Shelby Smith is an Associate for Rutledge Investment Company.

He grew up in Memphis and graduated from Memphis University School in 2009.  Shelby then graduated from Mississippi State University in 2013 with a finance degree.  He returned to Memphis to accept a job as an analyst for First Tennessee Bank in their commercial lending division.  In 2015, he was hired to be the lending and brokerage associate for Rutledge Investment Company.  Shelby is active in all phases of the farm real estate business primarily focusing on loan origination, underwriting, and real estate brokerage.  He is a licensed real estate broker in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas.

Interests

Shelby’s interests include hunting, fishing, dog training, and cooking.  Shelby and his wife, Chelsi, got married in April 2015.

Rebecca Phillips is Chief Appraiser at Rutledge Investment Company and is a State Certified General Appraiser in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri.

Business Career

Upon graduation from the University of Memphis in 2005, Rebecca became an appraisal trainee under Jim Rutledge, MAI.  In 2009, she earned her State Certified General Appraiser license.  She is presently working toward the ARA designation from the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers.

Rebecca is a native Memphian and has family roots in Arkansas cotton farming.

Stephen Rainer is a Vice President of Rutledge Investment Company. He grew up in Memphis in a farm oriented family. After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1987 with a degree in Agricultural Economics and Real Estate, he returned to Memphis.

Business Career

Stephen worked for a Memphis based Cotton Company grading and shipping cotton to textile mills. In 1991, he joined his father at Rainer Farm Mortgage Co., a regional agricultural mortgage banking firm and loan originator for the Prudential Insurance Company of America, Citigroup Investments and several other institutional lenders. Stephen has been employed at Rutledge Investment Company since 2000 when Rainer Farm Mortgage Co. merged with Rutledge Investment Company.

Stephen is active in all phases of the farm real estate business. His primary focus is loan origination, underwriting, consultation and real estate brokerage. He is a licensed real estate broker in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana and has had extensive education in real estate.

Interests

Stephen enjoys hunting, fishing, flying and spending time with his family. He and his wife Debra have two children.

Gwin Smith is President, Owner, and Co-Founder of Rutledge Investment Company. He grew up working in a farm family in Cleveland, Mississippi in the heart of the Mississippi Delta.

Business Career

Since graduating from Mississippi State University in 1985 with a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, he has lived in Memphis and worked in the agricultural real estate business. Starting out as a real estate appraiser in 1985, he and Jim Rutledge cofounded Rutledge Investment Company in 1989 as a regional agricultural mortgage banking firm that also originates and services loans throughout the Mid-South.

Gwin is active in all phases of the farm real estate business. His primary focus is loan origination and real estate brokerage. As a licensed real estate agent and has had extensive education in real estate and real estate appraisal. He has farming interests in Bolivar, Tunica and Yalobusha Counties, Mississippi and Cross and Crittenden County, Arkansas.

Interests

With his wife Crissy and their three children, the family enjoys hunting, fishing, and the outdoors. Crissy is a residential real estate agent and their family leads an active life in Memphis.