Chris Hardy
CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, EA, AIF®
Paramount Investment Advisors
Financial Planner and Wealth Advisor
Chris Hardy
CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, EA, AIF®
Paramount Investment Advisors
Financial Planner and Wealth Advisor
As a fee-only financial planner, my focus is to offer unbiased financial advice to help you achieve your life goals. - Chris Hardy, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU®, EA, AIF®
NAPFA Registered, Fee-Only Financial Planner located in Buford, GA and Serving the Greater Atlanta, Alpharetta, Cumming, Suwanee, Johns Creek and Roswell Area
Chris Hardy is a Buford, GA fee-only financial planner. Paramount Investment Advisors provides comprehensive and objective financial planning and investment analysis and management to help clients organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Chris Hardy is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
Chris Hardy is a Fee Only Financial planner in Suwanee, GA. Chris Hardy is a NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor.
I am a Fee-Only financial advisor that proudly acts as a Fiduciary for my clients. This means I have a legal obligation to put clients interests far before my own in all recommendations I make.
Each client receives a custom holistic financial plan geared towards their unique financial goals and objectives. These plans are built around life events such as retirement, wealth transfer, business succession planning, death, divorce and asset protection. While most advisors are "investment centric," I focus on the comprehensive financial picture. The reason: What good is accomplished by inconsistently squeezing out 1% better return when there are greater tax consequences, fees in excess of that 1% and larger risk exposure?
I communicate regularly with clients via technology (email is my preferred communication medium). My experience is that it is very, very difficult for financial advisors and investment managers to actually perform their job if they are on the phone or in meetings all day, every day. As such I block one week of each month just for doing meetings with clients and use the other 3 weeks each month for managing assets and doing research for client benefit.
I visit with each client twice per year and provide unlimited email support between meetings. Under this arrangement we use web conferencing, phone, and email to regularly communicate.
Chris Hardy is a Member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors - highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
NAPFA members live by three important values:
- To be the beacon for independent, objective financial advice for individuals and families.
- To be the champion of financial services delivered in the public interest.
- To be the standard bearer for the emerging profession of financial planning.
Goals Focused Strategy
The portfolios we create specifically for our clients are designed to help investors focus their attention on goals and the realization of these goals rather than on arbitrary performance values. We offer a full range of asset class strategies that help you build a balanced portfolio that is designed to maximize return and minimize risk, while also addressing your preferences and ultimate outcomes.
A fundamental part of our portfolio development process involves the application of behavioral finance. This Nobel Prize-winning field is dedicated to understanding and explaining how emotions influence investor behavior. Applying behavioral finance to the investment process helps us develop a detailed profile of your preferences and allocate your portfolio accordingly. The result is a customized portfolio guided by your distinct attitudes and aspirations.
Driving Principles
Every person is unique and deserves a plan that is specifically tailored to their needs. While keeping with an individual plan, we have several principles that guide us:
1. Effectively diversifying the portfolio into asset classes that do not correlate is the greatest determinant of performance.
2. Attempting to time the market proves destructive to the portfolio.
3. Global investing provides increased returns and lowers risk as opposed to a solely domestic portfolio.
4. Reducing taxes and expenses enhances performance.
5. Portfolios with lower volatility outperform portfolios with higher volatility and the same historical returns.
6. Design individual portfolios that maximize the return for a specified amount of risk.
7. Active management proves most effective to market segments that are inefficient.
All portfolios are uniquely tailored to meet our client's long-term financial objectives. As your needs change, so will your portfolio.
It is easy to navigate investment waters when everything is going up. But what is your guide when the waters get rough?
Fee-Only, Fiduciary, Independent: Three Important Criteria to Consider When Choosing a Financial Advisor.
Specialties
- Comprehensive Financial Planning
- Retirement Income Planning
- Investment Management
- College Education Planning
- Tax Planning
Ideal Clients
- Retirees and Near Retirees
- Growing Families
- Business Owners and Executives
- Sudden Money Situations
- Novice Investors
Working Together
- In-Office Meetings
- Virtual Meetings
- Clearly Defined Fees
- No Product Sales
- Complimentary Initial Consultation
Professional Designations & Affiliations
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Chris Hardy is a NAPFA-Registered Financial AdvisorThe National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) is a leading professional association of Fee-Only financial advisors—highly trained professionals who are committed to working in the best interests of those they serve.
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Chris Hardy is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional - Click for VerificationCFP® professionals are held to strict ethical standards to ensure financial planning recommendations are in your best interest. What’s more, a CFP® professional must acquire several years of experience related to delivering financial planning services to clients and pass the comprehensive CFP® Certification Exam before they can use the CFP® designation.
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Chris Hardy is a member of The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®)FPA® is the largest membership organization for CFP® professionals in the U.S. and supports high standards of professional competence, ethical conduct, and clear, complete disclosure when serving clients.
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Chris Hardy is an Enrolled Agent with the IRS (Learn More)An enrolled agent is a federally authorized tax practitioner empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service. Enrolled agent status is the highest credential awarded by the IRS.
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Chris Hardy is a Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®)Chartered Financial Consultant® designations are granted upon completion of seven required courses and two elective courses. Those who earn the designation are understood to be knowledgeable in financial matters and to have the ability to provide sound advice.
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Chris Hardy is a Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®)A Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) is a professional designation for individuals specializing in life insurance and estate planning. Individuals must complete five core courses and three elective courses, and successfully pass all eight two-hour, 100-question examinations in order to receive the CLU® designation.
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Chris Hardy is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF)Accredited Investment Fiduciary® (AIF®) training empowers investment professionals with the fiduciary knowledge and tools they need to serve their clients’ best interests. Advisors who have earned the Accredited Investment Fiduciary designation have gone through training, met the qualifications, and passed the exam allowing use of the AIF designation and they are immediately able to demonstrate the added value that they can bring to both existing and prospective clients.
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Chris Hardy is a Member of The National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA)Enrolled Agents (EAs) are America's Tax Experts®. EAs are the only federally licensed tax preparers who also have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS. “Enrolled” means to be licensed to practice by the federal government, and “agent” means authorized to appear in the place of the taxpayer at the IRS. Only enrolled agents, attorneys, and CPAs have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS.
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Chris Hardy is a Fellow of NAEA’s National Tax Practice Institute™ (NTPI®)
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Chris Hardy is Mentioned in CPA Practice Advisor: "National Association of Enrolled Agents Installs 2019-2020 Board of Directors"
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Chris Hardy is Quoted on Business Wire: "Tax Talk Today Features IRS and Tax Pros Presenting, “Depreciation and Amortization: It’s Only a Matter of Time”"
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Chris Hardy Contributes to Woven Capital : "How a Financial Advisor Can Make Your Life Better"
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Chris Hardy is Managing Director of Paramount Tax and Accounting
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Chris Hardy is Quoted in MarketWatch: "I'm a 39-year-old single dad with $600,000 save. I want to retire at 50 but don't know what I should do?"
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Chris Hardy is Quoted on TurboTax Blog: "Good Deeds Gone Bad: Getting a Tax Break for That Loan Your Nephew Never Paid Back"
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Chris Hardy is Quoted on CNN Money: "11 tax deductions and other ways to cut your 2017 tax bill"
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Chris Hardy is Quoted on Yahoo Finance: "The Best and Worst Ways to Spend Your Tax Refund"
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Chris Hardy is Quoted in Financial Advisor Magazine: "Advisors Scrutinizing Fiduciary Standards Of Mutual Funds"
Contact Chris Hardy
Office Locations:
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4315 S Lee Street
Suite 400
Buford, GA 30518 -
410 Peachtree Parkway
Suite 4245
Cumming, GA 30041
