Joel S Williams; Certified Financial Planner
Joel S. Williams & Associates (click to see member page)

Joel S. Williams Ph.D., is a graduate of the Certified Investment Management Analyst program at the prestigious Wharton School and is among less than one quarter of 1% of financial planners nationwide who have attained this distinguished designation. At Purdue University, he focused his graduate research thesis on prudent investment strategies. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Florida. Prior to Joel's 24 years as a financial planner, he was a professor at Virginia Tech where he taught economics and consulted with agribusiness firms on financial management. Joel is a charter member of the National Association of Philanthropic Planners and is a contributing author of the book, Wealth: Enhancement and Preservation.

Joel maintains a unique philosophy on the economy, investing and wealth planning, based on the teachings of Adam Smith who is often seen as the founding father of economics. His approach requires patience that is unconventional in our "instant" society, and is built upon a strong client-advisor relationship. Joel admits that his philosophy is not for everyone; nevertheless, it has chartered his success as an investor and planner for individuals of significant wealth and inherited estates. His approach is simple, efficient, and effective…yet, it is quite often contrary to the popular press of the financial community.

Joel's practice includes fee-only planning for individuals and institutions.
His areas of concentration involve the following areas:

• Retirement income management utilizing independent private money managers
• Small corporate pension plan design administration, and investment management
• Estate planning, specializing in the use of Charitable Remainder Trusts.
• Non-traditional asset class investments similar to the Yale Univ. Endowment Model