At Portus Wealth Advisors, we take the time to understand what matters most to you, offering practical financial advice to help you build a legacy, plan for the future, and move forward with confidence.
OUR STORY
Portus Wealth Advisors
We are a growing team of talented, fun and passionate professionals with different backgrounds who have been fortunate enough to find each other professionally. Together, we are excited to be able to define and build what wealth management means to us and our clients.
Much like our clients, each of us has a unique story that has brought us to where we are today. We invite you to learn more about our team and how we came to be at Portus Wealth Advisors.
Together, we are committed to helping you build financial freedom. We share a few core beliefs that guide our approach:
Approachable
Receptive
Obsessed
Opportunistic
Simplifying
Qualified
Talented
Cultivating
Fun
Fiduciary
No stone is left unturned in finding ways to help you reach your goals.
We believe life always presents opportunities for our clients and we strive to identify those for you.
We engage with our clients to become educated consumers and make the decision-making process more efficient.
We have the qualifications, designations, affiliations and experience.
We know what we’re talking about and are really good at educating, guiding and assisting with implementation.
We attract and develop top talent for the future of you and our company.
We really enjoy what we do, and it shows.
Above and beyond, you can be rest assured that our guidance is always with your best interest in mind.
William B. Bissett
CFP®, CEPA – Advisor
William B. Bissett
When I was at NC State, I had the opportunity to take a year and work in Washington DC. It was during this time that I read Alan Greenspan’s book, “Maestro” and decided to finish with an economics degree at NC State. The concept of economics was instantly interesting as it was digesting new data to create new projections – it was dynamic and always being refreshed.
Through my CFP® studies and work with individual clients and now business owners, I have learned that in some ways, economics and financial planning are very much alike. As financial planners, we work with precise and imprecise inputs to create a forecast for the future. It just so happens we do it with families and their businesses.
My professional life has been imperfectively created to bring me here. After spending more than a decade with a fast- growing RIA in Columbia, Maryland with two great mentors, I left, and after a short stint with another firm, started Portus Wealth Advisors in 2019.
In my time in Maryland, I served as the President and Chair of the Maryland chapter of the Financial Planning Association, worked on several national committees, and spoke at industry conferences.
Yet upon moving to Charlotte, I knew I needed to connect with the local ecosystem. Since being here, I have spent most of my time in Charlotte working in the entrepreneurial community. This experience in mentoring young startups through RevTech Labs and LaunchLKN, hosting 167 episodes of the Speaking of Startups podcast, (formerly Charlotte Angel Connection), and being a member of the Charlotte Angel Fund have provided an awesome opportunity to both learn from great entrepreneurs AND give back to the local community.
My professional passion for the next 10 years is attracting talented professionals to Portus to teach them how to deliver exceptional service and advice to our current and future clients.
My personal passion is to work side by side with my wife to help our two kids continue to develop into what they can become. If time and opportunity arise, I would like to do some fly fishing with friends and travel to new places with my family.
I do not watch much TV but love old school jam band style music (Grateful Dead, Allman Brothers and more). I am passionate about wellness and health. I enjoy reading books about business and people.
And if you want the full story of my life in Washington DC and how I came to see Alan Greenspan regularly for 3 months and skipped the White House Y2K celebration I was invited to work, just ask.
John W. Sanders, Jr.
CFP® – Advisor
John W. Sanders, Jr.
I was in a business class over the summer at Campbell University before my Sophomore year when the professor asked to see me after class. In addition to teaching summer school, Mr. Witherspoon turned out to be the Director of the Trust and Investment Management Program. Affectionately referred to as “Spoon”, but also known as “The Godfather of the Campbell Trust Mafia” he made me an offer that day I couldn’t refuse – to enroll in the Trust program.
After a couple of internships in Cleveland and Dallas, I was very fortunate to land a coveted full-time position working in the Trust Department of the Private Bank at Bank of America in Charlotte. I was also able to stay in my home state of North Carolina while watching my classmates land positions all over the country. While I had the opportunity most college students aren’t given, to take exactly what I learned in school to my first full-time job, it didn’t take long for me to realize corporate America wasn’t for me.
After a few years at the bank, I joined GenSpring Family Offices, which at the time was one of the largest Registered Investment Advisor firms in the country, where I served ultra-high net worth families. I spent roughly a decade at GenSpring with some of the most talented advisors who helped shape the Advisor I am today.
I’m a native of New Bern, NC, the first capital of North Carolina, birthplace of Pepsi, and where one Grandfather started a drug store and the other started a logging company.
My Dad worked for his Dad in the woods when he identified the need for transportation to the mills, bought a truck, and started a log trucking company currently run by my youngest brother. Small businesses have been a big part of my life and I’m passionate about guiding owners to find their financial success.
Away from the office you can find me coaching my son’s little league baseball teams or watching my daughter play goalie for her Club and High School soccer teams.
We also love to travel as a family. I enjoy National Parks and Major League Baseball Parks almost equally – and spending time at the beaches and mountains of the Carolinas.
Sakshi Chauhan
CFA – Investment Analyst
Sakshi Chauhan
Growing up in Mumbai, I was surrounded by the heartbeat of India’s business world. As the financial capital of the country, Mumbai fostered my curiosity about what makes certain businesses thrive while others struggle to survive.
Coming from a family with deep roots in entrepreneurship, I watched firsthand as companies faced the challenges and victories that come with staying competitive and sustainable. From an early age, I found myself captivated by the inner workings of businesses, and this fascination eventually drew me toward a career in finance.
In 2019, I took a leap across continents and moved to the United States, where I pursued a master’s degree in finance from Clark University. The transition was both thrilling and daunting. Throughout the opportunity, I was driven by my ambition and a desire to blend my experiences in Mumbai with fresh insights from the financial world in the U.S.
I immersed myself in my studies, taking on every opportunity to lead and learn.
As President of the Finance Association, I worked to build a network of passionate students and fostered a community of future finance professionals. Being inducted into the Beta Gamma Society was an honor that deepened my commitment to scholarship and integrity, values that continue to guide me in my career.
I joined Portus Wealth Advisors as an Investment Analyst, and it felt like the perfect fit from day one. I was drawn to Portus because of its entrepreneurial culture and dedication to serving the community. Portus’ commitment to finding the right answers for clients with a growth mindset resonated with my own goal. I cherish the opportunity to blend my analytical skills with a hands-on approach to working alongside clients.
Beyond finance, I have found ways to nurture my curiosity and sense of adventure. Scuba diving has been one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life. It reminds me that just as there’s so much hidden beauty beneath the surface of the ocean, there are often unseen opportunities in the markets waiting to be uncovered too.
I am also an avid reader, finding inspiration and knowledge in the diverse perspectives I come across in books.
Tennis, however, has taught me some of my most valuable lessons. Learning the sport has required patience, focus, and adaptability. On the court, every rally demands complete attention, and every point counts toward the larger goal. This has been a powerful metaphor for my work in finance: success is built point by point with resilience and the willingness to pursue each opportunity, no matter how challenging.
As I reflect on my journey from Mumbai to the U.S., I realize how much my roots continue to guide me. I am proud to carry forward the values I learned from my family and city, merging them with new experiences and insights.
Each day, I strive to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those I work with, honoring where I come from while embracing where I am headed.
Kaitlin DeDora
Growth Operations Analyst
Kaitlin DeDora
After the world slowed down and then came roaring back from the pandemic, I decided to take a step back from the corporate world, reflecting on what I truly wanted to build for my future with a greater awareness of the importance of doing so. It was here that I had the incredible opportunity to spend a year living in Spain, teaching English as a second language. This experience allowed me to immerse myself in a new culture and forge deep human connections. I cherished the joy of engaging with students and witnessing their growth, which ignited a passion for fostering relationships that I would later connect back to my career in finance.
Returning to the U.S., I knew I did not want to go back to corporate America. Instead, I envisioned creating a meaningful opportunity to financially advise entrepreneurs.
My interest in small businesses and entrepreneurship began at a young age where I spent time at a family friend’s winery and restaurant, which started as a humble cake shop. I was captivated by the journey of turning a passion into a thriving business and how such ventures impact individuals and communities. With this goal in mind, I reached out to the Portus team to find out more about how they were working with business owners and their families.
Before my journey into financial advising, I studied finance with the dream of owning a wedding planning business. It was during my senior year at UNC Charlotte that I was able to learn about the world of financial advising by working for an Edward Jones advisor. I quickly became passionate about the intersection of finance and its direct impact on people’s lives.
Upon graduating from college, I spent three years as a Financial Analyst in Commercial Banking at Wells Fargo. Here, I learned how large financial institutions operate. However, my desire to work with individuals and small businesses never faded.
Currently, I’m focused on operations and business development to lay a strong foundation for advising clients. I’m fascinated by how financial strategies can create opportunity-generated outcomes for both individuals and businesses.
When I’m not studying, you can usually find me outdoors, cooking, spending time with family and friends, or planning my next adventure. Another benefit from my time in Spain was developing a passion for travel.
If you ever want to know just how much can fit into a single backpack, let’s chat!
