Tony Anderson
New Position: President, COO, Anderson, Riley & Spoor, St. Petersburg. Previous Position: Portfolio manager, Doyle, Riley & Spoor, St. Petersburg
By Times Staff Writer
Published May 9, 2005
When Tony Anderson got the call, he was on the ski slopes in Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Would he accept the position of president and chief operating officer at Doyle, Riley & Spoor, a registered investment advice firm in St. Petersburg where he had been a portfolio manager since last year? If so, the company's name would change, too - to Anderson, Riley & Spoor.
Anderson said yes, and since March has been working with a new company name and a new set of responsibilities, replacing Bob Doyle, who left to start his own business. "It was a total and unexpected change. I was able to move right in."
In his new role, Anderson said, "I'm responsible for the day-to-day operations. My primary responsibilities are that I meet with clients, existing and prospective clients, (and) help determine what their investment goals and objectives are.
"We determine their time horizon, their investment needs, and then we implement them," Anderson said. "That's one of the benefits of what we do: very personalized service. There's accountability."
His company's clients are primarily individuals with "a minimum account size of $250,000," he said, "but I do have flexibility and can take smaller accounts."
A native of Orlando, Anderson earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., in 1991, and an MBA from Crummer Graduate School, part of Rollins College in Winter Park, in 1995. Between earnings the two degrees, Anderson managed a health club.
He began his investment career in 1995 as a broker. "I always wanted to help people to manage their money," he said. "Shortly, I found out that (a broker) was more of a sales role and that was an inherent conflict of interest to doing what was best for a client."
Anderson shifted to the role of manager, working in hedge funds for Solomon Brothers in Tampa until 1998. Then he joined SouthTrust Bank as vice president and senior portfolio manager in the trust department, working in offices on both sides of Tampa Bay.
In 2004, he joined Doyle, Riley & Spoor as portfolio manager.
"I absolutely love what I do," Anderson said. "I've worked in the business 10 years in various capacities, which has allowed me to see the good and the bad.
"The reason I got into this is it's mentally stimulating and challenging," he said. "The job changes every day. The markets are dynamic. Every day I come in here, it's a combination of trying to keep up to date on the markets. The other side of the business is working with clients and building personal relationships, getting to know these people."
Anderson, 36, and his wife, Amanda, have two children, Hunter, 6, and Haley, 4. They live in St. Petersburg.
In his spare time, Anderson said he is very busy with his church and, whenever possible, going saltwater fishing. Anderson has reeled in three marlins, and said he wouldn't mind one or two more.