Building Robust Strategies with Detailed Research & Expertise
Our Philosophy
Retirement planning is not a task, it is a state of mind. We help people at all stages of life envision and plan for living their own best version of years not dependent on earned income. We find joy working especially with educators and engineers (detail-oriented people to their core), single women and non-traditional families (often alienated by more traditional advisors), and professionals with complicated compensation packages (needing an advocate who will do the reading).
My Story
When I helped charter Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc., in Cary, NC, I had already tried the big-box method of investing for clients â I had worn out the soles of my shoes a few times over, but what truly chafed was the feeling that the quotas I was chasing served the company more than my clients. By getting an insurance license and partnering with an independent agency instead, I could broker Medicare insurance like a commodity while offering retirement planning and investment management services only to the subset of those clients who would actually benefit from professional advice.
I am known to be a bit of a nerd, always diving deep into the legal codes, tax opinions, and policy language so I can deliver advice with confidence and liaise as needed with my clientsâ lawyers and CPAs. Unsurprisingly, over time I spent less time selling Medicare insurance and more time with my financial services clients. During this time, my girlfriend (now wife), Christiana, came to work at the insurance agency as administrative support, and Jacob Yocco (a college friend) also joined the team as an insurance agent and financial professional-in-training.
In the interest of providing more unique and personalized investment advice, I decided to formally separate my financial planning business from the insurance agency I had been working alongside. For this phase, I partnered with my former college mentor, Dr. Michael Aguilar, and hired Dr. Anessa Custovic. These two PhDs (in Economics and Financial Econometrics, respectively) bolstered Cardinal Retirement Planningâs data analysis capabilities, and Dr. Anessa continues to provide the academic expertise to complement my industry experience and training.
These days Cardinal Retirement Planning is based in Durham, NC, with home offices in Chapel Hill, NC, and Norfolk, VA. Jacob has grown invaluable as my (and our clients’) right-hand man. We three pair our sophisticated quantitative research with principles of financial planning to create holistic plans designed to be robust enough to weather financial uncertainties but also flexible enough to support lifeâs surprises. Jacob and I both keep up our insurance licenses to offer complementary products on an as-needed basis. Leverage our experience in financial planning, investment management, and tax planning as we help you make sense of your dollars.
Doug âBuddyâ Amis, CFPÂŽ
2013
Buddy and Hans Scheil charter Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc., as a sister company to Cardinal Advisors, an insurance agency.
2016
Buddy earns his Certified Financial Planner designation
2018
Buddy buys out Hans’ share of Cardinal Retirement Planning to allow more flexibility while continuing to collaborate with Cardinal Advisors.
2021
Buddy and Hans end their partnership and affiliation; both companies continue to operate separately. Jacob earns his Certified Financial Planner designation.
Your Story: The Client Journey
1. Introductions (a few days to a few weeks): Advisors assess potential client goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance to inform financial plan development & selection of portfolio benchmarks. Advisors and clients also assess each other for values alignment and potential for trust-building.
2. Financial Plan Development (up to 6 weeks): Complete 2-3 more formal meetings to discuss hard and soft personal finance data before our Certified Financial Planners⢠generate and deliver a detailed, custom, written financial plan and supporting documentation. (Option to pause or end your journey here.)
3. Portfolio Selection (a few weeks): Collaborate with Dr. Anessa to create your asset allocation and personalized plan benchmarks designed to help you implement and accomplish your financial plan.
4. Monitoring & Rebalancing (for as long as youâll have us): Even with a low-turnover and buy-and-hold design, Cardinal monitors & adjusts the risk and return of your portfolio against your benchmark and as your needs change.
My passion is to help our clients achieve their financial goals.
We provide rigorous, holistic financial planning combined with risk-focused asset management.
What Can We Do for You?
Learn About Our ServicesMore than your typical neighborhood financial advisor.
In the News
Doug âBuddyâ Amis, CFPÂŽ, gives away in this article on ThinkAdvisor one piece of advice that is often helpful for new clients to lower their tax bill.
Doug “Buddy” Amis, CFPÂŽ, shares how he brought a nightmare portfolio back to reality in this article from ThinkAdvisor.
Jacob Yocco, CFPÂŽ, shares what he thinks is most important to keep in mind when you are starting Medicare
Anessa Custovic, PhD, discusses the benefits of two Vanguard funds with Tony Dong in this article for U.S. News & World Report.
Jacob Yocco, CFPÂŽ, works with clients on “permission to spend” using a budget in retirement, as described in this article from Wealthtender.
Anessa Custovic, PhD, describes options suitable for investing when you have just a few thousand dollars in this article from U.S. News & World Report.