Willis Investment Counsel Inc (Gainesville)

Name: Willis Investment Counsel Inc
Address: 710 Green Street, Gainesville, GA, 30501
Telephone: 770-718-0706

Willis Investment Counsel Inc is a large advisory firm based in Gainesville. It manages $2.18 billion of regulatory assets for 283 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2001 and has operated in the jurisdictions of Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.

Willis Investment Counsel provides financial planning services, portfolio management for individuals and small businesses, portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles, portfolio management for businesses and institutional clients, pension consulting services, selection of other advisers, publication of newsletters, and other firms manage part of the item 5f amount for which we also have management and/or advisory responsibility.. It prepares financial plans for less than 10 clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Willis Investment Counsel: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Willis Investment Counsel Inc is $2.18 billion, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 3254% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $2.18 billion in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $7.7 million each.

Willis Investment Counsel has custody of $191.39 million in cash and securities for 4 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in exchange traded securities the most. They account for 75% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is investment grade corporate bonds, which make up 14% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in cash and cash equivalents form 9% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has a single stream of revenue. Clients pay Willis Investment Counsel Inc for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Robert Willis serves?

The firm provides services to individuals, charitable organizations, high net worth individuals, pooled investment vehicles, corporations or other businesses, and pension and profit sharing plans. The largest group of clients of Robert Willis is corporations or other businesses with 14 clients and $1.08 billion of assets under management. Among the 8 most similar advisory firms, Willis Investment Counsel has the highest percentage of corporations or other businesses out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $2.17 billion for 150 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Willis Investment Counsel also advises several private funds. Namely, four other private funds. The minimum investment commitment required of non-related persons ranges from $100,000 to $1,000,000.

Careers at Willis Investment Counsel Inc

The company employs 13 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 69 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. 7 employees are registered as investment adviser representatives with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Robert Willis has been acting as President since 1 Apr 1979. Brett Michael Slattery joined the executive team most recently as the Principal, Vice President Of Research.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Robert Willis	President/shareholder	1 Apr 1979	25% - 50%	2239387
Pamela Gale Willis	Vp/sec/treasurer/shareholder	1 Dec 1995	25% - 50%	4413747
Robert Willis	Vice president/shareholder	1 Dec 2001	25% - 50%	2239387
Pamela Gale Willis	President/treasurer/shareholder	1 Dec 2001	25% - 50%	4413747
Robert Thomas Willis	Vice president/shareholder	1 Dec 2001	25% - 50%	2239387
Robert Thomas Willis	Chief investment officer and principal	1 Sep 2004	25% - 50%	2239387
Pamela Gale Willis	Chief operating officer and principal	1 Sep 2004	25% - 50%	4413747
Robert Glenn Pennington	Chief executive officer/president and principal	1 Sep 2004	25% - 50%	4860101
Wendell Moore Starke	Principal and chairman of the investment committee	1 Jan 2008	Other	1472109
Julie Ann Skaggs	Principal	1 Jan 2008	Other	4525835
James Joseph Kilroy	Portfolio manager and principal	1 Mar 2009	Other	3049536
James Joseph Kilroy	Principal, and vice president of portfolio management	1 Jan 2011	Other	3049536
Robert Thomas Willis	Principal, managing director, and chief investment officer	1 Jan 2011	50% - 75%	2239387
Robert Glenn Pennington	Principal, managing director, and chief compliance officer	1 Jan 2011	25% - 50%	4860101
Robert Thomas Willis	Principal, president, ceo, and chief investment officer	1 Jan 2012	75% - 100%	2239387
Kelli M Wright	Principal, vp of operations and trading and chief compliance officer	1 Oct 2012	Other	4641985
Brett Michael Slattery	Principal, vice president of research	1 Jan 2018	Other	2758044
Peter D Miller	Principal, portfolio manager	1 Jan 2018	Other	4394393

Based in Gainesville

The principal office where Willis Investment Counsel Inc performs its advisory services is located at 710 Green Street, Gainesville, GA 30501, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 770-718-0706 or by fax 770-718-0805. The normal business hours are 8:30 - 5:30 on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at wicinvest.com/.