South Carolina Business Review

Considering hedge funds to lower taxes when investing

By Mike Switzer

Published April 14, 2026 at 6:30 AM EDT

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With many of our minds on taxes at this time of year, our next guest says after-tax returns on your investments should be top of mind, as well. Mike Switzer interviews Ashton Lawrence, a certified financial planner with Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, SC.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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