John DeMoss

John DeMoss Jr. was in the midst of studying for his finance degree at UTC when at 23 he quit school to become a chartered financial analyst.

Because he had five years of professional work experience under his belt, Mr. DeMoss was able to begin the self-study program, but only after carefully considering what he wanted his career to look like five or 10 years down the road.

“Because of the value of the CFA charter holder, it really encompasses everything, and far beyond what would be in a college level class,” he said.

He worked hard to get into the program, and passed all three exams the first time around.

The Chattanooga native opened his own management firm called DeMoss Capital on June 1 on Georgia Avenue downtown. The offices of DeMoss Capital sit beside DeMoss Accounting, run by his father, John DeMoss, who specializes in bookkeeping and accounting for small businesses.

His great-uncle was the late Arthur S. DeMoss, founder of the National Liberty Corp., an insurance company which had television commercials featuring Art Linkletter.

Mr. DeMoss, 26, has been managing money for prominent local investors and also worked at a couple of investment advisory firms before striking out on his own.

In launching his business, he decided to try to do something good for the community. He partnered with area nonprofit organizations to have all fees for two months out of the year go to a local nonprofit of the client’s choosing. So far, the beneficiaries include Siskin’s Children Institute, Crabtree Farms, the Greenspaces initiative and the Take Root city beautification project.

The donation program is something that nonprofit agencies hope catches on, said Helen Johnson who is working with Take Root.

“I think it is a visionary program,” Ms. Johnson said. “As a businessman, it speaks volumes that he is literally investing in the city.”

He acknowledges that opening a business during a recession has challenges, but he said he used a conservative approach when dealing with all of his client accounts.

“This environment certainly is a challenging one for anyone that has anything to do with the stock market, but for me launching a business, my clients have done well so that has not been a challenge,” he said.

The financial industry as a whole has been tested with a lot of changes in the industry, he said. Upheavals in firms across the country leading to closures and displaced brokers have cleared the way for those advisors who have served their clients well, he said.

“Part of the reason I started DeMoss Capital is that I recognize that investors not only want someone who is experienced but someone who has values that they stand for, and all that translates into a level of trust with any client,” he said.