Brownlie & Braden, LLC, Provides Services Specifically Addressing The
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Brownlie & Braden, LLC, provides services specifically addressing the needs of individuals and families that have accumulated significant wealth. Our approach to providing these services is sensitive to the individual and personal objectives of each client in evaluating the alternatives available. These services address our clients’ objectives in the areas of gift and estate tax planning, asset protection planning, life insurance due diligence and alternatives, family risk management, private equity due diligence, and various other related issues often important to the wealthy individual and their family. We also are frequently called upon to perform private equity due diligence and address corporate turnaround opportunities, as well as to assist with the selection of asset managers and fiduciaries. The backgrounds of our principals follow. Smith A. Brownlie III, CPA Mr. Brownlie, a Certified Public Accountant and Personal Financial Specialist, has spent over twenty five years working with closely held companies and high net worth individuals. In addition to being Chief Executive Officer of Brownlie & Braden Advisors, LLC (the “Firm”), he is a co- founder of the Firm’s predecessor, Brownlie & Braden, LLC, which was founded in 1997. The Firm became part of the Focus Financial Partners, LLC (“Focus”) partnership in July 2017. As such, the Firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC (“Focus Operating”), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Focus. Focus also owns other registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, pension consultants, insurance firms, and other financial service firms. Mr. Brownlie’s previous experience includes work with the accounting firm of Peat Marwick (now KPMG) addressing the needs of privately-held companies in the firm’s Private Business Advisory Services section. He has provided his clients with planning and consulting services in which he has addressed various tax and financial issues including estate planning, business continuity planning, income tax planning, investment and insurance due diligence, and non-qualified deferred compensation design. Mr. Brownlie has been active in private equity investing over the last fifteen years. Mr. Brownlie is currently chairman of the board of directors of Waste Partners Environmental, Inc. and was past chairman of Chain Electric Company. He also serves on the board of managers of Terrace Energy, LLC, and previously served on the board of directors of Knight Waste Services, Ltd., Oncore Onsite Services, LLC, Coal City Cob and Royal Baths Manufacturing Company. Mr. Brownlie is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and a member of the Personal Financial Planning and Tax Sections of the AICPA. He is also a member of the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) and has been a speaker for the TSCPA’s continuing education programs. He is past chairman of the board of directors and current member of the Fort Worth Business & Estate Council, UT Southwestern Medical Center Estate Planning Council, the Dallas Estate Planning Council, and the North Texas Chapter of the National Committee on Planned Giving. He has also served on the Estate Planning and Planned Giving Advisory Boards for Baylor University. He was an Anderson Clayton Fund Scholarship recipient and received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Baylor University. Financial planning services offered through Brownlie & Braden Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor. This firm is not a CPA firm. Mr. Brownlie is a supporter of several children’s charities, is a member of The Fort Worth Stock Show Syndicate and is a professional advisor to the Community Foundation of North Texas. Mr. Brownlie has served on the board of directors of the Arlington Independent School District’s Education Foundation, the board of directors of the Community Enrichment Center, the Welcome House Youth Service Center Advisory Council in Arlington, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Arlington, and the board of trustees of Trinity Valley School in Fort Worth, chairing the school’s endowment committee from 2002-2011. James E. Braden, CPA Mr. Braden, a Certified Public Accountant and Personal Financial Specialist, has spent most of his career working with privately owned companies and high net worth families. In addition to being President of Brownlie & Braden Advisors, LLC (the “Firm”), he is a co-founder of the Firm’s predecessor, Brownlie & Braden, LLC which was founded in 1997. The Firm became part of the Focus Financial Partners, LLC (“Focus”) partnership in July 2017. As such, the Firm is a wholly- owned subsidiary of Focus Operating, LLC (“Focus Operating”), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Focus. Focus also owns other registered investment advisers, broker-dealers, pension consultants, insurance firms, and other financial service firms. Mr. Braden’s previous experience includes working with the accounting firm of Peat Marwick (now KPMG), as well as privately-held Lincoln Property Company, a national real estate developer based in Dallas. His expertise includes the areas of gift and estate taxation, business succession planning, charitable planning and related issues confronted by the wealthy family. Mr. Braden is an active private equity investor and serves on the board of managers of Terrace Energy, LLC, is a member of the board of directors of Waste Partners Environmental, Inc., and is past chairman of the board of directors of Graco Holdings, Inc. Additionally, Mr. Braden manages the general partner of BKB Capital, Ltd., a private investment vehicle. Mr. Braden is active in various civic and charitable organizations. He presently serves as President of the board of trustees of the Clayton Dabney Legacy Fund. He also serves on the advisory board and is a past board of directors member and past chairman of the Clayton Dabney Foundation for Kids with Cancer. He is also a previous member of the board of directors and treasurer of Literacy Instruction for Texas (LIFT). He is an active member of Park Cities Baptist Church, where he has chaired and served on various committees and is a member of the Fellowship of Deacons. Mr. Braden currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Dallas Foundation. He is a member of the Dallas Estate Planning Council and the Fort Worth Business & Estate Council as well as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) and the North Texas Chapter of the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning. Mr. Braden is a magna cum laude graduate of Baylor University where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting and was the recipient of the Tenneco Accounting Scholarship. Financial planning services offered through Brownlie & Braden Advisors, LLC, a registered investment advisor. This firm is not a CPA firm. James C. Garnett Mr. Garnett joined Brownlie & Braden Advisors in May 2019 to serve as Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Garnett has over 31 years of private and public market investment experience, primarily with two preeminent family offices, pursuing highly opportunistic, unconstrained global investment mandates. Most recently from 2010 through 2018, Mr. Garnett served as the Chief Investment Officer for Stacy Schusterman at Schusterman Family Interests (SFI). Mr. Garnett led the investment sourcing, execution and management of the Schusterman Family’s investment entities and foundations. On behalf of SFI, Mr. Garnett structured investments in funds, co-investments and direct investments diversified across asset classes including private buyouts, venture capital, private growth equity, private credit, distressed credit, private real assets, hedge funds and public equity. Mr. Garnett previously spent 19 years with the Bass Family from 1991 until 2010, including 15 years with Lee M. Bass Inc. pursuing opportunistic principal investing across a wide variety of asset classes. Mr. Garnett also spent 4 years in the Bass internal hedge fund and Airlie L.P. focused on stressed and distressed private and public investment opportunities in the debt and equity arenas. Prior to Bass, Mr. Garnett worked in portfolio management from 1987 to 1991 at Columbia Savings, a lead high yield debt investor at that time in the Drexel/Milken network. Additionally, before graduate school, Mr. Garnett began his career with two years at Arthur Andersen as a CPA working in both Audit and Consulting. Mr. Garnett has served in the past as a board member for numerous private investments in addition to service on several leading investment fund advisory boards. Mr. Garnett also previously served on the All Saints Episcopal School Board of Trustees, including as Chairman of the Endowment Investment committee and is now a member of the President’s Council. Mr. Garnett earned an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. Frederick W. Wahl, Jr., CFA, CIMA Mr. Wahl, a Chartered Financial Analyst and Certified Investment Management Analyst, serves as the firm’s Chief Compliance Officer. His expertise includes the areas of asset allocation, financial and operational risk management, asset/liability management and related issues confronted by the wealthy family and firms that serve them. Mr. Wahl has over 40 years of experience, primarily in the trust and investment management business (and 2 years as an institutional broker). He served as Managing Director and Partner of Cinque Partners