This month, Charlotte Magazine printed its annual special section naming 5-Star Wealth Managers throughout the Charlotte region. Though Uptown Charlotte has exclusive claim to high rises, north Mecklenburg has its share of wealth managers rated highly by their clients, peers and industry experts.
Six professionals with offices in the Huntersville-Cornelius-Davidson area got the 5-Star Rating: Greg Bennett, Matt Campbell, Jeffrey Coble and Dolf Dunn, all in Huntersville, and Jeffrey Carbone and Andrew Smith in Cornelius.
Charlotte Magazine contracts with Minnesota-based Five Star Professional to conduct research and surveys and identify the 5-Star winners, and fewer than 3 percent of about 9,000 wealth managers in the Charlotte area got the award.
Wealth managers had to have at least five years of experience, and the 5-Star organization surveyed “approximately one in four high-net-worth-households (more than 56,000 consumers), and more than 4,500 financial services professionals in the Charlotte area.” The organization also reviewed regulatory actions, civil judicial actions and customer complaints reported by regulatory agencies. Finally, a panel of local professionals in the financial-services industry reviewed the list.
Here’s a little more about each of the north Mecklenburg professionals getting 5-Star status, in alphabetical order:
• Greg Bennett, 45, is vice president/investment officer in the Lake Norman office of Wells Fargo Advisors, 8015 W. Kenton Circle, suite 100, Huntersville.
Bennett grew up in Iowa. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in finance in 1988 and moved to North Carolina in 1992 to attend graduate school at Duke University, where he earned a master’s degree in business. He met his wife, Amy, at Duke, and they now live in Davidson with their children, Sam, 12, and Gracie, who turned 10 on Sept. 11. He’s spent his 12-year career with Wells Fargo Advisors, formerly A.G. Edwards and Wachovia Securities.
• Matt Campbell, 27, is a financial-planning advisor with the local firm, Fulcrum Capital Partners, 16507-D Northcross Drive, Huntersville. A Huntersville native, Campbell graduated from North Mecklenburg High School, where he was all-conference in basketball for two years, and played junior varsity basketball at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He graduated with a degree in communications, earned accreditation as a certified financial planner and worked as a financial analyst for Smith Barney for four years, before joining Fulcrum. Campbell’s parents, Byron and Deborah, and sister, Darcy, are all local educators. Campbell attended St. Mark Catholic Church growing up, and he’s coached the Catholic school’s middle school basketball team.
• Jeffrey Carbone is the managing partner and co-founder of Cornerstone Financial Partners, 18716 W. Catawba Ave., Cornelius. After graduating from St. John’s University in New York City with a bachelor’s degree in business management, Carbone earned accreditation as a certified financial planner and worked for eight years with American Express Financial Advisors, as a senior financial advisor and district manager. He moved to Prudential Securities, and in 2001, he and two others formed Cornerstone. Carbone supports the Harrison Nichols Foundation, Special Olympics, Davidson Day School, Ada Jenkins Center, Hope House and the Cornelius Animal Shelter.
• Jeffrey Coble is a financial advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors’ Huntersville office, 16700 Statesville Road. Coble grew up in Charlotte and graduated from Charlotte Latin School. He attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville on a full scholarship for basketball and earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing management. He has 12 years experience in financial services, starting with First Union Securities and joining Wells Fargo Advisors in Charlotte in 2006. He moved his practice from SouthPark to Huntersville in 2010. An active member of Bethel Presbyterian Church in Cornelius, Coble also volunteers as an assistant coach for the junior varsity and varsity basketball teams at Davidson Day School, where his son, Will, is a fourth-grader. He and his wife, Joni, live in Huntersville with Will and their daughter, Janie.
• Dolf Dunn is the managing principal of Dolf Dunn Wealth Management, 11330 Vanstory Drive, suite 101, Huntersville.
Dunn has a bachelor of science in accounting from the University of New Orleans and is a certified public accountant and has an number of other accreditations, including certified financial planner and accredited estate planner. From 1977 to 1982, he worked as a certified public accountant for New Orleans-based Bourgeois, Bennett, Thokey & Hickey. From 1982 to 1997, he served as controller/chief financial officer for Regent Carolina Corp., Adams Mark Hotel and Monteleone Hotel. He operated Dolf Dunn & Associates from 1997 to 2010 and opened Dolf Dunn Wealth Management in 2009. He earned the 5-Star award in 2009 and 2010.
• Andrew Smith is senior partner and co-founder (with Carbone) of Cornerstone Financial Partners in Cornelius. After graduating from N.C. State University with a bachelor’s degree in material science, he went to work for First Union Brokerage Services in 1998 and then Raymond James Financial Services, before forming Cornerstone. He graduated from Queens University’s Financial Planner Program and is accredited as a certified financial planner. He supports the Ada Jenkins Center, Hope House, the Cornelius Animal Shelter and Big Brothers/Big Sisters.