R. J. Shook began his career in 1987 as a financial advisor with Prudential Securities. Frustrated that he didn’t have access to outstanding advisors from which to learn best practices, he began writing his Winner’s Circle book series. Mr. Shook, author of nine books, left Prudential in 1999 to write full time, then founded The Winner’s Circle Organization in 2001. With the missions of promoting best practices in the industry and the value of advice to the investing public, The Winner’s Circle’s rankings and research appear in annual feature stories in Barron’s, Research Magazine, Boston Magazine, San Francisco Business Times, Washington CEO, Minneapolis Business Journal, California CEO, Denver Business, and more. The organization, based in Boca Raton, FL, has begun the State-by-State Winner’s Circle, which will be featured in Barron’s. More information can be found at WCorg.com.