Responsible Investing Experts Here to Help You!
Our experienced team is here to help you make the transition to a fossil-fuel free, sustainable, responsible, and impact investment portfolio. For the last fifteen years, we have walked our clients through the process of divesting from polluting and irresponsible companies and reinvesting in more solutions-based, progressive, and forward-thinking alternatives.
Let us be your guide as you take control of your inheritance or trust, plan for a fulfilling retirement, craft your charitable gifting plan or get ready for that year traveling through Europe. We are uniquely qualified to both help you with your core financial decisions AND your desire to invest in a more sustainable way.
Whether you prefer to do a “coffee meeting” video conference from Portland, a phone call from Boston, or an in-person meeting in our downtown Asheville office, we’re honored and excited to help you align your investments with your values!
Earth Equity Advisors By The Numbers
$175,000,000+
assets managed as of September 1, 2021
22
states our clients call home
1
office located in beautiful Asheville, NC
“I switched my entire portfolio 10 years ago after researching many socially conscious investors. Pete Krull and the whole team at Earth Equity not only invested the way and direction I wanted to go but I have also done very well with them .. I would highly recommend this company and I have been investing for years” – Jeri D
This testimonial was provided by a current client on July 24, 2019. The client was not compensated, nor are there material conflicts of interest that would affect the given testimony. The testimony may not be representative of the experience of other current clients and does not provide a guarantee of future performance success or similar services.
Meet Your Team of Sustainable, Responsible, and Impact Investing Experts
Peter Krull, CSRIC®
Founder, CEO and Director of Investments
Pete Krull focuses on creating and managing Earth Equity’s sustainable, responsible and impact investment portfolios as well as writing thought leadership pieces and sharing the responsible investing story.
Read More About Pete
Pete Krull is a well-known leader in the green business community and a long-time advocate for fossil-fuel-free and sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing.
He started out his investment career at Merrill Lynch in 1998 where he honed his investment management skills and earned the firm’s Certified Financial Manager designation. He also guided his clients through the dot-com bubble and recovery.
In 2004, he hung up his shingle as Krull & Company and began the journey as a conscious entrepreneur. From the beginning, he knew that his firm would focus on responsible investing and coined the phrase, “helping you align your investments with your values.” In 2017, Krull & Company became Earth Equity Advisors.
Over the years, he has made an impact on his clients, colleagues, and communities. He was the Chair of the Asheville-based environmental non-profit MountainTrue during its recent expansion. He has guided Earth Equity Advisors’ rapid growth as well as the firm’s rise to prominence as a five-time Best for the World Certified B Corporation.
He was selected to the 2018 Investopedia 100 list of the one hundred most influential financial advisors in America and was one of the first individuals to earn the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation from the College for Financial Planning. In 2021, Pete was featured by The Collider among the Faces of Climate City, which highlights Asheville residents who are working in the Climate industry. He was also recognized on Real Leaders’ list of 70 Environmental Leaders You Should Know and was selected among the LUMINARIES Class of 2021 by ThinkAdvisor in the category of Thought Leadership.
He is a contributor to both Forbes and Kiplinger and has been quoted in The New York Times, Money Magazine, The Washington Post, Forbes, Investors Business Daily, US News & World Report, MarketWatch, Investment News, Wealth Management, RIA Intel, and several local publications. He has written a column for Valley Business FRONT in Roanoke, Virginia, and Mountain Xpress in Asheville as well as being featured in numerous podcasts, magazines, and online articles.
His responsibilities at Earth Equity Advisors include setting the overall vision and direction of the firm as well as managing all of the firm’s sustainable, responsible, and impact portfolios. He also coordinates the firm’s marketing activities and works closely with the team to improve operations and processes.
A native of Western New York, he lives in Asheville, NC with his wife, Dr. Melissa Booth, a microbiologist, author, and the founder of The Science Communicator and a very spoiled cat, Savannah. He is a serious amateur photographer, lover of world travel, and a huge fan of the Buffalo Sabres. They live in a solar-powered house and he drives a Chevy Bolt electric car.
Neill Yelverton, MBA, CSRIC®
President, Chief Compliance Officer and Financial Advisor
Neill Yelverton, Asheville financial advisor, is the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. He is currently accepting select new clients.
Read More About Neill
Neill takes pride in helping families transition to a responsible investment portfolio. He specializes in NC retirement and can help clients navigate Social Security requirements. In addition, he finds his work with non-profits, especially those that have a social or environmental mission, very rewarding. He believes that by aligning the institution’s endowment or investments with its mission, it multiplies the impact of the institution. He works as an advocate for your mission and your finances.
“The realization that we vote, every single day, by the way we spend our dollars. Our spending fuels a giant economic engine from jobs, to logistics, to materials sourcing – what we buy affects the environment and touches hundreds of lives. And the flip side of that coin is — how we invest our retirement dollars has the same impact.” –Neill Yelverton
Prior to joining Earth Equity Advisors, Neill spent over a decade working in the environmental field. He completed his MBA at Western Carolina University with an independent study in Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability in Business.
A native of North Carolina, Neill lives in Weaverville with his wife, Cori, and their son, Ben.
Kerry Keihn, CSRIC®, ABFP℠
Chief Operating Officer and Financial Advisor
Kerry Keihn is a financial advisor and director of operations in Asheville. She is currently accepting select new clients.
Read More About Kerry
Drawn to our goal of empowering investors, Kerry Keihn loves helping people evoke the positive change they want to see in the world. By aligning clients’ wealth with their values, Kerry helps them understand how their money can make a bigger impact and craft a legacy they’ll be proud of for years to come.
Due in part to several years of social work, Kerry is passionate about how much behavioral and emotional factors play into financial decisions. Now a financial advisor and director of client services and operations, Kerry continued her education by earning the Accredited Behavioral Finance Professional (ABFPSM) designation – the first advisor-focused behavioral finance designation from an accredited college or university. Forever passionate about helping clients look inward to move forward, she leans on that background often as she helps her clients logically navigate investment decisions.
Building on her University of Virginia education and further distinguishing herself and her expertise in this new world where competitors all too often greenwash and mislead potential SRI clients, Kerry earned the Chartered SRI Counselor (CSRICTM) Designation. With this certifications, you can be confident in Kerry’s ability to help you make the impact you want.
A strong believer that “we’re all in this together” and knowing community is where that starts, Kerry is a graduate of the Leadership Asheville Program and is active with several local nonprofits. She serves as the chair of the Asheville Ten Thousand Villages board and she volunteers with Pisgah Legal Services on their development committee. Leesa Sluder and Kerry have also co-founded 100+ Women Who Care Asheville – a local giving circle that supports charities in Western North Carolina.
When she’s not helping clients or her community, Kerry can be found attempting home improvements with her partner, Tyler, at their home just outside of Asheville. She can also be found gardening, meditating, or doing yoga while her two dogs and one cat try to “help.” Also a huge fan of the theater, Kerry enjoys everything from attending to acting, directing, and even designing entire productions. She loves tackling a new project and any and all opportunities to learn.
Leesa Childress Sluder, MA, CSRIC®
Senior Financial Advisor
Leesa Childress Sluder, Asheville financial advisor, is currently accepting select new clients.
Read More About Leesa
Leesa has an extensive background in working with Fortune 500 executives, professionals, and small business owners. She joined Earth Equity Advisors in 2015 after serving as president and principal consultant of Triple Bottom Line Consulting. Prior to TBL, she spent time working for three major corporations: Citibank, Cone Mills Corporation, and Bank of America, among other things, as a Managing Director/Senior Vice President.
In her role with Earth Equity Advisors, Leesa draws upon the experience of over twenty-five years of corporate finance work, her Masters of Psychology degree, and seven years of professional consulting and coaching work with hundreds of clients. She helps clients to not only plan and invest, but to empower them to be positive changemakers through their investments. She strongly believes in the power of intentional investing and the impact it can have on the world.
Leesa has earned the Chartered SRI Counselor™ designation from the College for Financial Planning and has been quoted in industry-leading publications, such as Barron’s and MarketWatch. She also co-founded, with Kerry, 100+ Women Who Care Asheville – a local giving circle that supports charities in Western North Carolina.
Leesa and husband Todd are Asheville natives, and have returned to the area to live in and restore Todd’s historic childhood home in the Chunns Cove area.
Rebecca Smith
Client Service Associate
Rebecca Smith is the client service associate helping all Earth Equity clients with account openings, contributions and distributions, website access, etc.
Read More About Rebecca
Rebecca Smith graduated with a degree in International Relations from the University of North Georgia, where she spent a semester studying abroad in Beijing. She is a self-described huge lover of animals and enjoys learning about incredible places around the world and cultures different from her own. Rebecca was drawn to Earth Equity Advisors because she wanted to work for a company with a mission she was passionate about. She has an extensive customer service background, and is excited to use her expertise to support Earth Equity’s clients. Rebecca lives in Weaverville.
Our Core Values
Integrity
Passion
Impact
Responsibility
Gratitude
Our Vision
Sustainable, responsible, and impact investing for all.
Our Mission
is to empower sustainable, responsible, and impact investing across generations and communities to amplify financial impact and nurture positive change.
Our History
Changemakers in Fossil-Fuel Free Investing
2004
Pete Krull had a vision: give investors an opportunity to invest with their values. He opened the doors of his new firm, Krull & Company, in Roanoke, VA.
2005-2015
As Krull & Company grew year after year, the firm’s clientele expanded beyond North Carolina and became nationally recognized through its B Corp certification for outstanding service to clients and the community.
2010
Krull & Company’s responsible investment strategy is selected as a case study for the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investing 2010 Report on Progress.
2011
Krull & Company’s central office was moved to Asheville, North Carolina.
2016-2017
In January of 2017, Krull & Company, now a nationally-recognized firm, rebranded to become Earth Equity Advisors. Now more than one man’s vision, the rebrand encompasses the firm’s commitment to the universal principle that all people deserve the ability to invest in a way that’s true to their deepest values. After receiving the “‘Best for the World”’ award from B The Change in 2016, they continued receiving acclaim with the “‘Best for Community”’ and “‘Best for Customers”’ awards in 2017.
2018
Pete was honored to be included in the “Investopedia 100 List,” recognizing him as one of the 100 most influential financial advisors in America.
2019
Continuing as a Certified B Corporation in 2019, they received the “Best for the World” award, for the fourth year in a row.
2021
Earth Equity Recognized in top 150 Impact Companies in the World.
Earth Equity Founder and CEO, Peter Krull, featured among Faces of Climate City and recognized on list of 70 Environmental Leaders You Should Know alongside environmental champions such as Sir David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, Greta Thunberg, Robert Redford, and Jane Fonda.
Peter became an approved ongoing content contributor for Forbes and Kiplinger.
Today
Earth Equity now serves clients in 22 states. As leaders in their community, Earth Equity offers an annual evening talk series that brings in sustainability thought leaders and authors from companies like Patagonia, The Atlanta Hawks, The James Beard Foundation, CNN, Green Century, and Cradle to Cradle Institute.
