Brevard, NC

Bison Wealth
Brevard

100 Elks Club Road
Brevard, NC 28712

(828) 884-5600

Bison is a boutique of independent investment advisors that seeks to deliver a superior, differentiated client experience. Our advisors benefit from industry leading technology, investment solutions, compliance and client support, enabling them to deliver an unparalleled level of service to their clients.

About

They say the only constant is change. It can happen fast or slow. It can be big or small. We’ve found that the other constant is that it always brings opportunity: to improve, to re-evaluate and to challenge the status quo.

Change has brought the Hunter Group many exciting opportunities over the years. Founded within Bank of America Investments in 2002, we experienced a complete transformation after the merger with Merrill Lynch in 2009. It brought an exciting new level of capabilities to us alongside the ability to expand and grow our team forging a partnership with Shawn Jiles in 2016 whose roots originally began at UBS in 2004.

Change has also brought our clients opportunities to improve the way they earn, the way they live and their overall quality of life. That is why we are most excited about the change that’s taking place now. Above all, it’s a positive change for our clients; a shift in the paradigm that allows us to do more for them than was ever possible before.

Through the tides of change, we never lost our core banking roots, and it is one of our biggest strengths today. This deep understanding of how the banking industry works is what allows us to challenge its siloed structure, pushing the confides in which it has forced us to work within for the last 20 years.

We cultivate and integrate, taking an entrepreneurial approach in an industry slow to innovate. The results speak for themselves. Nobody integrates the organization like us. Nobody maximizes the options at hand like we do. However, we’re done integrating and innovating within a structure that has no interest in our creative, results-oriented approach.

We’re excited to launch QTR Family Wealth, structuring how we deliver the best for clients, together, on our own terms. We chose “Quality Time Remaining,” or QTR, as our name because time is a limited and precious resource. Life loves to throw curveballs, which means optionality is a lifeline. If we don’t understand our best options, then when faced with challenges, we won’t often make the right decision. We’re here to give you the best options available to you, delivered at an unmatched level of responsiveness to your needs.

Sense of security, safety, and peace of mind is what we pledge at QTR Family Wealth.

We are taking a hybrid model as an independent business, partnering with Fidelity Investments and Bison. Both partners are incredibly aligned with our mission, governed by what is best for the client and can afford us incredible enhanced capabilities, efficiencies and the latest in innovation to serve.

For our clients, this means you have better options that are no longer tied to the internal bureaucracy and quotas within business units at big banks. We can now serve you as a true fiduciary. One size has never fit all, and it never should. Our vision is not short-term, stifled by manager score cards or the next quarterly earning cycle.

We now have an open architecture across all lines of business. We are cultivating valuable connections for you with varying resources, so you always have options. Our hands are no longer tied to the bureaucracy that previously penalized this approach.  We’re breaking down barriers in the way traditional wealth management advisors do business. You will reap the benefit firsthand.

It’s important to understand how our open architecture will affect the service that we deliver daily.

Historically, we’ve serviced as a Fiduciary within the confides of a single large organization, meaning if .05% is the best cash rate the firm can offer, that’s the best rate our group can offer. Even if we know a better rate exists elsewhere, the penalty for going outside of the firm has been steep enough to strongly discourage this behavior or option.

Meet a world where no option comes with a penalty. Thinking outside of the box is rewarded.

Having full autonomy over our choices to customize options for clients will greatly improve our overarching investment and service strategy. For example, no player is too small to play in our sandbox now if they bring the right offer at the right time for the right client. The “bigger is better” or “pay to play” mentality is not always in the best interest of our clients, and we see a valuable role for boutique firm offerings in our network.

Finally, we can be the strategists we’re meant to be. Money across multiple custodians (i.e. Fidelity, Schwab, TD, Goldman Sachs) is no longer a hurdle but an opportunity to be a significant guardian and counselor in the big picture of managing the client’s assets.

Wesley Hunter
Chad Hunter
Shawn Jiles
Whit Kunzelman
Mike Freeman

Recognition

Bison is proud of our advisors who’ve received recognition from financial industry publications or directly from Bison Wealth. We believe they are setting the standard for exemplary client service.

Wes Hunter
QTR Family Wealth Group

Heathrow, Florida

Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors (2022) 

Solutions for Institutions

Supporting a strong retirement plan and helping to keep it on track

The retirement and financial needs of your employees, as well as the responsibility those needs create for you as an employer, are important to you. We offer the solutions your employees may need to help pursue their financial goals and maintain financial wellness. Our array of resources and experience is designed to help meet your employees’ financial needs in ways that make sense for your company — strategically, operationally and financially. You and your employees will have a team of experienced and passionate advocates for financial wellness on your side. Our team will make your priorities their own so you can focus more on your business.

For Plan Sponsors

Your role as a plan sponsor is more challenging than ever, and it’s not something to face alone. We bring the resources and thought leadership from Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates to bear in helping you provide a strong, healthy and fully compliant program that runs smoothly, engages your employees and makes your job easier. We can help you focus on the areas that may be helpful to plan success, including Fiduciary Advisory Services 1 and Education and Plan Services 2 appropriate for your plan.

Fiduciary Advisory Services1

Through Fiduciary Advisory Services, we can help you design and maintain an investment menu.

  • Investment Policy Statement (IPS)3
  • Comprehensive due diligence processes to identify appropriate investments
  • Proactive delivery – online and by your designated advisor – of investment performance reporting every quarter
  • Report providing fund analysis and market trends.

 

1 Fiduciary Advisory Services is an investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (also referred to as “MLPF&S” or “Merrill”). Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select. Please refer to the Fiduciary Advisory Services Brochure for information on the program including a description of the series and related fees.

2 Education and Plan Services are non-fiduciary services required for Advisor Alliance clients and optional for MLII clients.

3 IPS service is not available for FAS Discretionary. The plan sponsor is responsible for the approval and final adoption of the IPS.

For Employees

All our efforts revolve around helping your employees pursue their goals. With Bank of America Corporation’s long legacy of service excellence, we take a holistic approach to helping your employees connect their life priorities and financial priorities—in and beyond their benefit plans. By broadening our view to include an employee’s entire financial picture, both in and out of plan, we believe we can help your employees better manage and gain control of their finances.

  • Holistic approach to helping improve overall financial wellness
  • Online investment advisory programs that offer participant advice; Personal Retirement Strategy that provides online advice and guidance to help participants pursue their retirement income goals through a recommended asset allocation and, if the participant elects, a discretionary managed account, Merrill Managed, for an additional fee or Advice Access that helps participants by providing asset allocation recommendations and ongoing investment management through its optional PersonalManager® service, for a fee.
  • Comprehensive employee education program

 

Personal Retirement Strategy is an online investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) that uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that participants in the program will accumulate sufficient total assets to achieve their annual retirement income goal. The recommendations provided by Personal Retirement Strategy may include a higher level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance and retirement horizon before accepting any recommendations made by Personal Retirement Strategy.
Participants should carefully review the explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations, as well as a description of services and related fees, which is provided in the Personal Retirement Strategy Brochure (ADV Part 2A). It can be obtained through Benefits Online or through the Retirement Benefits Contact Center. Advice Access is an online investment advisory program sponsored by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Inc. (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”) that uses a probabilistic approach to determine the likelihood that participants in the program may be able to achieve their specified annual retirement income goal and/or to identify a potential wealth outcome that could be realized. The recommendations provided by Advice Access may include a higher level of investment risk than a participant may be personally comfortable with. Participants are strongly advised to consider their personal goals, overall risk tolerance, and retirement horizon before accepting any recommendations made by Advice Access. Participants should carefully review the explanation of the methodology used, including key assumptions and limitations as well as a description of services and related fees, which is provided in the Advice Access disclosure document (ADV Part 2A). It can be obtained through Benefits OnLine or through the Retirement Benefits Contact Center.

Merrill offers a broad range of brokerage, investment advisory and other services. There are important differences between brokerage and investment advisory services, including the type of advice and assistance provided, the fees charged, and the rights and obligations of the parties. It is important to understand the differences, particularly when determining which service or services to select.

IMPORTANT: The projections or other information shown in the Advice Access program regarding the likelihood of various investment outcomes are hypothetical in nature, do not reflect actual investment results and are not guarantees of future results. Results may vary with each use and over time.

And More

Beyond our experience, we offer access to the deep intellectual capital and broad capabilities of Bank of America Corporation and its affiliates. If we identify a need we can’t service ourselves, we can connect you with the people and resources to help you. Through our network of advisors, we strive to deliver strategies to help you manage the day-to-day and long-term responsibilities required in pursuing your institution’s goals. As we work together to address your evolving needs, we can help make the broad capabilities of Bank of America Corporation feel more accessible.

Solutions for Individuals

All clients are important to us at QTR Family Wealth. The horizon is particularly bright though for working with entrepreneurial-minded individuals. This client needs a partner who can expertly navigate the waters of the constantly evolving stages of personal and business life. From growth to capital preservation, the customization of our approach, coupled with the technology and tools to present this information in a meaningful way, ensures we can properly support this client at any phase with unmatched transparency, oversight, and attention to detail.

Remember, significant wealth is different in its scale, opportunities, and challenges. These clients come with their own list of priorities and possess a special level of knowledge, having navigated unique challenges as a business owner or entrepreneur with a growth mindset. This client knows to surround themselves with people that know more than them to be successful, requiring us to level up to be the family wealth team helping them do more than they ever could alone.

Process Creates Outcomes

Focus, we believe, is critical to success. That’s why as a team, we devote intense energy to our process, striving to execute at the highest levels. We recognize that there are many moving parts to your wealth. Complex balance sheets do not intimidate us—we’ve tackled many of them before. By following a robust and methodical process, we believe we facilitate better outcomes for you and your loved ones.

We’re particularly skilled in helping executives and entrepreneurs lay out a clear path designed to maximize multiple facets of their wealth. For executives, the path may involve in-depth strategy relative to their compensation and portfolio design. For business owners, the path may involve transferring the business to the next generation or monetizing the business to establish a steady cash flow. Your legacy, of course, extends beyond the walls of your business. We also help you delineate your values and vision for your loved ones, instilling the knowledge and habits that can foster strong stewardship across generations. Throughout our interactions, your privacy is extremely important to us. We approach your relationship with the sensitivity and empathy we would want for our own families.

If you anticipate a significant inflection point in your wealth, please reach out to our team. We believe we can connect you to some new ideas to expand your opportunity set, broaden your network, and lay the foundation for the months and years ahead.

Our Emphasis on Balanced Wealth

Your business is much more than your assets and liabilities. We appreciate the hard work, ingenuity, and sacrifice that you have poured into your work. We’re attuned to the emotional component of key decision points, as well as the economic factors that frame these decisions. 

We believe strongly in the value of “balanced wealth,” a mindset that encompasses the multiple touchpoints of wealth within your family, career, health, philanthropy, and aspirations. We appreciate that wealth decisions are ultimately people decisions. We strive to support you and your loved ones in pursuing the positive outcomes of wealth, while circumventing its challenges.

We have built our team with the unique needs of business owners in mind. We offer a deep bench of advisors, specialists, and service professionals, committed to the highest levels of client satisfaction. We’re restless in pursuing differentiated outcomes for the clients we serve. Clients looks to us to deflect the headwinds they encounter, smoothing their path toward the timely resolution of issues.

We also offer valuable connectivity, both inside and outside the firm, helping clients capitalize on a wide range of resources at their disposal. Forward looking, we maintain clear communication with a client’s external tax and legal advisors, as appropriate, forging steady progress toward meaningful goals. Above all, we ground our approach in ongoing dialogue and effective collaboration, privileged to support a client’s ‘growth engine’ that is founded on a client’s unique talents and strengths.

Sign UP for our newsletter

Get the latest investment insights, tips and strategies to help you live your best financial life.

Thought Leadership

Bison Wealth, LLC is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Securities are offered through SA Stone Wealth Management, Inc, member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services are provided through Bison Wealth, LLC. Bison Wealth, LLC  is not affiliated with SA Stone Wealth Management. More information about the firm and its fees can be found in its Form ADV Part 2, which is available upon request by calling 404-841-2224 or by e-mailing info@bisonwealthllc.com