Our Team
Andrew Blankenship, CRPS, CEBS
Partner, Retirement Plan Advisor
andrewblankenship@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 102
Andrew Blankenship serves as Partner and Co-Founder of Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). His primary roles are to provide comprehensive consulting services to clients, oversee client service priorities and processes, ensure client satisfaction and retention, and manage the operations of the practice. Andrew has serviced company sponsored retirement plans since January of 2008.
Andrew obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration (Finance) from Auburn University in 2005. He completed his MBA from Auburn University in 2007, and shortly thereafter began working as a registered representative for Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
His primary function early in his career was to provide education and support to plan participants, and also to manage client relationships. In 2011, Andrew’s role transitioned into becoming one of the lead consultants for the team, providing comprehensive fiduciary consulting services to his plan sponsor clients.
Andrew has obtained the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist designation from the College for Financial Planning, and also holds the Certified Employee Benefit Specialist designation from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Andrew holds securities registrations 7, 65, 63, and 24.
Renn Williams, CRPS, CPFA
Partner, Retirement Plan Advisor
rennwilliams@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 101
Renn Williams serves as Partner and Co-Founder of Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). Renn serves as one of the lead consultants for the team, and Renn's practice is solely focused on advising retirement plan committees and helping plan participants. He has a particular interest in behavioral finance within employer sponsored plans. Renn enjoys working with plan committees to make positive impacts on plan participants. Renn has serviced company sponsored retirement plans since 2004.
Renn obtained a Bachelor degree in Business Administration with a minor in economics from Millsaps College; he also has a Master of Business Administration degree from the Else School of Management. He is a Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist designee from the College for Financial Planning, and he also holds the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor designation from the National Association of Plan Advisors. Renn holds FINRA securities registrations 63, 65, 7, 24 & 53. Renn was named on the National Association of Plan Advisors "Aces" list for Top Retirement Plan Advisors under 40 in 2021. Additionally, he was named as one of the 401 top defined contribution retirement plan advisors in the country by the Financial Times in 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Charles Anderson, JD, CLU, ChFC
Vice President
charlesanderson@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 106
Charles Anderson serves as a Vice President of Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). He has over 50 years of experience in the tax qualified plan retirement and individual wealth management business. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Birmingham-Southern College and a Juris Doctorate from the Birmingham School of Law. Charles holds the Chartered Life Underwriter and the Chartered Financial Consultant designations from the American College. Charles holds securities registrations 7, 63, 1, 24 & 51. He is a past President and former member of the Board of the Birmingham Chapter of the Society of Financial Services Professionals, and a past President and former member of the Board of the Cahaba Heights Athletic Association.
Vickie Ragland
Senior Relationship Manager
vickieragland@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 107
Vickie Ragland serves as a Senior Relationship Manager for Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Engineering from Auburn University with a minor in business management. Vickie has spent over 30 years as a client relationship manager. She is responsible for processing all individual client business including mutual funds, college 529 plans and individual annuities. She is also dedicated to helping clients establish and/or transfer their IRA's, both traditional and ROTH. Vickie Ragland is not registered with Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
Lindsay Luketic, CRPS, CPFA
Vice President, Director of Relationship Management
lindsayluketic@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 103
Lindsay Luketic serves as the Vice President, Director of Relationship Management for Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). Lindsay leads our service team and is responsible for managing all aspects of our client relationships, including benchmarking of qualified plans, leading enrollment meetings, educating plan participants, conducting investment analyses, preparing retirement plan proposals, helping plan sponsors convert and implement retirement plans, supporting plan sponsors through mergers and acquisitions, providing support to clients, and serving in compliance & supervisory roles. Lindsay assists in all aspects of retirement plan coordination.
Lindsay is a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and a minor in Economics. Lindsay holds securities registrations 6, 63, 65 and 26. She is a Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist designee from the College for Financial Planning, and she also holds the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor Designation from the National Association of Plan Advisors.
Derek Burrow, AWMA
Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager
derekburrow@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 105
Derek serves as a Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager for Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). Derek earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Samford University in 2014 and a Bachelor of Science in Finance degree from Auburn University in 2009. Derek is responsible for managing all aspects of our client relationships, including benchmarking of qualified plans, leading enrollment meetings, educating plan participants, conducting investment analyses, preparing retirement plan proposals, helping plan sponsors convert and implement retirement plans, and providing support to clients. Derek assists in all aspects of retirement plan coordination. Derek holds securities registrations 7 & 66 and is an Accredited Wealth Management Advisor (AWMA®) designee from the College for Financial Planning.
Lisa Pettis, QKA, QPFC
Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager
lisapettis@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 109
Lisa Pettis serves as a Vice President, Senior Relationship Manager for Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). Lisa joined the industry in 2005 upon earning her Bachelor's in Accounting and Master's in Business Administration from Troy University. Lisa is responsible for managing all aspects of our client relationships, including benchmarking of qualified plans, leading enrollment meetings, educating plan participants, conducting investment analyses, preparing retirement plan proposals, helping plan sponsors convert and implement retirement plans, and providing support to clients. Lisa holds securities registrations 7, 63 and 65. She is a Qualified 401(k) Administrator from the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries, and she also holds the Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor Designation from the National Association of Plan Advisors.
Angie Webster
Relationship Manager
angiewebster@advokateadvisors.com
(659) 238-0010 ext. 108
Angie Webster serves as a Relationship Manager for Advo(k)ate Advisors, LLC (a registered office of Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.). She has over 30 years of experience working in the financial services industry. Angie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Auburn University. Angie assists plan sponsors and participants with all of their day-to-day needs. Angie Webster is not registered with Royal Alliance Associates, Inc.
The Financial Times Top 401 Retirement Advisors list recognizes the top financial advisors who specialize in serving defined contribution (DC) retirement plans. The list was developed in collaboration with Ignites Research, a subsidiary of the Financial Times that provides business intelligence on asset management, and Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. a leading provider of data solutions and market intelligence. Ignites Research created the methodology and ranked the advisors. Broadridge provided unique data from its proprietary databases that helped identify advisors who specialize in serving DC plans, including 401(k) plans and other DC accounts. To qualify for the list, advisors had to have 20% or more of their total client assets in DC plans. Qualified advisors were then graded based on seven broad factors: DC assets under management, growth in DC plans and assets, degree of specialization in the DC business, experience, participation rate in DC plans advised, industry certifications, and compliance record. The NAPA Young Guns Top Plan Advisors Under 50 candidates were nominated and voted on by industry associates as well as evaluated by a NAPA panel of judges based on information about their practice, experience and accomplishments. The rating is not indicative of the investment adviser's future performance; and the investment adviser representative was not paid a fee to participate in the survey.