Balentine Expands Leadership Team as Business Scales

Balentine announced today two executive appointments that reflect the company’s growth and its commitment to clients and to the institutional investment community. With more than $3B now under advisement, and a growing portfolio of ultra-high-net-worth entrepreneurial clients, the firm is pleased to announce two promotions that will be instrumental in helping shape the next phase of its development. As of June 1, 2018, Adrian Cronje, Ph.D., CFA, will serve as chief executive officer (CEO) and Brittain Prigge, CFA, will become president. Robert Balentine will continue to serve as chairman and will remain actively involved, shaping the strategy, client engagement process and overall direction of the firm.

Since founding Balentine in 2009, the firm’s staff has doubled to 35 professionals, assets under advisement have grown to more than $3 billion, and it has opened an office in Raleigh that has earned enthusiastic market acceptance. Balentine also claims compliance with the CFA Institute’s Global Investment Performance Standards® (GIPS), considered the “gold standard” of performance reporting and a distinction achieved by fewer than 3% of registered investment advisors.

“Adrian and Brittain have been central to our success since we founded Balentine. Given our growth, it seems a natural progression to have the leaders of our two pillars, investments and wealth management, step up into these roles. They epitomize our core values of integrity, excellence, mutual respect, and entrepreneurial spirit; I could not be more proud to call them my partners,” says chairman Robert Balentine. Cronje will continue to oversee investment management as chief investment officer. Prigge remains the head of relationship management, bringing a knowledgeable, client-centric focus to the management of the firm. Balentine continued, “Both are passionate about human capital, creating best business practices, and leveraging technology—all with the end goal of creating gold standard service for our clients.”

According to Cerulli Research, more than one-third of the financial advisors today are over the age of 55. Additionally, the CFA Institute reports that only 18% of CFA Charterholders are women—a number that has remained stagnant for over two decades. With the promotions of Cronje and Prigge, Balentine is reaffirming its commitment to remain independent, grow, and promote from within.

Cronje, a founding partner, has served as the firm’s chief investment officer (CIO) and chair of the firm’s Investment Strategy Team since 2009. A graduate of the University of Cape Town and Cambridge University’s Masters and PhD programs, he is a member of the Atlanta Society of Finance and Investment Professionals, CFA Institute, CFA Society of the UK, Vistage, TiE Atlanta and is a CFA charterholder. He is also a guest lecturer at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Quantitative and Computational Finance Program. Cronje is the founding president and board member of A+ Squash and he is on the Board of Trustees and chairs the investment committee for Agnes Scott College. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Atlanta.

Prigge, a founding partner at Balentine and head of the firm’s relationship management team, has been instrumental in building the firm’s financial planning and advisory programs. In 2014, she was named one of the “Top 100 Woman Financial Advisors” by the Financial Times. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, she is a member of the Atlanta Society of Security Analysts, CFA Institute, Pershing Advisory Council, Vistage and is also a CFA charterholder. Passionate about helping Atlanta’s underserved youth, she also serves on the boards of L.E.A.D. and Covenant House of Georgia.

About Balentine
Balentine provides a full range of comprehensive services for individuals and families seeking wealth management and planning solutions. Many investment firms fail to keep up with the pace of change and focus on themselves and asset growth instead of the things that are important to their clients. Balentine is different. For 30 years, the Balentine legacy has been one of innovation, service to clients, and service to the community. Our centralized decision-making process and our Building Blocks approach help us engage and empower our clients. Our service model is designed to make you feel understood, inspired, and connected. Our aim is to deliver the results you expect while making your life easier. Your needs, ambitions, and values are at the center of everything we do, and we translate your aspirations into solutions that help you realize your goals. We do this with full transparency in a completely conflict-free environment. Balentine is a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission. To receive a GIPS compliance presentation and/or Balentine’s list of composite descriptions please email info@balentine.com.