Independent, social Security optimization financial advisors in Alexandria, VA

The right financial advisor for you depends on how you weigh location, expertise, experience, the clients they typically serve, and how they work with you.

You might seek a Social Security optimization advisor if you're nearing retirement and want to maximize your benefits without risking penalties or reduced payments. A common mistake is claiming benefits too early or without considering spousal and survivor options, which can significantly lower your lifetime income. Independent advisors here operate without firm ties, potentially offering advice free from product sales pressure.

  • Benefit timing strategies. Ask how they determine the best age to claim benefits based on your full work and income history.
  • Spousal and survivor benefits. Confirm they evaluate all Social Security options that could increase household income.
  • Coordination with retirement income. See if they integrate Social Security decisions with your broader retirement cash flow and tax planning.

Here are top matches to get you started. Review each profile to compare experience, credentials, and approach.

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Garry B

Series 65

Alexandria, VA

ProFocus Incorporated

Garry Bishop is a financial advisor at ProFocus Incorporated with one year of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 credential and previously worked for the Department of Defense for 13 years. ProFocus Incorporated serves individual clients, including high-net-worth households, as well as pension plans and business entities, offering fee-based investment advisory and financial planning alongside business management and consulting services. The firm employs a tactical allocation strategy using fundamental analysis and a diverse mix of securities, managing portfolios primarily on a discretionary basis.

Active portfolio management Real estate investing Business Financial Management
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Michael G

Series 63, Series 66

Alexandria, VA

LaSalle St. Investment Advisors, L.L.C.

Michael Graham is a financial advisor with LaSalle St. Investment Advisors, L.L.C., holding Series 63 and Series 66 designations and bringing 35 years of industry experience. He has been with LaSalle St. Securities, L.L.C. since 2003. Outside of his advisory role, Graham operates a sole proprietorship buying and selling collectible coins through online auction sites. LaSalle St. Investment Advisors provides personalized financial planning and investment supervisory services to individuals, trusts, estates, pension and profit-sharing plans, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm offers both non-discretionary and discretionary management programs, incorporating a diverse asset mix including mutual funds, ETFs, equities, fixed income, and options.

Active portfolio management Options & derivatives strategies Executive Founder/Business Owner

Joel P

CFP®, ChFC®, Series 66

Alexandria, VA

Edward Jones

Joel Patierno is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Alexandria, VA, holding CFP®, ChFC®, and Series 66 credentials and having 14 years of industry experience. He has been with Edward Jones since 2013 and previously worked at Merrill in 2012. In addition to his advisory role, Patierno is involved with Girasole LLC, a business he has been associated with since 2012. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, including a wide range of household types and organizations. The firm offers a variety of advisory solutions, including discretionary and non-discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, supported by a large network of financial advisors and branch offices across the country.

General retirement planning Retirement income strategy Retirement withdrawal strategies General estate planning guidance Multi-generational wealth transfer Retired Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Joseph B

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Alexandria, VA

Core Fiduciary Advisors

Joseph Bonaccorsy is a CFP® professional with 24 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has been with Core Advisory, LLC since 2005 and is licensed to sell various insurance products, spending approximately 80% of his time on insurance activities. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses. Core Fiduciary Advisors provides financial planning, investment advisory, and pension consulting services to institutional clients such as small-business retirement plans, corporate pension plans, and charitable organizations. The firm focuses on selecting and monitoring third-party institutional managers and coordinates with other professional advisors for estate, tax, and risk-management planning.

General retirement planning Founder/Business Owner
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Colette K

CFP®, PFS™

Alexandria, VA

Cerity partners LLC

Colette Kolanko is a CFP® and PFS™ with 15 years of experience in financial advisory. She has worked at Cerity Partners LLC since 2023 and previously spent four years at Lumina Financial Consultants and ten years at Sullivan, Bruyette, Speros & Blayney, Inc. Cerity Partners advises a diverse client base including individuals, families, trusts, business entities, and institutional investors, managing approximately $166.2 billion in client assets. The firm offers customized wealth management services, combining quantitative screening and direct security selection with access to alternative and private market solutions.

Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Founder/Business Owner Executive Retired
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Willie M

Series 63, Series 66

Cary, NC

Equitable Advisors

Willie Myles is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016, previously serving at Axa Advisors and MSI Financial Services. Outside of advising, he is a co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for Alpha Light Fund Inc., a nonprofit focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a range of clients including individuals, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations, providing financial planning, retirement consulting, and asset management through a network of representatives and third-party managers. The firm offers various investment vehicles and ERISA fiduciary services, relying on third-party program sponsors and an affiliation with a publicly traded parent company.

Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business exit / sale strategy Concentrated stock management Equity Recipients (RS/RSU, SOP, ESPP) Long-term care insurance Founder/Business Owner Retired Executive Approaching retirement Sandwich Generation
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Stavroula K

Series 63, Series 65

Linwood, NJ

Ameriprise

Stavroula Koutsfetsoulis is a financial advisor at Ameriprise with 25 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Ameriprise and its affiliated entities since 2011. In addition to her advisory role, she is involved in fiduciary activities as an attorney-in-fact (power of attorney). Ameriprise is a large institutional firm that provides retirement-income planning services primarily to individuals with substantial investable assets. The firm combines research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to deliver written recommendation reports through a centralized consulting team, focusing on tailored retirement income strategies.

Retirement income strategy Income planning Social Security optimization Retirement withdrawal strategies Approaching retirement
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Cassandra S

Series 63, Series 65

Plano, TX

Financial & Tax Architects, LLC

Cassandra Sanchez is a financial advisor at Financial & Tax Architects, LLC with seven years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has previously worked at Fisher Investments, TIAA, US Health Advisors, and various other firms. Sanchez also had involvement with Drunken Donkey, reflecting experience outside the financial sector. Financial & Tax Architects provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, focusing on those nearing or in retirement. The firm offers proprietary “Private Wealth Strategies” that use ETFs, individual securities, and trend-aware rebalancing, with accounts reviewed monthly and customizable strategies to meet client needs.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Annuities Income planning General tax planning Retired
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Keith E

CFP®

Pittsburgh, PA

Keith L. Eliou, CFP

Keith Eliou is the principal of Keith L. Eliou, CFP, an investment management firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. He holds the CFP® designation and has one year of experience as a financial advisor. In addition to his advisory role, he practices law focusing on elder law and real estate and is involved in insurance, mortgage lending, and real estate brokerage businesses. The firm primarily serves pooled vehicles and institutional accounts, offering portfolio management, retirement plan services, and financial planning. It utilizes an open-architecture investment approach with third-party money managers and employs multiple analytical methods and strategies, conducting annual account reviews.

Social Security optimization Retirement income strategy Cash flow / budgeting Charitable giving tax strategies Business exit / sale strategy Founder/Business Owner
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Charles P

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

San Rafael, CA

WealthSpire Advisors

Charles Pyfer III is a CFP® professional with 19 years of industry experience, currently serving at Wealthspire Advisors since 2024. Prior to this, he spent 15 years at Private Ocean. Wealthspire Advisors provides wealth management, investment advisory, financial planning, and family office support to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, retirement plans, and nonprofit organizations. The firm employs a relationship-driven, customized investment approach that emphasizes diversified, institutional-style asset allocation and utilizes a range of investment vehicles and third-party platforms for comprehensive portfolio management.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Roth conversion strategy Tax-loss harvesting Private / alternative investments Founder/Business Owner Retired Mid-Career Professionals Established Professionals
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Jared F

Series 65

Huntington Beach, CA

Northwest Asset Management

Jared Fruth is a financial advisor at Northwest Asset Management with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Securities America, Inc., KMS Financial Services, Inc., Oppenheimer Funds, and John Paul Mitchell Systems. Northwest Asset Management is a registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.6 billion for nearly 3,000 clients, including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charities, and corporations. The firm employs a customized, fiduciary approach using Modern Portfolio Theory and strategic asset allocation, combining fundamental and technical analysis to build diversified portfolios with periodic rebalancing.

Retirement income strategy Wealth management Active portfolio management Founder/Business Owner
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Edwina M

Series 65

Cincinnati, OH

Waverly Advisors, LLC

Edwina Martin is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor with two years of industry experience, currently with Waverly Advisors, LLC. She previously worked at 9258 Wealth Management for five years and was employed at Teradata Corp for eleven years. Martin also serves as assistant director of tax planning at 9258 Tax and Planning, a non-investment related business. Waverly Advisors is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing portfolios for individuals, retirement plans, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm combines traditional equity and fixed-income strategies with alternative and private-market allocations, offering a range of investment management and financial planning services.

Private / alternative investments Real estate investing Options & derivatives strategies Tax-loss harvesting Multi-generational wealth transfer Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Craig M

Series 63, Series 65

Columbia, SC

Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC

Craig Mcdaniel Jr. is a financial advisor with Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC in Columbia, SC. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 13 years of industry experience. He has been with Capital Investment Group, Inc. and The McDaniel Corporation since 2012. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in life insurance sales and serves as an independent agent for annuities and related products. Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC provides investment advisory and supervisory services to individuals, retirement plans, corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers customized investment management through discretionary mandates, third-party managers, and private-label model portfolios, using a blend of analytical methods with ongoing portfolio monitoring.

Active portfolio management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Annuities Options & derivatives strategies Founder/Business Owner Retired
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David H

Series 65

Irvine, CA

Martin Wealth Management, LLC

David Hart is a financial advisor with Martin Wealth Management, LLC in Irvine, CA. He holds a Series 65 credential and has 15 years of industry experience. Hart previously worked with Safeguard Investment Advisory Group and LifePro Asset Management. He is also a Certified Financial Fiduciary and volunteers as an instructor with the Foundation for Fiduciary Education, providing unbiased fiduciary financial education to the public. Martin Wealth Management offers investment advisory services primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients by co-advising and directing accounts to a third-party money manager, Matson Money. The firm focuses on client onboarding, documentation, and ongoing review of third-party manager accounts rather than direct asset management.

Medicare planning Annuities
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Sarah C

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Boston, MA

Santander Securities LLC

Sarah Currier Barrella is a CFP® professional with 26 years of experience in financial advisory services. She currently works at Santander Securities LLC and Santander Bank, NA, having previously held positions at TD Bank and Citizens Securities, Inc. Barrella is based in Boston, MA. Santander Securities LLC serves a broad retail client base with approximately $3.14 billion in regulatory assets under management across 10,800 client relationships. The firm offers investment advisory services, portfolio management through wrap-fee programs, and financial planning, operating both as a registered investment adviser and a FINRA-registered broker-dealer.

ESG / Sustainable investing Tax-loss harvesting General retirement planning Income planning Founder/Business Owner
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