Four alumni work together in Columbia firm with shared values shaped in Clinton
For the four Presbyterian College alumni at Anchor Investment Management, LLC, the path from the brick-lined walkways of Clinton to the brick-walled buildings of Columbia was anything but straight.
Yet their journeys converged at a firm where trust, service, and shared values—principles they say were sharpened at PC—define both their work and their relationships with clients.
Founder and principal Pat Dorn ’61, principal Margaret Ellen Pender ’97, senior relationship manager Brian Blackwelder ’96, and controller Laura Hilton Culler ’94 make up nearly a quarter of the team at Anchor. Their connection to each other and to their alma mater is unmistakable, even if, as Dorn jokes, “we have to be careful not to go overboard with it” when speaking with University of South Carolina or Clemson graduates.
“Our firm has always hired people who share our core values,” Dorn said. “Obviously it’s been open to PC alumni in the past because we’ve got four. We’re not out trying to add PC graduates—or any other graduates. We want people that share our values and have the skills we need for the business.”
A business built on values
Dorn launched Anchor in 2000 after an early retirement from Wachovia and nearly a decade of preparation, including earning his Chartered Financial Analyst® designation. The company has grown steadily from those first months—when Dorn had “zero business” but a clear plan—to managing over a billion dollars in assets under management today, serving clients across the Southeast and beyond.
From the outset, Dorn emphasized trust, attention to detail, and treating others as you would want to be treated—values he sees reflected in his PC education.
“Any small business gets about 75 percent of its growth out of customer referrals,” he said. “That told me you make sure you do everything in your power to do a good job for the business you have. That’s everything from returning calls to good investment results to helping with family issues that might not have anything to do with what you get paid for.”
Those values are reinforced by the firm’s regulatory status as a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA), which carries a fiduciary obligation to act in clients’ best interests.
“A lot of folks don’t know what ‘fiduciary’ means,” Dorn said. “But it means to do what’s in their best interest without any other conflicts. That’s part of our core value.”
There’s just something you know about their character, you know about their education. It’s a great fit for our core values.”
Margaret Ellen Pender ’97
Finding the right fit
Pender joined Dorn in Anchor’s early days after an unexpected delay. The two first met through mutual connections, including fellow PC alumni.
“Pat was trying to hire me in the summer of 2001,” Pender said, “but when 9/11 happened, the stock market went down by about 50 percent. The business didn’t have the revenue to hire me, so we had to wait a whole year.”
When she did come aboard as the firm’s first hire, Pender brought ideas from her own banking background, including expanding services to resemble a small private banking group.
“When we first started, all we were doing was one very small slice of that pie,” she said. “I had wanted to build out our offering, and Pat completely gave me the freedom to do that. His background on the operations side was not super technical—he’s a liberal arts guy just like I am—so I knew he wouldn’t be afraid of us trying new things.”
Over the years, Pender has helped recruit other PC graduates to the firm, often seeing the same qualities she values in herself and Dorn.
“There’s just something you know about their character, you know about their education,” she said. “It’s a great fit for our core values.”
An unexpected lunch leads to a career shift
One of those recruits was Blackwelder, who came to Anchor after more than two decades in banking. The connection came when he reached out to Pender for potential mortgage referrals—only to have the conversation turn into an informal job interview.
“I wasn’t even looking to work here,” Blackwelder said. “It truly was an answered prayer and the perfect time in my life.”
Anchor allowed him to spend his first six months studying for the CFP® Certification Examination, which he passed on his first attempt, and subsequent years later earning the IACCP® designation. For Blackwelder, the appeal went beyond the work itself.
“It was awesome,” he said of joining fellow PC alumni. “It was just that sense of family. There’s no big corporate structure—it’s nice to be back in a place where I just knew they were good people.”
He also saw a sharp contrast with other firms in the industry.
“Clients are Anchor clients,” he said. “They’re not Brian’s clients or Pat’s clients. We may be the point person for a relationship, but everybody under this roof wants to help the client. There’s no competition amongst us here—we’re all working toward the same goal.”
It was just that sense of family. There’s no big corporate structure—it’s nice to be back in a place where I just knew they were good people.”
Brian Blackwelder ’96
A role built on trust
Culler is the newest PC alum to join Anchor, starting in March 2025 as the firm’s first controller. With more than 20 years at a law firm and eight years in municipal government finance, she was ready to return to professional services. A mentor connected her to Anchor, and only during the interview process did she realize several of her potential colleagues were fellow PC graduates.
“That was a very connecting feature of our interview,” she said. “We all had such a great experience at PC, and three of us even had the same professors. It’s been really interesting to reminisce about that.”
Pender said she felt an immediate level of trust in Culler, something Culler attributes to shared PC values.
“I think our background at PC, and that I would have that high level of integrity, trustworthiness, dedication, and attention to detail—she sensed that I would be like that just because we went to school together,” Culler said.
The PC influence
While their time in Clinton spans generations, the four share common threads from their PC experience: a liberal arts education, personal connections, and a service-oriented mindset.
PC’s motto, While We Live, We Serve, is more than a phrase, Blackwelder said—it’s a guiding principle.
“As a college student, you might not live it quite as much as you do later,” he said. “But I’ve always seen myself as using my talents to serve others, whether through community service or by making people’s lives better financially. Even the people who didn’t go to PC here have that same heart.”
Pender likens Anchor’s approach to that of PC itself—boutique in scale, personal in service. The firm operates out of two connected historic houses, chosen in part to make clients feel as comfortable as if they were visiting a friend’s home.
“When I was in school, I knew all my professors pretty intimately,” she said. “We’ve tried to have that same approach at Anchor. We want people to feel like we know who they are, and we care about what matters to them.”
For Culler, PC’s liberal arts curriculum broadened her perspective beyond accounting and business.
“We took religion classes, psychology, sociology,” she said. “I think that made us very well-rounded, to see all the different things that are available.”
Blackwelder agrees, saying the breadth of experiences prepared him for both his career and his life.
“I’m a huge fan of the liberal arts because it opens you up to more experiences and challenges,” he said. “You don’t have to choose your specialty right away—get that broad-based education and then decide.”
It’s not something we talk about every day, but if PC does something good, we mention it. All four of us are proud that we went to PC.”
Pat Dorn ’61
More than a résumé line
The PC connection is not a hiring requirement at Anchor, but all four say it adds an extra layer of trust and camaraderie. Whether it’s reminiscing about professors in Jacobs Hall, swapping stories from Greek life or athletics, or attending the firm’s annual October party—timed so fellow PC alum and musician Kipper Ackerman can perform—those shared experiences create a shorthand that strengthens their working relationships.
“It’s not something we talk about every day,” Dorn said, “but if PC does something good, we mention it. All four of us are proud that we went to PC.”
In an industry where trust is paramount, that pride and shared foundation translate into the way Anchor’s team approaches every client relationship.
“Our clients sense how genuine we are,” Blackwelder said. “They know we’re not trying to sell them anything—we really want to help.”
For Dorn, that combination of competence, integrity, and connection is the legacy he hopes will carry Anchor forward.
“We all enjoy our work, enjoy working with each other, and enjoy our clients,” he said. “And that speaks well of any business when you have those types of numbers going for you.”
