Best and Brightest: Henry Batts

Henry Batts

Vice President

Colonial Trust Company

Columbia

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As vice president at Colonial Trust Company, I help families build strong financial foundations and steward their wealth through good times and bad.

For me, wealth management is deeply personal; the most rewarding part of my work is seeing the tangible, positive impact we have on families and the causes dear to them.

My path in finance began at the University of South Carolina, where I earned degrees in finance and marketing (and met my wife, Morgan).

Growing up attending Gamecock football games with my parents, USC was a natural choice, and Columbia has now been my home for over half my life.

Over the last decade, I have honed my expertise across the industry — starting at Morgan Stanley as a client service associate, followed by nearly 10 years as a financial adviser at Janney Montgomery Scott.

Today, I combine this background with the Accredited Wealth Management Advisor (AWMA) and Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor (CTFA) designations to provide the highest level of comprehensive, fiduciary service.

Favorite Quote and Why: "Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." — Theodore Roosevelt. This quote resonates with me as an eloquent version of what my parents aimed to instill in me since childhood.

Definition of a Successful Leader: Successful leaders study history, take initiative, own their mistakes, have the courage to make unpopular decisions, are patient, and put the group before the individual.

Advice to 18-Year-Old Self: You may have occasions where you stumble out of the gate. You have two choices at that point. You can get discouraged and let the poor start infect your attitude moving forward. Or you can remember that it's not how you start, but how you finish.