By Francis B. Allgood
SCBIZ Daily Staff

GREENWOOD -- On the same day Wall Street witnessed its first trillion-dollar loss, a Greenwood company has something to boast about during trying financial times.

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC is listed in Forbes Magazine this week as one of The Most Dependable Wealth Managers of the Southeast. Goldline Research evaluated 1,742 wealth managers to come up with its list of 10.

“We try to tell people to remain calm as we watch everyday,” said Greenwood Capital principal Walter Todd III. “It’s very tough to step back and have a level head with what’s going on.”

Greenwood Capital is the only South Carolina firm to make the list.

“The firm met or exceeded every expectation we have for holistic, client-centric firms,” said Goldline Research analyst George Schaeffer.

Greenwood Capital reported median assets under management of $250 million, a 75-to-1 client-advisor ratio and an average of 23 years of experience.

In July, TCB Corp., the holding company for Countybank, acquired majority interest in Greenwood Capital. The combined entity has more than $1.1 billion in assets managed or administered, and is one of the largest independent investment advisory firms in the state.

Todd said the time is right to market the company’s accomplishments.

“We had not participated in this particular survey before or any published survey, for that matter,” he said. “Given the transaction that just occurred with us and Countybank and the market we are in, we need to do a better job marketing ourselves.”

And what about the bailout?

“The failure by the house to pass its legislation was really unthinkable to me,” Todd said. “That puts everything in flux, to be honest with you.”

The other top wealth management firms in the Southeast, according to Goldline Research, are: AdvisorAlliance LLC and Clientfirst Wealth Management LLC, Arkansas; FAC Wealth Management LLC and Neto Financial Group Inc., Florida; Financial & Investment Management Advisors Inc. and Regatta Research and Money Management LLC, Louisiana; Linden Thomas & Co. and Stearns Financial Services Group, North Carolina; and Retirement Financial Solutions, Tennessee.