rhonda — Client Relationship Manager and Insurance Advisor, serving clients across our Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Palatka offices. With more than 30 years in insurance and healthcare — including Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance — Rhonda brings deep, practical expertise to every client conversation.

Rhonda is committed to helping others navigate their own insurance and financial decisions with clarity and confidence. She is also a Florida 2-15 licensed Insurance Advisor.

Disclaimer: Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management (“SJAM”), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

Here's something we see regularly: a business that is genuinely thriving, and a personal financial plan that hasn't been...
08/20/2026

Here's something we see regularly: a business that is genuinely thriving, and a personal financial plan that hasn't been touched in years.

It's not carelessness. When you're running something, the business gets the attention and the personal side gets deferred. That's just how it goes.

But the two are more connected than most people realize. What happens to the business if something happens to you? Is your retirement actually funded, or is the business exit the retirement plan — and is that realistic on your timeline? Are your personal accounts even coordinated with each other?

These aren't questions that keep you up at night. Until they do.
If you're a business owner who's been meaning to take a serious look at your personal financial picture, this is the reminder.

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

08/18/2026

Northeast Florida isn't just where we work. It's where we live, where our clients raise families, build businesses, and plan for what's next.

When we sit down with someone, we're not filling out a template. We're listening to a person who has worked hard to build something and wants to protect it. The conversations are personal because the stakes are personal.

That's what independent financial guidance looks like when it's done right. We're glad to be here.

St. Johns Asset Management — serving Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Palatka, and clients throughout Florida.

Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management ("SJAM"), a registered investment adviser.

Meet Wade — a fiduciary advisor who's spent his career turning financial overwhelm into financial clarity. With a backgr...
08/16/2026

Meet Wade — a fiduciary advisor who's spent his career turning financial overwhelm into financial clarity. With a background spanning relationship management, research, and data analysis, Wade brings a thoughtful, detail-oriented approach to every client relationship, especially high-net-worth families navigating complex planning needs.

In Wade's words: what matters most is helping people move from feeling overwhelmed to feeling empowered about their financial future.

Our fiduciary obligation means your best interest governs every recommendation we make.

Disclaimer: Advisory services offered through St. Johns Asset Management (“SJAM”), a registered investment adviser. Not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

Address

5233 San Jose Boulevard Suite 1
Jacksonville, FL
32207

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 5pm

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