Built on the Belief That
Family Comes First
Every family deserves advice that puts them first. Since 1977, Freehold has helped families see clearly what they have, protect the people they love, and plan with confidence for what comes next — with deep expertise, genuine long-term relationships, and planning advice that puts your interests first.
How We Got Here
A Name That Is
a Promise
A freehold is land owned outright — held freely, without obligation to anyone, for one's family. That is exactly the kind of financial life we help our clients build: security that belongs to them, roots that hold through every season, and a legacy that passes cleanly to the next generation.
The story starts in 1977, when Cindy Boyle walked into Merrill Lynch as one of six women in a training class of four hundred — and built her place in an industry that wasn't built with her in mind. A year later she brought John Boyle into the business. Their daughter, Mary Steele, CFP®, grew up inside the work and joined the firm to continue what her parents built.
From our home base in the Upstate of South Carolina, with advisors in Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Missouri — small enough to know your family, large enough to serve it anywhere. Our planning is built around the family, not the portfolio — advice designed to survive handoffs, so what you've built keeps serving the people you love.
Total client assets under advisement — entrusted to us by families since 1977, our first clients from the 1970s still among them
Generations of the Boyle family at the table — Cindy and John, and their daughter Mary Steele, CFP®
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional leadership — among the most rigorous standards in the profession
Offices across five states — home base on Landrum's main street, with advisors in Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Missouri
What Sets Us Apart
The Freehold Difference
In a crowded industry of advisors who all claim to be personalized and trustworthy, we'd rather demonstrate the difference than simply state it.
The Family Is the Client
We don't plan for an account balance — we plan for grandparents, parents, and children together, for every kind of family and every person in it. The measure of a plan is whether it still works after it changes hands.
Coordinated, Not Piecemeal
Most families have advisors, accountants, and attorneys who rarely speak to each other. We bring the disciplines together, so your investments, taxes, protection, and estate plan pull in one direction.
Relationships Built for Decades
We measure success in the long-term outcomes of our clients' families, not quarterly reports. We built this firm for relationships that span generations.
Freedom of Time
The outcome we aim for is time. Confidence in the plan buys back weekends, holidays, and whole seasons with the people who matter most.
What We Believe
Our Core Values
These aren't words on a wall — they're the standards we hold ourselves to in every client relationship, every recommendation, and every conversation.
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01
Family First
Every engagement is framed around the people wealth serves — not the wealth itself. Your family's interests come before our revenue and our convenience, every time.
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02
Rooted Where You Are
We're from here, and we stay here. Small-town accessibility — a real office, a real phone number, a familiar face — paired with planning depth that reaches as far as your life does.
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03
Clarity Over Complexity
The financial world is complex enough. Our job is to translate sophisticated strategies into clear, confident decisions you can feel good about.
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04
Proactive, Not Reactive
We don't wait for you to ask. We watch for opportunities and threats year-round — tax law changes, market shifts, life transitions — so your family never misses a critical window.
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05
Stewardship Across Generations
Advice designed to survive handoffs. We help wealth — and the values behind it — move from one generation to the next with intention.
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06
Genuine Partnership
We want to understand your family, your history, your fears, and your aspirations — not just your balance sheet. That depth is what makes truly personal planning possible.
Complimentary Assessment
Is Your Family's Plan
Actually Holding Together?
Six quick questions. Two minutes. A candid read on where your family's plan is strong — and where the gaps usually hide.
Start the Conversation
The Right Fit Matters.
Let's Find Out Together.
We start with a relaxed, no-obligation conversation — focused entirely on you. No pitch, no pressure.