Next Step Financial Transitions

Tessa Elrod is a CFP® professional with 14 years of industry experience, currently serving at Next Step Financial Transitions since 2020. She previously worked at Strategic Financial Advisors and Proequities Inc between 2014 and 2020. Outside of her advisory role, she is the owner of Next Step Divorce Solutions, LLC, where she acts as a financial expert to assist couples in understanding equitable divorce settlements, and she also operates a sole proprietorship designing products for sale on Amazon. Next Step Financial Transitions provides investment management and financial planning services to individual and high-net-worth clients, offering both project-based plans and subscription-style comprehensive planning. The firm’s investment approach integrates fundamental, technical, charting, and cyclical analysis with Modern Portfolio Theory to develop personalized portfolios and manages accounts on both discretionary and non-discretionary bases.

I am Lance Elrod – co-owner of Next Step Financial Transitions. I believe that most financial planning concepts have become overcomplicated; my goal is to declassify these concepts into conversational terms and educate you enough so that you understand and feel comfortable with any decision you make. We founded our firm with a focus on helping families navigate financial transitions, no matter the stage of life. Most traditional advisors like to focus solely on your investments, we do things a little differently by taking a holistic approach to financial planning. This means the first thing we do is get to know you – your values, your goals, and your personality. It is not until we fully know you as an individual or family that we can begin to build out your financial plan to serve as a roadmap for your future, because you can’t take your next step until you know where you are going. I hold a BS in Personal Financial Planning from Texas Tech University and am a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner. Like many new graduates, I began the early part of my career trying to discover my place and passion within my industry. During that time, I worked short stints with United Capital Private Wealth Counseling, which now comes under Goldman Sachs Personal Financial Management Umbrella, and May and Barnhard, P.C., which recently changed their name to Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, P.C… Although I enjoyed financial planning, I felt compelled to take a brief detour as a Mud Engineer because Oil & Gas is what you do when you move to Houston, right? In 2015 I rejoined the industry, where I dug into my career and recognized my desire to serve individuals and families in the under-served, early stage of life. Read Lance's blog here: https://nsfinancialtransitions.com/blog/