Lee-Way Financial is an investment management firm based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. We help our clients invest in publicly traded securities via separately managed portfolios. Each portfolio is tailored to an individual's risk tolerance and tax situation. Our clients pay us a fee based upon assets under management which is fully disclosed via an actual bill. The fee varies based on the size of the client and other factors, but it is typically less than 0.75% of assets under management per annum. We are not brokers, do not charge commissions, and do not profit by investing our client's funds in proprietary products. While we are fiercely independent of any association with the larger brokerage houses, we do use Charles Schwab as our custodian and to clear trades. We feel this structure allows us to benefit from Schwab's economies of scale and provides our clients the peace of mind of knowing their assets are held by a large, reputable firm with an investment grade credit rating.
We compete in our industry with two fundamental principles:
We seek to achieve the highest level of integrity and transparency in what is often an opaque industry. Lee-Way strongly believes that investment advisors should not have undisclosed conflicts of interests as it relates to how they are compensated and the types of assets in which they invest their clients’ money. It will be rare for Lee-Way to receive any compensation tied to investing in a particular security or investment product (such as 12b - 1 fees), but to the extent that we do, Lee-Way will typically 1) offset the asset management fee we would otherwise receive or either 2) not charge any additional fee above the amounts already received.
We focus on what we believe counts - risk adjusted returns to our clients, net of all fees and expenses. Our entire business is structured so that we can charge the lowest asset management fees in the industry for our levels of service and skill. Others might stress the brand on their business cards, but we want people to focus on our experience and results. Furthermore, we will not fill our clients' portfolios with high fee mutual funds managed by someone else, as we feel that our clients would be better served making those investments directly if they so desired and thereby avoiding our fee.
Chad Edmonson
Chad F. Edmonson, CFA
Chad Edmonson joined Lee-Way Financial in 2015. Prior to joining the firm, Chad was a Partner and Managing Director at W. P. Carey Inc., a New York City based investment firm with $20 billion in assets. Mr. Edmonson was involved with approximately $1.5 billion of investments at W. P. Carey, including leading the $230 million purchase of 500 and 601 Jefferson Street in downtown Houston, TX. These two skyscrapers total over 1.5 million square feet and are predominantly leased to KBR (Kellogg, Brown, and Root).
Chad graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelors of Science in Economics from Wharton and a Bachelors of Arts in American History from the College of Arts and Sciences. Chad is originally from Hattiesburg, MS and graduated from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.
Chip Edmonson
R Lee "Chip" Edmonson, II
Chip Edmonson has been working in the financial services industry for over fifty years by providing investment, tax, and insurance advice to clients across the country.
Chip graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelors of Science, and he has also received his Masters in Financial Services from the American College. Chip is enrolled to practice before the IRS (EA) and is a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC).