James J. Keenan

A professional member of both The Florida Speakers Association (Vice President) and the National Speakers Association, Jim is the President of his own training and consulting company, Cogent Communications, Inc. as well as a managing partner and director of a successful home security services company.

He is a graduate of Iona University and was a New York State Regents scholar throughout his college career.

Front Cover of BookJim joined IBM upon graduation from college and after a successful career that spanned over a dozen years decided in 1981 that the securities markets might prove more interesting. (His fascination with finance began early. He was earning his own spending money by the age of ten, and on his own initiative was involved in the simplest of investments by the age of twelve.) He jokingly tells friends that by joining the securities industry he was responsible for starting what turned out to be the longest and strongest upturn in the stock market in over one hundred years.

Tired of constantly fighting the deteriorating ethics of the industry, and concerned about the stability of the securities markets, Jim retired as an active broker in 1995 to found Cogent Communications, Inc.

He has been a licensed Certified Financial Planner since 1988 when he initially received that designation from the College of Financial Planning in Denver, CO.

In addition to over thirty years of personal experience investing in the securities markets, as a Certified Financial Planner and an active securities broker for fifteen years, Jim has had the opportunity to interview literally thousands of investors about their investment experiences. The lessons he learned are contained in his book.

He is currently developing a seminar and a keynote based on the book Ignorance Is Risk: What Wall Street Doesn't Want You to Know! You can email him by clicking here.