Top Financial Advisors in Greensboro, NC

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Smith, Salley & Associates, LLC (SSA) provides financial planning and ongoing portfolio management services for a diverse range of individuals, corporations, banks, trusts and charitable organizations.

According to SEC documents, the fee-based firm works with about as many high-net-worth individuals as those who fall below that threshold. For portfolio management services, you’d generally need a minimum initial investment of $500,000. However, this minimum may be negotiated on a case-by-case basis. 

Investment management fees generally depend on an annual percentage of assets under management currently capped at 1%. 

Smith, Salley & Associates Background

G. Mackay Salley and G. Gregory Smith, Jr. formed SSA in 2003. Both serve as the firm’s main principal owners. The firm’s team currently holds the designations of certified financial planners (CFPs) and chartered financial analysts (CFAs).  

Smith, Salley & Associates Investment Strategy 

SSA deploys financial advisory services based on your needs. If they’re not as complex, you can opt for stand-alone financial planning around the topics you’re interested in. For instance, you can seek assistance with budgeting, cash flow control, retirement savings, estate planning and more. The firm can also build an investment portfolio for you based on your risk tolerance and financial objectives. SSA would monitor this portfolio throughout to make sure it’s best aligned with your goals. 

When it comes to investing, the firm focuses on diversification and fundamental analysis. This means it evaluates securities such as stocks based on the company's underlying financials instead of just the conditions of the economic sector it is in. This analysis can dive into topics like financial strength ratios, dividend yields and more.

Based on client goals and objectives, the firm states that it will mostly invest in stocks and fixed-income securities and also in certain cases invest in equity and fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It employs a bottom-up, fundamental approach to investing, focusing on individual companies, not simply broad sectors.

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A plethora of experienced advisors resides at the fee-only Triad Financial Advisors. The firm heavily emphasizes the certified financial planners (CFP) certification and all of its advisors have one. Additionally, certain members of the team hold other designations such as chartered life underwriter (CLU) and chartered financial consultants (ChFC).

To open an account with Triad Financial Advisors, you will need a minimum of $550,000 in investable assets. That makes Triad fairly accessible to many prospective investors.

Patrick Rush, the firm’s CEO, was recognized by Barron’s in 2017 as the seventh-best financial advisor in North Carolina. As a firm, Triad Financial Advisors has been selected by Financial Times and AdvisoryHQ as one of the top financial advisors in the state.

Triad Financial Advisors Background

Triad Financial Advisors was formed in 2000. Rush, the principal owner of this independent firm, has more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

Triad offers investment analysis, investment management, estate planning, retirement planning, tax minimization and higher-education preparation. The firm also hosts educational workshops and other seminars to teach clients about various financial topics and to keep them up-to-date on what’s going on in the finance industry. 

Triad Financial Advisors Investment Strategy

Triad Financial Advisors, Inc. emphasizes asking questions of clients to determine where their priorities lie. According to one of the blog posts on its website, putting "feelings in the financial driver’s seat [will] steer you toward what your instincts would prefer, rather than what reason might dictate."

The plans that Triad Financial Advisors subsequently builds emphasize what it calls risk capacity. Risk capacity measures what you feel you can afford to lose in an investment scenario, as opposed to the more commonly used measurement of risk tolerance, which is more focused on the natural movement of the investment market.

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Fund Direct Advisors, Inc. is a fee-only firm with several advisors managing more than 200 clients. The firm serves individuals, high-net-worth individuals and pension and profit-sharing plans.

Collectively, the credentials among Fund Direct’s advisors include the certified financial planner (CFP), accredited investment fiduciary (AIF), chartered financial analyst (CFA), certified plan fiduciary advisor (CPFA), certified employee benefit specialist (CEBS), chartered retirement plan specialist (CRPS), chartered mutual fund counselor (CMFC), chartered life underwriter (CLU), enrolled retirement plan agent (ERPA) and more. 

Fund Direct mainly charges asset-based fees and hourly fees for its advisory services, and the firm doesn’t have a set account minimum. 

Fund Direct Advisors Background

Established in 2010 as a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm, Fund Direct specializes in portfolio management, financial planning, retirement plan consulting and a range of other wealth management advisory services. 

The firm’s principal owners are Charles Christopher Stanley and William Elbert Stanley III.

Fund Direct Advisors Investment Strategy

Fund Direct says on its website that its investment approach is rooted in the philosophy of helping its clients determine how much risk they need to take rather than how much risk they can take. 

When conducting investment research, the firm utilizes a number of sources, including mutual fund prospectuses, magazines, financial newspapers and other financial research materials.

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Holderness Investments Co. is a financial advisor firm independently run by Richard T. Holderness (a majority owner), the firm’s founder and president and Kim Cummings, the firm's VP and chief compliance officer. Holderness has nearly 40 years of investing experience, whereas the rest of the staff averages around 20 years of experience. In total, the firm staff holds various professional certifications, including certified financial planner (CFP), chartered financial analyst (CFA) and personal financial specialist (PFS). 

Although Holderness Investments Co. recommends a minimum account balance of $1 million, that minimum is negotiable. The firm works with both individuals and high-net-worth individuals.

Holderness is a fee-based firm, and clients may be offered insurance by its advisors. However, the firm is a fiduciary, so it’s legally required to act in clients’ best interests.

Holderness Investments Co. Background

Holderness Investments Co. has been around since 1995, making it one of the oldest firms on this list. Holderness Investments Co. works with about as many high-net-worth individuals as people who fall outside this scope. It also provides services to corporations, charitable organizations and profit-sharing retirement plans. 

Holderness Investments Co. Investment Strategy

Holderness Investments Co. builds custom portfolios based on a client's risk tolerance and objectives. It primarily focuses on long-term investments, meaning it generally holds on to securities in a portfolio for at least two years. 

Depending on your needs, your portfolio may invest in the following:

• Mutual funds
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Commercial paper
• Certificates of deposit (CD)

However, the firm permits clients to direct investments in specific securities or sectors. Custom portfolio clients are normally scheduled for reviews of their investment performance and goals, but they can call the firm for updates at any time. These custom portfolios are generally passively managed. 

But the firm also offers actively managed portfolios through its Vision Tactical strategy. Through this program, clients can choose from five portfolios: Equity, Growth, Balanced, Conservative, and Fixed Income. Using mutual funds and ETFs, managers build these portfolios based on their market outlook in an attempt to take advantage of any potential opportunities within individual asset classes.

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Carolina Financial Advisors is a fee-based firm headquartered in Greensboro and offers portfolio management and financial planning services to its clients. The client profile consists of individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, pensions, profit-sharing plans and non-profit organizations. As a fee-based firm, its advisors may receive a commission for the sale of certain securities. While this could create a conflict of interest, the firm and its advisors must put the client's needs first thanks to a legal fiduciary duty. 

Carolina does not have a minimum account balance.

Carolina Financial Advisors Background

Carolina Financial Advisors was founded in 2000 by Christopher Wick Jones, who serves as President of the firm today to provide portfolio management services. Today the firm's advisors collectively hold such designations as CFP, CKA, CRPS, CPA and CRPC. 

Carolina Financial Advisors Investment Strategy

Carolina Financial Advisors' main goal is to protect its clients' capital and provide reasonable growth through all market conditions. The firm’s primary focus is long-term cumulative returns and may recommend a number of investment types, including: 

• Equity securities
• Corporate debt securities
• Certificates of deposit
• Municipal securities
• Investment company securities
• U.S. government securities
• Options contracts
• Real estate

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Capital Management is a fee-based firm that offers financial planning and portfolio management services as well as the selection of other advisors, including private fund managers. The services are offered to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, estates, trusts and charitable organizations. As a fee-based firm, its advisors may earn a commission on the sale of certain securities. This has the potential to create a conflict of interest but the firm is bound by a legal fiduciary duty to put the clients' needs first. 

The firm has a $250,000 account minimum.

Capital Management Background

Capital Management was founded in 1998 but its advisors have over four decades of experience. Today, the firm has over $300 million in assets under management with two financial advisors providing services to clients. 

Capital Management Investment Strategy

The needs of an individual client are assessed during an initial meeting. The firm chooses an asset allocation based on the needs and risk appetite of that specific client. They are looking to craft an appropriate ratio of securities, fixed income and cash. The recommended asset allocation may include:

• Mutual funds
• ETFs

Spartan Planning Group (also known as Spartan Planning & Wealth Management, LLC) is a fee-only firm that imposes a range of minimum account requirements depending on the account type.

Typical clients are individuals, small businesses, trusts, and estates with investable assets between $500,000 and $10 million. The firm has the sole discretion to waive this minimum. 

Spartan Planning Group Background

Founded in 2013, Spartan Planning Group provides integrated portfolio management, financial planning and pension consulting services. David Childs holds the majority stake of the firm. Other minority owners include Ira Ross, Blaise Stevens, Jon Robinson and Brandon Langley.

Spartan Planning Group Investment Strategy

The firm has developed a client service model that includes discovery, implementation, as well as monitoring progress of clients engaged with Spartan Planning Group. It uses questionnaires, gathering of documents from the client and conversations. It takes into account the following factors about the client: personal situation, individual objectives, risk tolerance, time horizon, liquidity needs, constraints, growth and income needs and expectations as well as estate tax and income tax considerations.

Analyses and investment strategies that an advisor uses may vary depending on client needs, but all advisor recommendations stem from one or more of the following ideas: 

• Risk Profile - targeting the ideal balance of risk and return
• Macro Direction - determining the path and strength of overall markets and sectors
• Micro Direction - determining the path and strength of individual funds and securities
• Volatility/Volume - determining the stability and breadth of a particular directional move
• Correlation - determining the relationship of a given sector/financial instrument to other investments held by the client
• Diversification - evaluating the appropriate asset allocation

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Cascades Capital Asset Management, LLC is a fee-only firm earning its compensation through a percentage of its assets under management (AUM). The firm doesn’t impose an account minimum for its client base of individuals, high-net-worth individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations and corporations. 

Cascades Capital Asset Management Background

Founded in 2013, Cascades provides portfolio management, financial planning, pension consulting and advisor selection services. The firm’s financial planning services also address other areas such as retirement planning, cash flow planning and insurance analysis. 

Barry Carpenter is the firm’s sole principal owner.

Cascades Capital Asset Management Investment Strategy

Cascades says its investment decisions are fundamental research of industries and companies, as well as the analysis of financial market conditions, according to its firm brochure. When conducting fundamental research, Cascades normally reviews factors such as price-to-earnings ratios, financial strength ratios, dividend yields and growth rate-to-price earnings ratios.

The firm mainly invests in equities, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, bonds and other asset classes. 

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Smith Partners Wealth Management is next up on our list and is a fee-only firm headquartered in Greensboro. The firm offers the services of investment advisory and portfolio management to individuals, families, businesses, trusts, retirement plans, profit-sharing plans and charitable organizations. The firm never charges performance-based fees. 

The firm does not have an account balance minimum.

Smith Partners Wealth Management Background

Smith Partners Wealth Management was founded in 1988 by Jonathan W. Smith. The firm is wholly owned by Mr. Smith, Anne Flegal Smith and Justin Winship Smith. Today, the firm collectively has designations such as the certified financial planner (CFP) and the chartered financial analyst (CFA). 

Smith Partners Wealth Management Investment Strategy

The firm meets with every client, individually, to better understand their life stage, time horizon, financial situation, current resources and risk tolerance. The advisors then use this information and match it with the right asset allocation to set the accounts up for the most amount of long-term success. They may invest client assets in equity-related securities, fixed-income securities, mutual funds, ETFs, or other suitable investments.