Andy joined Patriot Investment Management in 2017 after struggling for years to find a dependable and trustworthy fiduciary to provide investment management for his existing RIA and tax practice. Happily, he found that dependable, trustworthy fiduciary firm and is now a part of the Patriot team.

Andy is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Financial Planner® professional, and he also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation, which is a rare combination for an advisor considering the rigorous path to achieve all three of these credentials. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Tennessee.

Andy works with clients who appreciate comprehensive tax planning and investment management, while constantly leveraging his experience as a comprehensive financial advisor to help his clients explore thoughtfully informed financial planning scenarios.

Areas of Focus

• Estate Planning
• Tax Efficient Retirement Withdrawal Planning
• Executive Compensation and Benefit Strategies

But underneath the professional background and credentials, here’s what makes Andy tick:

Influences: My first allowance was three dollars per week at age 7. It was not enough back then to do the things that I wanted, and ever since I have been working hard to earn and save more while investing better and smarter – and I am driven to do the same for my clients. I can’t overstate the impact this paltry allowance had on my relationship with money. Apparently, my wife’s parents did the same thing to her! Because of this, we are both big savers and usually agree on financial issues.

Perspective on work: Financial advisors and accountants are naturally driven to justify their value to clients. Gravitating from a tax-only practice to a combined tax and investing fiduciary practice has been one way I have provided significantly more value to my clients while always acting in their best interests. On top of providing for my family, the main reason I get up every morning and go to work is the wellbeing of my clients.

Favorite things: I have four children aging from 14 down to 2 years old. Being deeply involved with my children is so much better than anything I’ve ever done. Thank God we have a two-year-old, so we should be in the “kid” business for the foreseeable future – which my wife, Holly, and I are very much looking forward to. In my spare time, which I admit is hard to come by sometimes with four kids, I enjoy reading, running, and spending time with friends.

Favorite travel: We have been on several cruises in both the Caribbean and the Mediterranean, our favorite being a fun and family-filled Disney Cruise in the Caribbean!

Favorite movie: The Music Man is my favorite movie. I did not discover it until about five years ago, but I’m sure I have seen it a thousand times since then. I am tickled that my children will sit and watch it with me. The Music Man started me down the path of watching classic musicals, which I’ve really enjoyed!

Favorite apps: Uber Eats, which I discovered during tax season. My life will never be the same now that a hot meal can be delivered to me at any time and place with only a few clicks on my phone. Run Tracker, which combines my love of running with my love of numbers. It is really neat that I can easily track my mileage without having to stay on any one specific route or path.

Anything else you love or that gets you excited? Binge-watching television shows – recent favorites include Mad Men, The Sopranos, and Ozark.

Favorite quote: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Here's a list of projects I helped clients with recently:

Helped a self-employed client establish a Solo-401(K) using funds from an existing taxable account.  The idea created a current year deduction of 30,000 on a relatively modest income.  This deduction reduced provisional income below 32,000.  Therefore spouse’s social security benefits are no longer subject to income tax.

Helped an affluent family of five manipulate taxable income downward in order to qualify for subsidies under the Affordable Care Act using a Roth Conversion Strategy.  The family received over 30,000 in subsidies that will not be subject to repayment.

Helped a middle income professional with no employees design a personal Defined Benefit Plan allowing for a current year deductible contribution in excess of 100,000.  The plan also features an after tax option to allow for another 30,000 to be immediately converted to a Roth IRA.

Performed an annuity analysis for an affluent couple.  Helped them to understand their existing annuity had an internal cost of nearly 400 basis points per year.  Both accounts were liquidated and invested into a conservative mix of index funds with an annual cost of 6 basis points.

Helped two families file restricted applications for Social Security.  Both were born before 1954.

Performed a life insurance “needs analysis” for a middle aged physician.  Helped to replace existing whole life policy with a term life policy for a fraction of the cost.

Performed a “needs analysis” for a young family to project both College Expenses and K-12 Private School Tuition and to fully fund 529 College Savings plans at an early age using inherited funds.  This will allow the inheritance to grow tax-free forever and to fund the education for four small children.

Helped a family to establish and fund a Donor Advised Fund with existing appreciated assets.  This idea eliminated large capital gains tax on the existing funds.  The plan also created an enormous tax deduction in the current year, and allows the family to benefit from the new 24,000 Standard Deduction for taxpayers who do not itemize deductions. 

Created a SIMPLE IRA plan for a self-employed senior citizen.  The plan allows taxpayer to reduce taxable income under the limit and avoid the surcharge on Medicare Part B premiums.

Created a Solo 401(K) plan to allow a self-employed professional to qualify for the New 20% QBI Deduction and to stay under the limit for a Specified Service Trade or Business.

Performed a “returns” analysis on existing pension options to help a couple decide to let their pension grow and to pay current expenses from existing IRA funds instead.

More to come!