Kiawah Capital and GenSpring Open New Charleston Office

Kiawah Capital, a family investment office of Kiawah Partners, recently announced a partnership with GenSpring Family Offices, one of the nation’s premier wealth management firms, to launch GenSpring’s newest family office in Charleston, South Carolina.

The GenSprings/Kiawah Capital venture is a natural fit for both companies. GenSpring Family Offices, an affiliate of SunTrust Banks, has been chosen by more than 700 families around the world to manage their wealth for generations and is a rapidly emerging alternative to traditional wealth management firms. GenSpring was named 2008 Multi-Family Office of the Year by Institutional Investor and ranked #1 independent advisor in Financial Advisor magazine’s 2009 RIA Ranking of Independent Advisors.

Kiawah Capital provides equity and debt funding as well as management support to privately-owned, small- to middle-market enterprises based in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida for purposes of facilitating growth plans, recapitalizations, and buyouts.

The result of this new partnership is a GenSpring office that will serve the sophisticated wealth management needs of families in the Charleston area. Its concentration of affluent families makes Charleston a natural draw for GenSpring’s suite of services. “Every day it becomes more evident that local families of means need an alternative to the banking and brokerage models to oversee and manage their financial lives, and increasingly they are choosing GenSpring Family Offices to do just that,” says Chris Cecil, president of GenSpring’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office and lead advisor for the Charleston office. “Together with Kiawah Capital we will work to put control, power, knowledge, and opportunity squarely back on their side of the table.”

Joining Cecil is Mike Henderson, senior partner with GenSpring and former head of Arthur Andersen’s Family Wealth Planning practice in the Carolinas. In addition, Ron Owens, president of Kiawah Capital, and Dan Prickett, former managing executive of Calibre (formerly the multi-family office arm of Wachovia Wealth Management) and current resident of Kiawah Island, will be officers in the new venture.

“For a long time my family searched for the ‘best of the best’ to deliver services that met our unique wealth management needs,” says Buddy Darby, chairman and chief executive officer of Kiawah Partners. “After our positive first-hand experience working with GenSpring, we realized that other families in the Lowcountry would benefit from the long-term value and discipline of the multi-family office structure. We are excited to partner with GenSpring in Charleston to help local families achieve their intergenerational wealth management goals.”

“This capability and local expertise is something that wealthy families need here in Charleston,” says Ron Owens. “I think people will be pleasantly surprised when they learn about the difference having a GenSpring family office can have on the overall results of their wealth management.” Dan Prickett adds that, “GenSpring is a leader among family offices. They have emerged nationally and internationally as a preeminent alternative to traditional wealth management firms and will bring a unique perspective and breadth of experience to Charleston.”

GenSpring’s Charleston family office will be located at 8 North Adger’s Wharf in Charleston’s Historic Downtown District. For more additional information about GenSpring Family Offices, visit www.GenSpring.com. To learn more about Kiawah Capital, go to http://www.KiawahCapital.com.