Investment Counselors

Each client benefits from the educational backgrounds, experience, and professional credentials of Salem's counselors in the areas of investment analysis, banking, law, accounting, taxation, real estate, and venture capital. The backgrounds outlined below provide us with the breadth of expertise to concentrate on diversified total portfolios, and our experience in tax and estate planning matters enables us to address the totality of your needs.

William R. Watson
Bill began work as a counselor at Salem in 1982. Before that, he was employed at Wachovia Bank as an investment strategist. Bill received his MBA degree from the University of North Carolina in 1966 and his undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University in 1963. In 1975, Bill obtained the Chartered Financial Analyst designation from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts.

David B. Rea
David received his JD degree from Wake Forest University School of Law in 1979 and in 1981 earned his MBA from Indiana University. He is a graduate of Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. David became a CPA in 1982 and was employed as a senior tax accountant at Deloitte, Haskins & Sells before joining Salem in 1984. In 1987 David was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He has been active in the Clemmons and Winston-Salem communities and has served on numerous boards and community organizations.

Robert T. Beach
Bob has been with Salem since 1985. Prior to joining the firm, he worked for an investment counseling firm in Wisconsin and a venture capital company in Washington, D.C. He began his investment career as a financial analyst with Smith Barney in New York in 1976. Bob received a JD degree from Stanford Law School and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He earned his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy prior to graduate school. Bob earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1988 and has served as an officer of the North Carolina Society of Financial Analysts.

Dale M. Brown
Dale is President of Salem Investment Counselors, Inc. and a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Business and School of Law where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and the Order of the Coif. He became a Certified Public Accountant in 1981 and a member of the North Carolina State Bar in 1979. Dale worked for Deloitte, Haskins and Sells from September 1979 to December 1987 where he was a designated specialist in qualified retirement plans and estate planning. In January of 1988, Dale joined Salem where he specializes in fixed income securities and portfolio management. Dale earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 1990.

Jeffrey C. Howard
Jeff left one of the premier North Carolina law firms, Kilpatrick Stockton, L.L.P., to join Salem in January 1996. As a partner in Kilpatrick Stockton's Winston-Salem office, he practiced for 15 years in the areas of commercial litigation (including ERISA, securities, antitrust, and unfair trade practices cases). Before joining the law firm, Jeff was a judicial clerk to United States District Judge Franklin T. Dupree, Jr. He earned his JD degree at the University of Tulsa College of Law and his undergraduate degree from Duke University. Jeff is a past president of the Young Lawyers Division of the North Carolina Bar Association. He has served as president of the Parent's Association and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Forsyth Country Day School. Jeff is a member of the Duke Alumni Board of Directors and Chair of the Hospice and Palliative Care Foundation Board of Directors. He is founder and President of The First Tee of the Triad, a chapter of the national organization designed to foster character development and life skills in kids through the game of golf.

Kenneth S. Jones
Ken received his MBA in 1980 from the University of Chicago, graduating cum laude with concentrations in finance and accounting. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University in 1978, graduating magna cum laude, with honors in economics. He joined Salem in 2000 after twenty years practicing accounting with a concentration in tax and financial planning. Ken earned the Certified Public Accountant designation in 1982, and in 1995 he was awarded the Personal Financial Specialist designation by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Ken earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2003. Ken has been active in the community, including being chairman of several church finance committees.

George G. Kip Keener
Kip is a 2002 graduate of the Wake Forest School of Law. Kip received his undergraduate degrees from Hampden-Sydney College in 1999, graduating summa cum laude with honors in Political Science and Psychology. Since joining Salem, Kip has helped develop financial models for equity valuation and asset allocation models for client accounts. Kip serves as the firm's Chief Compliance Officer, directing all firm policies and procedures.

Mark I. Thompson
Mark received his MBA from Wake Forest University's Babcock Graduate School of Management in 1983 with concentrations in finance and investments. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1974, majoring in Political Science. Prior to joining Salem in 2006, Mark held senior family relationship management positions for 20 years with specialized wealth advisory and family office firms, Wachovia Capital Management and Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management, serving all aspects of client families' financial management needs. Mark has remained active in various leadership and board activities in the Winston-Salem community throughout his professional career.

J.F. Goins III
Ted is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a double major in Economics and History. Since 1991 he has served several regional brokerage firms as an analyst, institutional salesman and client manager. Ted's primary emphasis has been small cap equity analysis. Ted is an active volunteer and board participant with several local non-profit organizations.