Alexander B. Miles

Managing Partner

Mr. Miles is a Co-Founding Partner of Kingfisher Capital, an independent money management and family office services firm with a global vision. Mr. Miles directs firm strategy and serves as Chief Investment Officer, overseeing the firm’s Investment Committee. Since 2003, Mr. Miles has also served as Portfolio Manager for the firm’s flagship investment strategies and alternative investment funds.

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As a thought and practice leader, Mr. Miles has developed Kingfisher’s unique family office approach to integrate the best available resources to help both family and corporate clients formulate and achieve security, lifestyle and legacy goals. He also oversees the delivery of the firm’s global investment solutions to high net worth individuals, retirement plans, foundations and bank and brokerage advisory platforms.

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Prior to founding Kingfisher, Mr. Miles’ investment career spanned WealthTrust Advisors, the Myers Limited Partnerships, and Lehman Brothers in New York. After graduating from The Hotchkiss School in 1991, Mr. Miles attended Colgate University where he played Varsity baseball. He earned an English degree from Emory University in 1996 before spending three years working for the PGA Tour. Mr. Miles received his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Mr. Miles has been a frequent contributor to financial news organizations including Reuters, Fox Business, The Business Journal, Financial Advisor Magazine, The Wall Street Transcript and The Charlotte Observer. He has also been a presenter and guest at industry leading conferences including the Milken Institute Summit in London, the Global Water Intelligence Conference in Rome, The Shell Innovation Forum in Houston and many others. Mr. Miles is committed to supporting civic and cultural venues in our community and has served as Board Officer, Coach, Volunteer, at many organizations including The Charlotte Latin School, Dilworth Little League, the Rosedale Foundation, and Envision Charlotte, a unique public-private collaboration that provides a global model of environmental sustainability for measurable economic results. Mr. Miles lives in Charlotte with his wife Ulrike, who serves on the Boards of Directors for The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and The McColl Museum for Art and Innovation.

H.K. Hallett

Managing Partner

H.K. Hallett is Co-Founding Partner of Kingfisher Capital, an independent money management and family office services firm with a global vision. Mr. Hallett is Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, responsible for the management of Kingfisher’s Operations, Client Service, Compliance, and Administrative functions. In addition, H.K. has served many of the firm’s key family clients for now three generations.​

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Kingfisher Capital provides clients a comprehensive wealth management solution supported by a specific expertise in money management and our integrated family office platform. Mr. Hallett serves as a member of the firm’s investment committee and oversees certain portfolios for wealthy individuals, families, and foundations. 

In 1989, Mr. Hallett co-founded Kingfisher Capital’s legacy firm, James M. Myers Research, Inc., an independent, registered investment advisory, where he served as President for fifteen years. During that time, Mr. Hallett also managed operations for its affiliated Broker-Dealer. He worked for Trust Company Bank of Georgia and Peoples Bank of North Carolina before joining Carolina Securities Corporation, where he co-managed the Charlotte office. 

H.K. received his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Georgia State University. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Woodberry Forest School. He is active in the Charlotte community and has served on the Board of Historic Rosedale, The UNC Chapel Hill Board of Visitors, Executive Board of Mecklenburg County Council Boy Scouts of America, and The Investment Committee for the YMCA of Greater Charlotte.

Nicole Brandon

Director of Wealth Services

Nicole leads Kingfisher's internal team of client resources and manages our institutional service partners to ensure each client receives an integrated and comprehensive wealth management solution that fits their unique needs. Leveraging decades of thought leadership and personal and professional relationships cultivated over three generations, Kingfisher serves as clients’ central point of contact. Ms. Brandon delivers on a key tenant of Kingfisher's philosophy -- that providing comprehensive, best-in-class solutions for clients involves the integration of vetted advice from trusted experts across the investment, research, estate planning, independent trust services, tax strategy, and asset protection spectrum.

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Since moving to Charlotte from New York in 2007, Nicole has more than a decade of experience in the investment industry working with wealthy families, business owners and foundations. Prior to joining Kingfisher, Nicole served as Director of Operations for two Independent Investment Advisory firms, Capital Wealth Advisors and Byron Financial where she worked directly with many of the firm’s key clients to provide a personalized hands-on touch. She has also played a critical role in developing and implementing best practices, including introducing new and emerging technologies to support portfolio administration and client services.

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A native of Manhattan, Nicole grew up in the city before attending boarding school in Connecticut at Rumsey Hall and Choate Rosemary Hall.  Nicole attended both George Washington University and the State University of New York, where she received her undergraduate degree. In New York, Nicole worked in Operations for Kendall Tarrant Worldwide and Aon Consulting before moving to Charlotte.

Nicole is active in our community and is an avid CMS volunteer for Selwyn Elementary, AG Middle School and Northwest School of the Arts. She is also an advocate in improving public education in the Charlotte community.  A long-time yoga practitioner, Nicole continues to support the Veterans Yoga Project, providing fundraising efforts and coordination to provide teacher training for those in the military to bring the practice to bases for troops serving overseas. She lives in Charlotte with her husband and two children.

Chad Frk

Director

Mr. Frk serves as a Director for Kingfisher Capital. He is a primary point of contact for prospective clients and works closely with existing relationships to deliver a comprehensive wealth management approach and integrated family office services to achieve their unique security, lifestyle and legacy goals.

Prior to Kingfisher, Chad held a similar role at JP Morgan primarily covering high net-worth business owners and their businesses in the Greater Chicago area. His team managed over $3 billion in discretionary assets. In this role, Mr. Frk was the team’s brokerage specialist, monitored the firm’s managed portfolios and educated clients on alternative asset opportunities. Prior to JP Morgan, Chad worked in institutional brokerage for Northern Trust Securities, primarily covering corporations, foundations & endowments, and healthcare institutions, where he traded marketable securities and provided market research and commentary firm-wide. Mr. Frk also served as a pit clerk for MF Global, in the Eurodollar options pit at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Chad earned a B.S. in Marketing from the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was a captain of their Varsity baseball team and earned ALL-BIG-TEN honors as a third baseman.  He serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the 24 Foundation, an engine for advancements in cancer survivorship and navigation services.  Mr. Frk is also an alumnus of Leadership Charlotte, an organization whose purpose is to develop and enhance volunteer community leadership and he currently serves on their Alumni Service Committee.  Mr. Frk’s other professional community engagement includes the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, World Affairs Council, Charlotte Economics Club, and Association for Corporate Growth.  He has served as a volunteer with Imerman Angels (to provide one-on-one support for cancer fighters, survivors and caregivers), the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and with Dilworth Little League, where he has coached both regular season and all-star teams.  Chad resides in Charlotte with his wife and son.

Virginia M. Starnes

Director of Operations

Ms. Starnes serves as Director of Operations for Kingfisher, providing operational leadership in several business areas including portfolio administration, compliance, client service, and trading.

Ms. Starnes has extensive experience serving high net worth clients and has worked in the wealth and investment management industry for more than 20 years. Ginny has been an invaluable member of the Kingfisher team for the last fifteen years, providing operational structure and continuity to our organization and the families we serve.

Ms. Starnes graduated from Methodist University with a BS in Math & Physics.

E. Brian Smyth

Director of Research and Trading

Mr. Smyth serves as Director of Research and Trading, supporting the firm’s investment research and portfolio construction and supervising its trading desk. Mr. Smyth serves on the Investment Committee and is responsible for conducting fundamental analysis on the firm’s investments. Since 1995, he has worked as an analyst and partner at several hedge funds and investment banks in Charlotte, including Hubbert Peak Partners, where he was founder, Williamson Investors LP and Myers Limited Partnerships.

Mr. Smyth received his Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  Prior to graduate school, he served four years as an officer in the US Navy, stationed aboard a guided missile cruiser in Charleston, SC.  He earned his B.A. from the University of Oklahoma.  He is the President of the Carolina Investment Club, and serves as Chair of the Deacons at Park Road Church.  He is a member and Past President of the Charlotte SouthPark Rotary Club and is an Assistant Scoutmaster at Boy Scout Troop 116 in Charlotte, where he lives with his wife and two boys.

Sarah Wood

Client Services and Operations Manager

Mrs. Wood serves as Client Services and Operations Manager for Kingfisher Capital, providing client, account, and operational services for our team.

Sarah has worked in the Financial Services industry since 2014, serving as an Executive Assistant and Client Service Representative at Barry, Evans, Josephs & Snipes and, subsequently, as Client Services Director at Scott Jones Financial. Previously, she served as an Assistant at the Library of Congress and as Manager of the Smart Road Control Room at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Sarah graduated summa cum laude with a BSBA in Management Information Systems from East Carolina University. During her time at ECU, she became a member of Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies. As part of her continuing education, Sarah also participated in the International Scholar Laureate Program delegation on business to China through George Mason University.  Sarah holds the series 6, series 63 and series 65 licenses along with the NC Life, Accident & Health Insurance license.

Sarah and her husband, Matt, live in Charlotte with their son and two rescue dog​s.​

Worth William Calfee

Senior Director

Bill Calfee serves as a Senior Advisor for Kingfisher Capital and will be joining the firm as Senior Director at the end of 2017 following a 25 year career with the PGA Tour, Inc. Mr. Calfee develops and services key Kingfisher clients including corporate executives, professional athletes, business owners and entrepreneurs. Bill also works closely with small to mid-sized businesses to optimize their retirement benefits platform leveraging Kingfisher Retirement Plans solutions.

Mr. Calfee served on Commissioner Tim Finchem’s Executive Team at the PGA Tour, Inc. for the majority of his career. Calfee served as President of The PGA Tour’s WEB.COM Tour from 2006 to 2017 where he established his organization as the primary path for players to qualify for membership with The PGA Tour. Prior to heading the WEB.COM Tour and NIKE Tour, Bill was in charge of Tournament Competitions for the entire PGA Tour, Inc.

A 1971 economics graduate of the University of Maryland, Mr. Calfee was a two time All America on the golf team and the University’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a senior. Bill is also a former professional athlete, competing as a player on The PGA Tour from 1976 to 1985 and earning the longest average drive on tour in 1982. Following a successful career as a professional golfer, Mr. Calfee started his own financial planning and investment consulting business in Florida before being hired by Finchem in 1991 as The PGA Tour’s Director of Player Benefits and Services. He currently lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida with his wife Heather and has two sons.

Carol Graven Layton

Administrative Coordinator

Ms. Layton serves in an administrative capacity for Kingfisher. Carol played a similar role during her tenure with WealthTrust Advisors and James M. Myers Research, both predecessor firms of Kingfisher Capital.

Carol is a native Charlottean who attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated from Queens College (now Queens University of Charlotte).  She resides in Dilworth with her husband Dave, a retired Social Studies teacher from Myers Park High School.