Frequently Asked Questions
- What are Rod Buie’s professional experience and qualifications? Rod is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and has an MBA (concentration in Finance). He worked for over 20 years at First Union Corporation (now Wachovia Corp.) as both a senior portfolio manager and Director of Portfolio Management for the Carolinas/Georgia Region. Rod’s group consisted of 20 portfolio managers and 10 associates who managed approximately $6 billion in assets for over 1,000 clients. Rod directly managed $200 million in assets for high profile private clients, as well as foundation and endowment accounts. He also managed for a number of years the $1 billion Common Equity Fund for First Union. He has experience in estate and tax planning, use of alternative investments such as hedge funds, and all aspects of asset allocation. Rod has been involved in strategic planning, capital budgeting, and has been COO of a start-up trust company.
- Who has actual custody of my money and what controls exist? Clients at Buie Investment Advisors will have their monies custodized at Schwab Institutional which has over one million client accounts and $400 billion in assets, plus over 1,000 employees providing custody, trading, and operational support. Clients will sign client agreements with both Schwab and Buie Investment Advisors. Schwab is a registered broker/dealer and is subject to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the National Association of Securities Dealers, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and all other exchanges of which Schwab is a member. Buie Investment Advisors, LLC was approved and is supervised by the Securities Division of the Office of the Secretary of State of North Carolina.
- What is the minimum account size? Minimum account size is $100,000. Fees will be collected quarterly based on the firm’s fee schedule. For other situations, such as individual counseling (with no established account) or corporate consulting, the hourly rate is $150 or mutually agreed upon contract basis.
- What happens to my account if Rod dies tomorrow or becomes disabled? If something happened to Rod, it would be no different than if something happened to your doctor, lawyer, or investment officer at a competing firm. Your monies and account would still remain at Schwab under your control and you would decide to keep it there or move it elsewhere.
- How would you describe Rod Buie in more personal terms? Rod is 55 years old and lives in Charlotte with his wife and their two children. Rod loves playing with his children and takes them for a Chinese lunch most Saturdays. His favorite book is The Road Less Traveled, by Scott Peck; his favorite speaker is Dr. James Efird, a nationally-renowned religious scholar who has taught at Duke Divinity School for 42 years. Rod and his family love to travel both within their native Carolinas and internationally.