Meet Sam Sweitzer of Anson Analytics

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sam Sweitzer.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
The southside of Atlanta is home for me. My dad was a minister and my mom was a high school English teacher. I grew up working on a local dairy farm after school. The work was hard—and smelly—but also rewarding. Animals and agriculture have always meant a lot to me. The ethic of planting and harvesting, of combining hard work with persistence and patience, gave me a sense of accomplishment.

In tenth grade, I got a job offer to work at a local airport pumping gas, mowing grass, and washing planes. This led to flying lessons and a second love was born. Eleventh grade brought a crisis: I had run out of courses to take at Griffin High School and ended up dropping out to go to college. To this day, my kids still laugh because I’m technically a high school drop-out.

Midway through college at Milligan, a professor, who was also a Brigadier General in the Air Force, encouraged me to pursue a pilot training slot in the Air Force Reserve. It took three years to get accepted, but the slot finally opened a year after college. Yet it was my first job after college, while waiting for the pilot slot, that left intractable hunger in me.

Gary Comer, the founder of Lands’ End, hired me to do research on small companies in which he invested. He had gone public with Lands’ End several years prior and was left with $400 million to invest in small companies. His strategy was to buy small companies with strong corporate cultures and build them into large entities. It was sort of a mix between private equity and venture capital work. I loved it. The people, the ideas, the challenges, and the possibilities taught me enormous amounts about business. It was bitter-sweet to leave for the Air Force after only a year working with him.

My Air Force Reserve flying eventually led to a job as a pilot at Delta, yet my hunger for business work continued. After my first year, I took a leave of absence to finish my MBA at Vanderbilt. The timing was fortuitous because I finished my MBA only three months before 9/11.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a small business definitely has its challenges. Starting out with nothing and building a client base from the ground up is really tough, especially when you’re handling people’s personal finances. It’s hard to get people to understand that I can provide the same level of service as a big firm that might have a recognizable name. But I know that I can also provide a more customized and personal experience that you may not get with a larger company. I have to really work hard to earn people’s trust and I’m okay with that.

Building relationships takes time and I want our clients to know that they can trust us and that we are always going to put them first.

Anson Analytics – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I started Anson in 2002, shortly after finishing graduate school. High-level pension plan management was the focus of my graduate work. While working for a pension consultant, I continually heard the concern from friends that sophisticated, objective, and conflict-free advice was not really available to them personally. The turning point came when my parents showed me their own retirement accounts. The funds were loaded with fees and commissions. Diversification was non-existent and the advice being provided them was unsophisticated, to say the least.

Our initial clients were fellow Delta pilots, but later numerous specialty physicians and small retirement plans became clients. As Anson has grown, the guiding principles from my youth have remained unchanged: Research investments diligently. Be persistent and patient. Objectivity and honesty can be painful, but are absolutely non-negotiables. The client always comes first.

One of my dad’s gifts was one-on-one relationships. He was a genuine pastor in the truest sense of the word.

His love for people has been a great gift to me. I love my work because I get to combine all the best elements: Rigorous analytical work, intentional and measured risk-taking, and faithfully walking with my clients down the road of life.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My biggest milestone was earning the personal account for a retired chief investment officer at a major Wall Street firm. This client was a highly sophisticated and experienced investor, having worked on Wall Street since the 1970’s. At his retirement, he was responsible for $89 billion in assets, yet he entrusted his personal account to me. He and his family have continued to be clients for over 10 years now.

Contact Info:

• Address: Anson Analytics
  160 Greencastle Rd., Suite C
  Tyrone, GA 30290
• Website: www.ansonanalytics.com
• Phone: 678.216.0795
• Email: info@ansonanalytics.com
• Facebook: @ansonanalytics

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