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The Cornerstone Story
Mark and Scott met via mutual friends in Columbus, Georgia in 1995. Over dinner at a Mexican restaurant, they discovered that they both were studying for Level II of the CFA examination. Unlikely, yes. However, it was a fortuitous set of events. The CFA exam requires 200-250 hours of preparation for each level of the exam, and course material is almost entirely based on self study. Outside of money centers in the Southeast like Atlanta or Charlotte, there were very few informal study groups.
So Mark and Scott made plans to study together, confer on exam problems and otherwise hold each other accountable to the rigorous timeline the CFA exams required. At the time, exams were administered only once a year in June. Typically a CFA exam Candidate would spend the bulk of their non-work waking hours studying from January to the first Saturday in June.
Collaboration
With success, Mark and Scott both passed all three CFA exams and managed investment portfolios at different firms, Scott in Columbus, Georgia and Mark in Savannah, Georgia. They continued to collaborate and commiserate over the years, and they both shared the frustration of absurdly high fees that many investment managers were charging their clients. And with the technology bubble burst, they saw many investors losing millions of their savings while still paying their managers high fees. Mark and Scott saw an opportunity here to compete and give better service at competitive rates.
Decision to Start Cornerstone
On September 9th, 2001, just two days before the horrible events of 9/11, Mark and Scott gave the idea behind going out on their own a green flag. With a great deal of work before and after their day jobs, they formed the business plan, rounded up investment capital, registered with the regulatory authorities and all of the hundreds of others things that have to be accomplished when starting your own business.
Cornerstone Investment Management and Consulting, LLC was formed on October 3, 2002 and received regulatory approval to operate as a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) on March 11, 2003. Soon after they began accepting new accounts, the doors opened on the world headquarters of Cornerstone in Daphne, Alabama on June 30, 2003.
Why the Mobile Area?
Being analysts, choosing Daphne, Alabama was no quick decision for Mark and Scott. Like everything they do, they ran specific tests and decided it was the ideal location. They wanted to stay in the Southeast, and they saw significant opportunity in Mobile, Alabama. Being on the Gulf coast, it is a great place to live, raise a family, and to retire. There is a growing retirement population in the area, and there is less competition in the financial sector (as of 2011, there are fewer than 10 CFA Charterholders in lower Alabama). Interestingly, they learned to consider the ratio of bookstores to pawn shops (a typical example of Cornerstone thoughtful analysis) and found that Daphne was the best choice, and they have been successful and very happy with the area.
If you are interested in learning more about Cornerstone, please contact us.
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Independent fee-based investment management advisor, retirement planning.
Cornerstone Investment Management and Consulting, LLC, 809-C Daphne Avenue, Suite 102, Daphne, Alabama 36526. Fee-based investment management, hourly financial advice and planning. Cornerstone is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) registered with the United States Securities Exchange Commission and is headquartered in the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay in Daphne, Alabama.
For more information about our firm, or to receive a copy of our disclosure form ADV, please email us at info(at)csimac.com, or call 251.626.6292. Thank you for visiting our site.