SM Carlton Advisory

The firm works with individual investors who meet a $50,000 minimum and provides discretionary portfolio management focused exclusively on publicly traded equities. It manages individualized, equity-only accounts for a small client base and aims to grow wealth over a long-term horizon.

The investment approach emphasizes fundamental analysis of individual companies, following principles attributed to Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and David Gardner, and seeks to build portfolios of at least 15 stocks with a low-turnover, buy-and-hold orientation and a target holding period of three years. The advisor typically exercises limited discretionary trading authority and retains final discretion over security selection, with sales before the target period occurring only for material changes to an investment thesis or client liquidity needs.

Noteworthy aspects include the firm’s concentration in individual-stock investing and the advisor’s practice of investing in the same names as clients and making personal holdings available on request, a practice the firm views as aligning interests while acknowledging potential conflicts. The sole owner also maintains weekday employment outside the advisory business, the firm invoices management fees directly rather than deducting them from custody, does not aggregate small, individualized trades, and performs weekly reviews against the S&P 500 with annual written account reports.