On the surface, police officers and financial advisors don’t appear to have much in common. But according to John Wooten, there are some important similarities.
As a financial advisor for Capital Wealth Advisors, Wooten works daily with clients to help them reach their financial goals. And in terms of establishing trust and achieving a sense of personal fulfillment, the job isn’t too far removed from when he worked the downtown beat for the Atlanta Police Department (APD). “I have an appreciation for both,” says Wooten. “In each profession, you’re helping people who rely on your expertise at that moment. The difference is that you’re on different ends of the spectrum. As a cop, typically I would help during an unsettling or chaotic moment in their lives. In my role at Capital Wealth Advisors, I’m helping
them work toward their dreams. In either situation, to achieve a successful outcome, you have to begin by approaching it with a servant’s heart. That’s what I enjoy because that’s who I am.”
Wooten was born in Atlanta but spent much of his childhood in Huntsville and Palestine, Texas. After high school he returned to Atlanta where he attended DeVry University, only to drop out just one semester shy of earning an electrical engineering degree.
“Maybe it came from watching too much CHiPs as a kid, but I realized that being a cop was what I really wanted to do,” says Wooten. “I think my parents about had a heart attack when I told them I was leaving college.”
But the next three years were everything that Wooten hoped they would be. “As a 20-year-old, it was so much fun being in downtown Atlanta,” he says. “It was like watching all those cop shows but actually living it five days a week.”
In 2004 the APD loaned Wooten to the United States Secret Service for a two-week assignment to work the G8 Summit in Savannah. The experience inspired him to pursue secret service work as the next step in his career. But that’s when real life intervened.
He was in a long-distance relationship with his soon-to-be wife, Jennifer, who lived in Middle Tennessee and did not want to move to Atlanta. So Wooten relocated to Franklin on the condition that he would attend MTSU, earn his degree, then pursue secret service work. While in school, he worked night shift patrols for the Williamson County Sherriff’s Office. By 2008 the couple had
two sons, Wooten had his degree in finance, and his dream of working for the secret service began to fade.
“I found myself arguing with God and finally said, ‘Whatever you have planned has to be better than what I have planned for myself,’” says Wooten. “I felt as though the changes in my life were God’s way of continuing to lead me to help people, but to do it in a different way. And I’m glad I trusted Him because I really enjoy what I do.”
At Capital, Wooten works with a wide range of clients from retirees to “High-Earners, Not-Rich-Yet” or HENRYs. “A lot of people think that because they’re high earners, they’ll always have a certain level of financial security, but that’s not necessarily the case,” says Wooten. “I help educate them about their options so that they can make the best decisions to meet life’s challenges while continuing to accumulate wealth.
“Life creeps up on everyone and circumstances change,” he says. “What’s working for you now, might not work for you later. My job is to coach you so that you make the decisions that are best for you.”
John Wooten should know. He’s experienced those changes himself. CapitalWealthAdvisor.com/john-wooten
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Investment Advisor. Cambridge and Capital Wealth Advisors are not affiliated.