Our Team
How We Work
Our reasons for becoming financial professionals are deeply personal. We repeatedly saw many friends and family struggling to find the help they needed to map out their financial future. We are confident that with our understanding of personal finance, coupled with our training as financial professionals, we can help people better prepare for the future. After years in the business, we have developed a reputation for educating individuals in an easy-to-understand manner so they can grasp personal finance and use those concepts to pursue their financial objectives. We feel a commitment to our community.
Robert Nicotra
Founder, Financial Advisor
Robert Nicotra earned his securities licenses and joined the financial industry shortly after graduating from college. He started his career at Ameriprise Financial in 1993, and decided to become an independent advisor in 2005. This change allowed Rob to focus on what is best for his clients and to offer a more robust fee-based, collaborative experience. In 2017, Rob and his business partner, James Buto, founded Presque Isle Wealth Management.
Rob’s specialty is the development and ongoing management of custom, individualized portfolios. He manages client assets with the utmost care and personalizes his approach based on their directives, risk tolerance, time horizon, and previous investing experience. Rob also provides insurance solutions to help hedge against the unexpected.
Outside of work, Rob enjoys playing golf with friends and clients, and spending time with his family.
James Buto
Founder, Financial Advisor
Honest, independent, and committed to his clients, James Buto became licensed and started his financial services career in 1997 at a bank. After several years honing his skills, he left the bank to forge a career as an independent financial advisor. After more than a decade in the independent space, Jim found a like-minded business partner in Robert Nicotra, and Presque Isle Wealth Management was founded in 2017.
Jim’s focus lies in financial planning. He seeks to uncover the needs of clients through thoughtful questions and diligent analysis of their existing financial situation. Using that data, he charts a course for their future to meet goals such as retirement, education funding, or wealth generation.
Jim is a lifelong resident of Erie, Pennsylvania. He is a past Commodore of the Presque Isle Yacht Club. In his free time, Jim enjoys boating and spending time with his wife and children.
Heather Bedell
LPL Registered Client Relations Manager
Heather has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. As a registered client relations manager, she assists James and Robert with every aspect of client services, including scheduling, answering calls and emails, responding to service requests, processing paperwork, opening new accounts, and placing trades on behalf of the advisors.
Heather is proud to work in an independent office that truly values the clients they serve and the people they help. She looks forward to going to work every day and feels there isn’t any problem that she can’t solve.
Heather’s hobbies include cooking, gardening and staying fit by keeping active – skiing in the winter, and paddle boarding, golfing, hiking and biking in the summer. Mostly, she enjoys all of these things while spending time with family.