Team Members & Staff

Before helping charter Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc. with Hans “John” Scheil, Doug “Buddy” Amis started his financial services career as a Financial Advisor and Registered Representative for a nationally-recognized broker dealer and investment advisor. He earned his Series 7 and 66 securities registrations within months of graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and opened an office in Chapel Hill. Buddy received a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in both Economics and English.

Following graduation he continued to develop his professional skills. He earned the Kenan-Flagler Business Essentials Certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Certificate of Business Excellence in Lifelong Learning from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s College of Business program.

In 2016 Buddy earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification and used his experience and knowledge to co-author a workbook that helps readers of The Complete Cardinal Guide to Planning For and Living In Retirement prepare for retirement and understand some of the planning techniques discussed in the Guide. In 2018, Buddy purchased Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc. from John Scheil and has been operating independently since 2021, providing advanced financial services to clients across North Carolina, Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Ohio, and other states where legally permitted. Buddy continues to volunteer with his fraternity and alma mater, acting as a chapter advisor and scholarship advisor. He resides in Durham with his wife, Christiana, and their dog, Juno.

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After graduating from Arcadia University in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and studying Economics and Math at Temple University, Anessa Custovic earned her PhD in Financial Econometrics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2020. During her time at UNC-CH she gained valuable private sector consulting experience, providing consulting services ranging from quantitative research and risk management to model validation. She also taught a number of economics classes.

Anessa worked alongside former Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc. CIO, Dr. Mike Aguilar, and helped him run the Quantitative Financial Economics program at UNC-CH. Together they developed Cardinal’s unique asset allocation software, Padme. She also has extensive experience in econometric and statistical modeling techniques from her PhD curriculum and research at UNC-CH. Her other professional experience includes: asset allocation, strategic and tactical portfolio positioning, and credit risk.

Anessa has been published in the Journal of Risk and Financial Management and is still conducting academic research outside of her professional obligations. Her research interests within economics and statistics include: applied econometrics, financial economics, finance, time series econometrics and mixed frequency models. In her free time, Anessa is a dog trainer and competes in dog sports with her three dogs, Dash, Kara, and Wally.

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Jacob began work in the financial services industry as a senior in college. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017 with a major in Economics and a minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). He attained his Series 65 license the next summer and his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification in 2021.

As a financial planner, Jacob focuses on retirement income planning, risk management, and estate planning. In his spare time, Jacob can be found watching sports (especially soccer), volunteering with his fraternity and alma mater, or spending time with his wife.

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Christiana graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Sociology and a minor in Entrepreneurship. She joined former-sister-company Cardinal Advisors in 2015 and was quickly situated to provide overlapping administrative, editing, and compliance support for Cardinal Retirement Planning, Inc. She officially transitioned to dedicated operations work in mid-2021. In her free time, she enjoys picnics with cocktails, reading, and catching up on shows at home in Durham with her husband, Buddy.

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