Portus Wealth Advisors Named a Leading RIA in the South by InvestmentNews Magazine
Portus Wealth Advisors has been recognized by InvestmentNews Magazine as one of the Leading RIAs in the South, published in the September 16, 2026 edition of InvestmentNews Magazine. Portus was one of five Charlotte, NC firms included in the report, which covers registered investment advisors across the 16 states that make up the South.
We’re proud of the recognition. We’re even more proud of what it says about the direction we chose.
Focus Over Scale
The InvestmentNews report made a point that we have believed since the day Portus opened its doors. Under the heading “Where depth becomes the differentiator,” the editors wrote:
“For the South’s leading RIAs, the throughline is consistent: the edge still comes down to depth of relationship, not size. What ties InvestmentNews’ winners together is conviction. Each firm looked at where the industry was consolidating and chose the opposite direction: fewer clients, deeper relationships, sharper specialization.
Bigger isn’t winning in the South’s wealth management market right now. Focus is.”
That passage sums up Portus to a “T”.
Over the past several years, much of the wealth management industry has moved toward scale: more clients per advisor, more products, more standardized service. We made a deliberate choice to go the other way, and to build the entire firm around one kind of client.
Our Specialization: Business Owners
Our focus is business owners. Founders, operators, and owners of companies generating $5 million to $50 million in revenue, many of them in the trades and construction businesses that drive the economy from Charlotte down through Florida.
We specialize there because business owners have a planning problem that most of the industry is not built to solve. For a typical owner, the company is the largest asset on the balance sheet, often by a wide margin. Yet most advisory relationships are structured around the investment portfolio, leaving the business itself, along with its tax strategy, entity structure, insurance exposure, succession questions, and eventual exit, largely outside the plan.
Our approach to integrated business financial planning treats the business and the owner’s personal financial life as one plan. That’s why every business owner relationship at Portus begins with a formal Discovery engagement: a business valuation range, an owner dependency score, a personal financial independence analysis, and a prioritized list of findings scored by urgency.
It’s also why we have moved away from the traditional percentage-of-assets fee for business owners toward a complexity-based retainer. The work a business owner needs isn’t measured by the size of an investment account, so we don’t price it that way. If you want to understand why the fee structure matters, our guide on what a fee-only financial advisor is and why it matters is a good place to start.
The Team Behind the Work
Depth of relationship only matters if the expertise behind it is real. The Portus team brings a combination of credentials built specifically for business owners:
William Bissett, CFP®, CEPA, founder of Portus, holds the Certified Exit Planning Advisor designation, focused on the full mechanics of a successful business transition.
John Sanders, CFP®, CVGA®, focuses on value growth: the work in the years before a transaction that increases what a business is worth before buyers start calling.
Sakshi Chauhan, CFA®, leads investment strategy and post-sale wealth positioning, so the proceeds of an exit keep working as hard as the business did.
Every recommendation we make comes from a fee-only fiduciary standard. No commissions. No product incentives. Just advice built around what is best for the owner in front of us.
Building a Community, Not Just a Client List
Close relationships with business owners don’t start in a conference room.
Many of the owners we work with first met us at Charting Opportunities, the monthly seminar series Portus hosts and produces for business owners. Each month brings together owners, M&A specialists, attorneys, and founders who have been through an exit to talk candidly about growth, value, and transition.
Others find us online, through the guides we publish on topics like business exit planning and succession planning. Either way, the conversation starts in the same place: an honest look at where the business stands today and what the owner wants grow it to in the future.
What This Recognition Means for Our Clients
For the business owners we already work with, nothing changes. The same team, the same depth, the same commitment to one integrated plan for your business and your personal financial life.
For business owners who are just starting to think about the next chapter, whether that’s growing value, planning a succession, or preparing for a sale, we welcome a conversation.
You can also download our free e-book, Charting Your Exit, which features in-depth interviews with M&A specialists, attorneys, and successful founders who have navigated the exit process, or explore our Founder’s Final Act framework.
Portus Wealth Advisors is a Charlotte, NC-based wealth management firm serving business owners throughout the Southeast and eastern seaboard. We specialize in integrated financial planning for business owners/founders, executives, and retirees navigating growth, transition, and legacy.
Sources
InvestmentNews: “Leading RIAs – South: Southern RIAs Find Strength in Niche Expertise”, published September 16, 2026
Disclosure: The InvestmentNews Leading RIAs – South recognition was published on September 16, 2026, for the 2026 ranking year, and was determined by InvestmentNews. This recognition is not indicative of future performance or of any individual client’s experience, and it should not be construed as an endorsement of Portus Wealth Advisors by any client.
