Top financial advisors working with young professionals in Sandy Springs, GA

Eda Driver Owen is a financial advisor at COR3 Investment Partners, LLC with three years of industry experience. She holds Series 65 and Series 63 licenses and has worked at Metro Logics since 2024, where she manages finance, accounting, and personnel-related functions. Outside of her advisory role, she is involved in managing a third-party logistics business. COR3 Investment Partners offers discretionary investment management to high-net-worth individuals, family entities, trusts, estates, charitable foundations, corporations, and other registered investment advisers. The firm employs a fundamental, research-driven approach focused on concentrated U.S. small- and mid-cap equities, emphasizing quality and value with multi-year holding periods and downside scenario stress-testing.

Richard Vaughan is a financial advisor with 20 years of industry experience, currently operating at 401K Advisory Group, Inc. in Sandy Springs, GA. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has worked at his current firm since 2009. Prior to that, he spent five years with Domino's Pizza. 401K Advisory Group, Inc. focuses exclusively on advising pension plan sponsors and participants in qualified retirement plans, particularly 401(k) plans and other defined benefit and contribution plans. The firm provides fiduciary guidance and personalized financial-wellness coaching, employing a conservative, fundamental-analysis approach centered on mutual funds and ETFs.

Laura Rosenberg is a financial advisor at Hayes Wealth Advisors, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Hayes Wealth Advisors since 2023. Outside of her advisory role, Rosenberg is an optometrist at The Eye Gallery, an optometry practice she has been associated with since 2012. Hayes Wealth Advisors serves individual clients, retirement plans, and corporate clients by providing comprehensive financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, and consulting services. The firm has a niche focus on advising optometric practices and offers business-valuation and practice appraisal services alongside a primarily passive, ETF- and mutual fund-based investment approach.

Brandis Barnes is a financial advisor at Fidelity with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 designations and has worked at firms including J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Scottrade Inc. Barnes has also been involved in entrepreneurial ventures, owning and managing an online retail store and a short-term rental housing business. Fidelity’s Strategic Advisers LLC provides investment management and advisory services to retail and institutional clients, utilizing a combination of proprietary fundamental research, quantitative analysis, and algorithmic portfolio construction to manage diversified portfolios across mutual funds, ETFs, and ETPs.

Laurie Schaeffer is a financial advisor with Independent Advisor Alliance, LLC, holding Series 65 and Series 66 licenses and possessing 23 years of industry experience. Her prior roles include positions at LPL Financial, Independent Financial Partners, Mass Mutual Investors Services, and MetLife Securities Inc. She is also a commissioned notary in New York. Independent Advisor Alliance serves a diverse client base including individuals, small businesses, charitable organizations, and retirement plans, offering services such as asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm combines a network of independent advisory representatives with technology-driven portfolio management and planning solutions, including access to third-party managers and estate-planning platforms.

Donald Harris is a financial advisor at Beaird Harris with 29 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Beaird Harris Wealth Management, Inc. since 1996, as well as Beaird Harris & Co P.C. since 1989. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a managing officer and trustee for several trusts and management companies. Beaird Harris Wealth Management, LLC is a fee-only, SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension plans, and business entities. The firm employs Modern Portfolio Theory with diversified asset-class exposure primarily through low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and it offers alternative investments and tax-managed strategies.

Katie Strother is a financial advisor with Curi Capital, LLC in Raleigh, NC, holding CFP® and Series 65 credentials and bringing 11 years of industry experience. Her prior experience includes roles at Park Ridge Asset Management and Curi RMB Capital LLC. Outside of her advisory work, she is involved in her community as a nursery room leader at Peace Church and serves as a varsity girls soccer coach at Wilson Christian Academy. Curi Capital is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $11.6 billion in assets and serving individuals, retirement plans, institutions, and family offices. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach using proprietary and third-party strategies across equity and fixed income, and offers a range of services including wealth management and specialized offerings for medical professionals.

Jill Raderstorf is a financial advisor at Aptus Financial, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Hamilton Capital, LLC and Fifth Third Bank. Outside of her advisory role, she serves as an unpaid advisor to Accelerating Angels, a venture investment firm focused on high-growth, women-owned businesses, where she assists with building due diligence processes. Aptus Financial provides flat-fee financial planning and advisory services to individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, and employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans. The firm emphasizes financial planning over discretionary portfolio management, supporting clients with passive, long-term indexing strategies, structured educational programs, and subscription-based ongoing support.

We’re built for families! We focus on bridging generations to connect families and their finances. As Baby Boomers, you created more wealth than any generation before you. Now in your retirement years, the economic expansion that aided your careers doesn’t feel as robust. You worry about your savings lasting a lengthy life expectancy. You also worry that your children and grandchildren will be the first generation to not have it better than the generation before them. Our goal is to solve both problems. Our structure allows us to provide the same great advice whether you have a lifetime of savings or you are just starting out. That means we can work with multiple generations, and where appropriate, find opportunities to coordinate across generations while maintaining privacy and independence. I am a millennial myself with over a decade of experience helping retirees with personal finances. That combination of youth and experience gives me an advantage over many of the advisors out there. My youth, to retirees, means I am likely to be around for the entirety of your retirement. All those plans you made with your advisor, will be executed by the advisor that helped you plan them. If that includes an inheritance, good news because I want to work with your heirs too! To a younger generation, you get an advisor you can relate to who doesn’t treat your problems as less significant because you don’t have the same level of assets. Just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I’m green! I was previously the Practicing Partner of a wealth management firm focused solely on retirees. As the lead portfolio manager, I oversaw almost $500 million in client portfolios. That experience means I’ve guided and advised clients through every stage of a successful retirement. It also means I know what a successful retirement looks like. As I’ve always said, best laid plans begin with the end in mind, so my experience serves just as well early in your journey to financial independence. I started my own firm because I saw an increasing need to reconnect families and their finances. Grandparents are providing child care, children are providing elderly care, and everyone is chipping in to pay for education. As much as ever families need each other, and our program is specifically designed to be prepared when they do.

Michael Grinnell is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has brought a problem-solving approach influenced by his background in Mechanical Engineering, earned from Santa Clara University. Michael concentrates on business development, marketing, and engaging with the next generation of clients. His areas of expertise include education planning, family wealth management strategies, legacy planning, liquidity management, personal retirement planning, portfolio management services, and small business strategies. He holds several professional designations, including Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Outside of work, Michael enjoys a range of outdoor activities such as fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting, music, rock climbing, running, skiing, surfing, and tennis. He is actively involved in the community through organizations like St. Anthony Organization and The Covenant House California.