International stocks have significantly under-performed US stocks, recently. Investors with allocations to international stocks have watched them perform so poorly on a relative basis that they might question why they own them in the first place. Since June 2008, US stocks[1] have earned ~9% per year where International stocks[2] have only earned ~2% per year…. Read More >
News & Insights
Financial Times Top RIA 2018
Porter White Investment Advisors, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has again been named as a Financial Times 300 Top Registered Investment Advisors for 2018. The list recognizes top independent RIA firms from across the U.S. RIA firms applied for consideration, having met a minimum set of criteria. Applicants were then graded on six… Read More >
Long Term Portfolio Returns – January 2018 Update
In order to make sound investment decisions today, we are forced on making long term projections of portfolio returns. The methodology, assumptions, and original inputs for our approach to predicting long term portfolio returns are originally documented in our white paper titled, Projecting Long Term Portfolio Returns[1]. This paper updates the original with data as… Read More >
Porter, White & Company Presents Five-Year Plan to City of Hoover
Porter, White & Company presented a five-year financial plan to the Hoover City Council at its regular meeting Monday night, April 2. The report addressed recent challenges that have emerged in Hoover finances as formerly robust revenue growth and operating surpluses have declined, while expenses have continued to increase at or above the rate of… Read More >
Michael Stone Featured in Rotary Magazine
In the most recent issue, Michael Stone was featured in Rotary International’s magazine in the article, “7 Things You Don’t Know about Rotaract: Decoding the Secrets of their Success.” Michael, a Vice President for the firm who is active in the investment banking practice, is featured as “The Deal Maker.” When asked about his work… Read More >
The Bank Shot, Q4 2017
In this issue of The Bank Shot, our quarterly newsletter for community banks, we take a robust look at the bank M&A arena in 2017. Click here to read the full report.
The Monkey’s Advantage
The Wall Street Journal ran a periodic column a few years ago that compared the performance of some of the best stock pickers to that of monkeys throwing darts at a page of stock listings. After some time, the “monkeys” had done so well that interest in the column waned. How did the monkeys “beat… Read More >
Effect of Stale Returns on Diversification Strategies
In an effort to manage risk and reduce volatility, investors often seek to diversify the holdings in their portfolio. Diversification is sometimes described as the only “free lunch” when it comes to investing. The idea behind diversification is that an appropriately constructed portfolio will yield equivalent or higher returns with less risk than a group… Read More >
First National Bank of Brundidge Advised by Porter White in Sale to Troy Bank & Trust
Henderson Bancshares, Inc. of Troy, AL and First Brundidge Bancshares, Inc. of Brundidge, AL announced yesterday the signing of a definitive agreement for Henderson, the parent company of Troy Bank & Trust, to acquire First Brundidge and its wholly-owned subsidiary First National Bank of Brundidge. Porter White & Company served as exclusive financial advisor to… Read More >
Bank of Wedowee’s Sale to First Bank of Alabama Complete
Bank of Wedowee’s (Wedowee, AL ) sale to First Bank of Alabama (Talladega, AL) was completed this week. The combined institution has approximately $540 million in total assets through six banking locations in east Alabama. Principals of Porter White & Company, acting as registered representatives of Spearhead Capital, LLC, served as exclusive financial advisor to… Read More >
The Bank Shot – August 2017
In This Issue In “Up, Up and Away…Bank M&A Scorecard June 30, 2017,” we discuss how M&A activity and pricing so far in 2017 is noticeably up compared to 2016. In “The Ol’ Pea Under the Shell Game,” former Alabama Speaker Pro Tempore and guest author Bobby Tom Crowe discusses money laundering in part one… Read More >
Michael Stone Promoted to Vice President
Porter White & Company is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Stone to Vice President. Michael joined the firm in January 2011 and is active in the investment banking practice, focusing on mergers and acquisitions (buy-side and sell-side), capital raising, municipal advisory, strategic consulting, business valuations, and distressed situations. Michael earned his BS in… Read More >
Benefits of a Donor Advised Fund
Each year around the end of March, I spend at least half a day tracking down my charitable contribution receipts in the hope of increasing my tax refund with a charitable deduction. There are plenty of tools to help me keep track of the donations, but inevitably I find myself hunting through stacks of paper… Read More >
Q1 Economic Report Featured in BBJ
Porter White & Company (PWCo) releases its Birmingham Area Economic Report every quarter. The report highlights various economic trends impacting the Birmingham-MSA, the state of Alabama, and comparable cities across the southeast. In the Q1 2017 Economic Report, PWCo highlighted the fact that Birmingham’s economy is growing but continues to lag other comparable southeastern metros…. Read More >
Birmingham Area Economic Report, Q1 2017
This report explores a few key statistics that paint a picture of the Birmingham area economy. The Porter, White & Company Birmingham Area Economic Report, published quarterly, places the Birmingham area economy in a state, regional and national context. Click here to download the full report with a more in-depth look at the statistics. The… Read More >
PWCo’s Jim White Featured in ABA Board Briefs
The Alabama Bankers Association included several expert sources in their May / June 2017 edition of Board Briefs. Contributors shared perspectives on commercial real estate, historic tax credits, financial regulatory reform and many additional topics relevant to the banking sector. Jim White, chairman of Porter White & Company, was one of the contributors included in… Read More >
Econ Report Cited in BBJ
In recent months, analysts and writers have shared reports highlighting job growth trends in the U.S. Some national reports show encouraging statistics. That said, certain states are still trying to catch up to the national economy. In a recent article featured in the Birmingham Business Journal, Neal Wade, director of the University of Alabama’s Economic… Read More >
Bank of Wedowee Advised by PW&Co in Sale to First Bank of Alabama
Talladega, AL – FirstBanc of Alabama, Inc. of Talladega, AL and Swann Bancshares, Inc. of Wedowee, AL announced today the signing of a definitive agreement for FirstBanc, the parent company of First Bank of Alabama, to acquire Swann and its wholly-owned subsidiary Bank of Wedowee in an all-cash transaction. Principals of Porter White & Company,… Read More >
