James Tarkenton CFA®, CFP®
Chief Investment Officer
James Tarkenton is the President & Chief Investment Officer for Townsend Asset Management Corp.
James has been evaluating investment opportunities since 1998. As a generalist analyst and portfolio manager, he has researched multiple asset classes and capital markets. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst® charterholder and a member of the CFA® Institute. James is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM (CFP®) practitioner.
James graduated with a degree in Finance from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was also a catcher on their Division I baseball team. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree with honors from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to joining Townsend in October of 2018, James was a Managing Director at a $6 billion asset management firm in California. In evaluating investments’ sustainability, risks and financial strength, James facilitates the optimization of client portfolio construction for both returns and risk.
James has been quoted in Barron’s and Bloomberg News multiple times discussing stocks and investing. He has participated in multiple investment panels as well as made solo presentations discussing the investment environment and individual securities.
Gerald A. Townsend CPA/PFS/ABV, CFA®, CFP®, CMT
Gerald A. Townsend is President of Townsend Asset Management Corp., a registered investment advisory firm.
Gerald brings a wealth of experience and an extensive background to our clients. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM (CFP®) practitioner, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA®) charterholder, and a Chartered Market Technician (CMT). In addition, he has also received the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) and Accredited in Business Valuation designations from the American Institute of CPAs.
Gerald holds an undergraduate degree from East Carolina University and a graduate degree from North Carolina State University. He is a member of the Financial Planning Association, the American Institute of CPAs, the Market Technicians Association and the CFA Institute. Prior to founding TAM in 1982, he worked for a large CPA firm and an investment advisory firm.
As a frequent speaker and writer, Gerald has been quoted in USA Today, Changing Times, Business North Carolina and other publications, and has been recognized by Money magazine as one of the nation`s top financial advisors. He writes timely articles for the Townsend newsletter as well as website, and is invited to appear regularly on local television stations to offer market commentary.
Click here to read some of Gerald's recent publications.
Caleb Griffith CFP®
Caleb Griffith is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Townsend Asset Management Corp and has been with the firm since 2006.
As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner (CFP®), he has the knowledge and expertise to help individuals, families and businesses identify their financial goals and develop an implementation process to accomplish those goals. His extensive background in tax preparation and planning gives him additional insight when providing comprehensive financial planning services to our clients.
Caleb is a graduate of N.C. State University with a B.S. degree in Accounting. Prior to attending N.C. State University, he was a scholar athlete at Lenoir Community College in Kinston, NC, where he played baseball.
Caleb and his wife Jessica have two children, Asher and Callie. He loves the outdoors and enjoys attending his children's sporting events. He and Jessica like to take evening walks, accompanied by their American Collie, Shelby.
He cares deeply for the individuals and families he works with and is committed to helping them understand the impact of their financial decisions over time.
Click here to read Caleb's articles.
Ryan Willson
In October of 2024, Ryan Willson joined Townsend Asset Management as their Chief Commercial Officer. Ryan is responsible for working with the team of this long established wealth management firm to lead and further develop their elite client service experience. He brings to Townsend thirty years of experience in the asset management business.
Ryan is a third-generation investor and entrepreneur, and he has spent his career launching, building, and growing asset management firms. Ryan started his career on Wall Street with Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. He then founded Willson Investment Management, followed by seventeen years as Partner and CEO of Lateef Investment Management. While at Lateef, he led the firm from $300 million in assets under management to over $6 billion before and after the Global Financial Crisis. Ryan facilitated the succession plans of the firm to the next generation, negotiated multiple private equity transactions, and he left following the sale of the firm in 2017. In 2020, Ryan joined quantitative machine learning hedge fund Creighton AI as their CEO to launch the firms first fund. He raised the working capital to sustain the firm’s growth plans during 2020, and he raised the seed capital to launch the CAI Fund in January of 2021. When Ryan left the firm in February of 2022 CAI had $185m assets under management. Ryan joined Storm Capital Partners in the first quarter of 2023 as a Partner. Storm is a consulting firm serving investment management firms to help them scale their businesses.
Ryan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts and Sciences from the University of Southern California. He has been married for thirty years to his wife Cindy and they have two children Chloe and Jackson. In his early years he was a Division One soccer player at Southern Methodist University, and he was the captain of the rugby team at University of Southern California. He is passionate about athletics and has coached youth sports for over twenty years and founded the Marin Reds Rugby Club in California and the Salish Sea Warriors Rugby Club in British Columbia.
Arne Morris CPA/PFS
Arne Morris is a Wealth Advisor at Townsend Asset Management Corp.
Arne Morris joined Townsend in 2017 as a seasoned financial advisor with over three decades of experience in wealth management and retirement planning. He specializes in helping clients navigate the complexities of retirement income strategies, tax efficiency, and investment management.
Arne began his career as an Auditor at Deloitte & Touche before spending eight years with KPMG in their Wealth Management Group. He then spent sixteen years helping build RSM McGladrey’s Wealth Management team in the Carolinas, where he played a key role in the firm's growth to over $5 billion in assets under management.
Arne holds a master’s degree in accounting from UNC Chapel Hill and has an undergraduate degree in Accounting from St Augustine’s University. He is a member of American institute of CPA’s, and the North Carolina Association of CPA’s. Arne is a Certified Public Accountant and Accredited Personal Financial Specialist.
Outside of his professional life, Arne is passionate about his four children and giving back to the community. He actively volunteers with local nonprofits, including the Raleigh Housing Authority and the Garner Athletic Association. A fitness enthusiast, Arne enjoys participating in athletic events and cherishes time with his family.
Michele Stewart
Michele Stewart has joined Townsend Asset Management Corp. as a Tax Accountant. Michele is from Raleigh, NC and graduated from Wake Technical Community College with an Accounting degree.
Michele brings to the firm over 30 years of accounting, tax-preparation, bookkeeping and customer service experience. She is meticulous to detail and provides quality service to clients.
Leon Abbas CFP®
Leon Abbas is a Wealth Advisor with the firm and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner (CFP®).
He holds a BS degree in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University, a MS in Economics from Montana State University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Oregon State University.
Leon was a Professor at North Carolina State University and a principal of Abbas Financial Services, Inc. and Financial Balance Corp. prior to joining Townsend Asset Management Corp in 2001.
Click here to read Leon's articles.
Tracey Ellis
Tracey Ellis is Client Service and Communications Manager at Townsend Asset Management Corp. A native of North Carolina, she earned her B.S. degree in Business with a minor in Finance from Barton College in Wilson.
Tracey has many years of experience providing customer service and brings to the firm strong communication and problem-solving skills. She specializes in relationship-building and facilitating excellent teamwork.
Becky Gifford
Becky recently joined Townsend Asset Management Corp as a Client Relationship Associate. A native of Snow Hill, NC, she earned her Financial Coach Master Training certification in 2022, which sparked her passion for helping others with their finances. Becky also served in the United States Navy, where she gained valuable experience that laid the foundation for her career.
With a strong background in administration, customer service, and a deep commitment to serving others, Becky brings a wealth of expertise to her role.
Outside of work, Becky enjoys spending time with her family. She and her husband, Keith, have two children, Elizabeth and Christopher, and their granddaughter, Elora, spends two days a week with them—where Becky is affectionately known as "Gigi." In the evenings, Becky and Keith unwind by participating in a weekly bowling league together.