Our People

Robert E. Pike, CFA, AIF

Managing Principal

Emery is the Managing Principal and Chief Investment Officer of Stratford Advisors, who established the Company in 2004 after 20 years as an institutional portfolio manager. He was with the Wachovia Corporation from 1984 until 1998, where he served as Senior Vice President and senior portfolio manager in the Asset Management Group, the institutional money management area of the Bank. He managed portfolios and provided investment research for a variety of foundations, endowments, hospitals, corporations, mutual funds, common trust funds, and individuals. He is a past manager of Wachovia’s inaugural open-end mutual funds, the Biltmore Balanced Fund, the Biltmore Fixed Income Fund, and the Biltmore U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund.

Emery began his career in 1984 as a Registered Representative for Wachovia’s Bond Department, where he earned and held federal and state regulatory licenses Series 6, Series 7, and Series 52. He was responsible for managing securities sales in Wachovia’s Southern Region, based in Charlotte, NC from 1986 through 1989.

He also managed portfolios for private clients from 1998 to 2004 at a private family office in Winston-Salem, and contributed to the firm’s model equity and fixed income portfolios.

Emery earned the Chartered Financial Analyst^® (CFA^®) designation in 1991 and is a past President and Board Member of the CFA NC Society. He has also earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® (AIF^®) designation from the Center for Fiduciary Studies, a division of Fiduciary360, the preeminent formal training program in investment fiduciary responsibility. He has served an Adjunct Professor of Finance at High Point University, where he taught managerial and personal finance, and investment analysis.

He graduated cum laude with “Honors in History” from Wake Forest University in 1984 and holds an MBA from the Babcock Graduate School of Management of Wake Forest University.

Matthew L. Brown

Director of Research and Technology

Matthew joined Stratford Advisors in 2008 and serves as Director of Research and Technology. He is a native of Greensboro NC, and is a 2007 graduate of UNC-Charlotte, where he earned a BA in Psychology and a minor in Economics. Matt assists with all manner of research, trading, client reporting, technology management, and the overall portfolio allocation.

Victor A. Trinklein

Research Associate

Victor is native of Muttontown NY and a recent graduate from High Point University, where he is majored in Finance. He was an Honor's Student and Dean's List Scholar, and has received two consecutive "Most Outstanding Student" awards in the Undergraduate School for his scholastic excellence, including “Most Outstanding Senior” selected by the faculty of the Earl N. Phillips School of Business. Victor has gained experience through several years of financial internships, and he is currently pursuing the CFA Level 2 exam.

Sarah R. Amigone

Marketing Consultant

Sarah joined Stratford Advisors in 2011 as a marketing consultant. She graduated cum laude from Washington & Lee University in 1999 with a BA in Journalism, and earned her MBA with a concentration in marketing from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management in 2003. Sarah has more than ten years experience in marketing and has managed leading brands, including Hanes socks and Playtex bras.

Values, Purpose, Vision & Mission

Values

• Integrity We demand of ourselves and of others the highest ethical standards.
• Service We understand that our rewards are only proportional to the service we provide and that service to others is the foundation of our success.
• Empathy Every investor has a unique perspective on risk and reward shaped by their own experience. We will endeavor at all times to insure that the portfolios entrusted to us reflect these unique preferences and constraints to the best of our ability.
• Excellence We will strive at all times and in everything we do to improve upon that which came before and to never accept less than our best effort.
• Knowledge The quest for knowledge shall never cease. We will consider every person a teacher, and every day an opportunity to learn. We will always question and explore, and learn from our mistakes.

Purpose, Vision and Mission

• Purpose To help investors provide for themselves and others.
• Vision To become a recognized leader in serving investors by providing outstanding research, portfolio management and client service.
• Mission To provide confidential, expert, and objective advice and personalized service to investors seeking prudent management of their assets.