Seeking Balance
Walton's pursuit of eclectic interests ties into his underlying philosophy that life is about balance. He co-wrote the Heart of Dixie Glove Box Guide to Bar-B-Que, is a master gardener and climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He's also actively involved in various community organizations. "I get to connect with people on a meaningful level where I'm sharing a passion and doing something good for the community," he says. "And as you develop friendships, my experience shows it eventually turns into some clients."
He started S. Andrew Walton Investment Planning in 1999, a small practice affiliated with the broker-dealer Commonwealth Financial Network. Before that he learned the ropes at Dean Witter and Prudential Securities. "It was a matter of finding my way and having enough experience and clients to make it on my own," Walton says. "I found my bliss in that regard."
He likes to quote a Zen saying that states a person who pursues his or her vision of excellence is one who combines both work and play. "I think that concept really confuses branch managers at the big wirehouses," Walton says. "My colleagues there thought I wasn't dedicated to the business."
In keeping with his philosophical bent, Walton is uncomfortable talking about his practice in terms of asset and client sizes other than saying his company grew 23% last year. "I look at qualitative more than quantitative measures," he says, adding that he strives to connect with clients on a personal level and to find out "why their chicken crosses the road." From a financial perspective, he helps them get to the other side with portfolios based on mutual funds, along with a dollop of noncorrelating asset classes that includes commodities, REITs and, for some clients, long-short positions. "We don't put in the data and automatically put people into prescribed portfolios," he says.
Blue Jean Walls
The Green Resource Center of Alabama was conceived two years ago by Walton and Todd Steadman, who was the editor at Southern Living magazine in Birmingham when Walton-an English major at Emory University-was an intern there. He and Steadman, the current associate director of the South Carolina Botanical Gardens, held a few brainstorming sessions with various professionals and academics and the consensus was that a green resource center could benefit both the local community and the entire state.
"The green movement isn't something a lot of people in Alabama identify with," says Rubino, who will be the resource center's executive director after the organization is officially launched on March 15. "We're a clearinghouse of information to help people make sense out of what it means to be green."
The resource center is a 501(c)(3) organization that will rely on individual and corporate memberships for funding, as well as grants and partnerships with various organizations. First-year operating expenses will be roughly $100,000, and Rubino estimates that annual expenses will jump to as much as $500,000 over the next several years as the center expands its database and activities.
The resource center will dispense information about energy efficiency, creating healthier buildings and reducing one's environmental impact, as well as host events and gatherings relating to sustainable living, development and design. Rubino envisions it being a hybrid library and museum, where people can read about all aspects of sustainability and see first-hand examples of how it works, such as an exposed wall area showing denim insulation that looks like a huge piece of blue jean lint.
Word is getting out about the resource center. "It's amazing when I hear people talking about something green or sustainable and they say, 'the Green Resource Center is trying to do that,'" says Rhea Williams, executive director of the Alabama chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a green building supporter. "I'm like, 'yes, the word is spreading.' Alabama is taking steps in the right direction toward sustainability, and Scott is contributing to that."