Independent, social Security optimization financial advisors in Richmond, 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.

If you're approaching Social Security age and want to maximize your benefits, you need an advisor who understands the nuances of claiming strategies. A common mistake is claiming too early or in the wrong sequence, which can reduce your lifetime income.

  • Benefit timing expertise. Look for advisors who explain how delaying or coordinating benefits with your spouse can increase your total payout.
  • Independent advice. Confirm they provide guidance free from product sales incentives that might bias claiming recommendations.
  • Coordination with other income. Ask how they factor in your retirement accounts and pensions to optimize your Social Security claiming age.
  • Local cost-of-living insight. Since Richmond's housing market and income levels affect your retirement budget, check how they incorporate regional factors into their planning.

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

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Kelly S

Series 66

Richmond, VA

Truist Advisory Services

Kelly Spelsberg is a financial advisor at Truist Advisory Services with 11 years of industry experience. She holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Truist Advisory Services and Truist Investment Services since 2021, following a decade at BB&T Securities. Based in Richmond, VA, she serves clients through the enterprise-level firm. Truist Advisory Services provides investment consulting and advisory services to individuals, corporate and business clients, retirement plan sponsors, participants, and charitable organizations. The firm offers asset allocation, investment policy analysis, fiduciary support, and a manager-selection program, utilizing both discretionary and non-discretionary approaches supported by third-party platforms and AI-enabled research tools.

Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Harvey A

Series 65

Richmond, VA

Frontier Financial Partners, LLC

Harvey Abbott is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with 16 years of experience, currently serving at Frontier Financial Partners, LLC since 2010. He is based in Richmond, VA, and works within a four-advisor team. Frontier Financial Partners provides personalized financial planning and investment management to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small businesses. The firm employs a factor-investing, core-and-satellite approach using passive index funds and ETFs as the core, supplemented by active funds or alternatives in satellite positions, with global diversification.

Factor investing / smart beta Income planning Tax-loss harvesting
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Dustin N

CFP®, Series 66

Richmond, VA

Ascent Financial Group

Dustin Newton is a CFP® with nine years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Ascent Financial Group since 2020. His prior roles include positions at LPL Financial, Cetera Advisors, and S&P Global Market Intelligence. Outside of advising, he is a partner in a family real estate rental business. Ascent Financial Group provides comprehensive financial planning and portfolio management primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm applies a mix of fundamental, technical, cyclical, and economic analysis to manage client accounts on a discretionary basis, delivering ongoing planner access and regular portfolio monitoring.

General retirement planning Retirement income strategy College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Founder/Business Owner Executive Approaching retirement
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Melanie L

Series 65

Richmond, VA

integrity Advisory Solutions

Melanie Lee is a financial advisor at Integrity Advisory Solutions with one year of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and also operates Lee Law Office, P.L.L.C., a law practice she has owned since 2007. Outside of her advisory role, she manages a funeral trust service that involves reviewing funeral products with clients. Integrity Advisory Solutions serves a diverse client base including individuals, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and corporate retirement plans. The firm offers portfolio management, financial planning, retirement consulting, and sub-advisory services, utilizing both discretionary and non-discretionary strategies across various asset classes and relying on third-party platforms and managers.

Private / alternative investments Concentrated stock management Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Tyler D

Series 66

Richmond, VA

LPL Financial

Tyler Dove is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Richmond, VA, holding a Series 66 designation and bringing 10 years of industry experience. He previously worked at Cetera Advisors LLC for three years before joining LPL Financial in 2018. LPL Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, retirement plans, banks, credit unions, corporations, and charitable organizations through a national network of investment adviser representatives. The firm offers a range of advisory programs, retirement plan consulting, and brokerage services, utilizing model portfolios, third-party subadvisors, and advanced technologies to support diversified investment strategies.

College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.)
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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 and previously at AXA Advisors, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for the nonprofit Alpha Light Fund Inc., focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individual, high-net-worth, retirement plan, corporate, charitable, and institutional clients, offering financial planning, broker-dealer services, insurance distribution, and access to third-party asset management programs. The firm operates as both an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer, leveraging LPL-sponsored programs and endorsed TAMPs to deliver advisory and brokerage solutions.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Founder/Business Owner Retired Executive Approaching retirement Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964)
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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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