Michelle Kruger
Ph.D., CFP®
Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group, LLC
Senior Wealth Advisor
Michelle Kruger
Ph.D., CFP®
Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group, LLC
Senior Wealth Advisor
As a fee-only financial planner, I always put my clients’ best interests first. By focusing on your goals and personal values, we’ll build a customized financial plan that helps you live the life you’ve dreamed. - Michelle Kruger, Ph.D., CFP®
Let’s build the future that matters most to you. Serving clients locally and across the country.
Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group is an independent fee-only financial planning and investment management firm with offices in Atlanta; Athens, Georgia; Charleston, South Carolina; and Naples, Florida. Helping clients navigate their financial future is a responsibility we take seriously. And it’s an opportunity we cherish deeply.
As a fee-only firm and legal fiduciary, we are solely devoted to our clients’ success. That means our clients will always get objective, unbiased, and evidence-based financial advice centered around their best interests.
Elwood & Goetz specializes in personalized and comprehensive financial planning, retirement planning, investment management, and tax planning to help clients organize, grow, and protect their assets through life’s transitions. We do all the heavy lifting and day-to-day optimizations to manage your financial life — so you don’t have to.
We are grateful to now serve more than 450 families across 35 states, and we’re proud to have an annual client retention rate above 99%.
Michelle Kruger completed her Ph.D. with a concentration in Financial Planning at The University of Georgia after graduating magna cum laude with a B.B.A. in Finance from the Terry College of Business. Michelle started as a Financial Planning Intern at Elwood & Goetz in 2015 and continued to work part-time as a Financial Planning Analyst during her graduate studies.
Prior to joining Elwood & Goetz full-time, Michelle worked as an Assistant Professor of Finance at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. Michelle has taught a variety of finance and personal finance courses at Loras College and the University of Georgia. Her favorite courses to teach include Investments and Personal Finance as well as courses with an emphasis on responsible corporate behavior and economic justice.
During her time at UGA, she served as a financial counselor and supervised undergraduate student financial counselors at the ASPIRE Clinic, an interdisciplinary teaching and research facility, applying marriage and family therapy theories and techniques to her work with financial clients. Michelle has also served as a site coordinator with UGA’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, supervising undergraduate students in preparing tax returns for members of the Athens community.
Michelle’s research has been published in academic journals such as the Journal of Financial Planning, Journal of Financial Therapy, and Financial Services Review. Her research publications have focused on topics such as the financial satisfaction and financial management practices of couples, risk tolerance, and behaviors associated with building wealth.
Michelle was born in Cape Town, South Africa and lived in London, England prior to starting high school in the United States. When she is not in the office, Michelle enjoys spending time with her husband, two cats, and her 115lb Great Pyrenees.
Education + Credentials
- University of Georgia
- Doctor of Philosophy - Financial Planning
- Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance
- CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional
Activities. Affiliations. Accolades.
- Member, National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
At Elwood & Goetz, our comprehensive and personalized financial advice is always centered around our clients’ unique situation, needs, and goals. We value our independence and fiduciary duty. That means you will always get objective, unbiased, and evidence-based advice. Plus, our 100% fee-only structure helps ensure that our success is only measured by your success.
As one of the most educated, trusted, and credentialed advisory teams in the country, we prioritize quality, effective, and responsive client service. We started with just one client and the promise to show up every day to deliver our very best work. And even as we’ve grown, we’ve held closely to this mission.
To maximize the value of our process and comprehensive management services, we are best suited to serve clients with at least $1,000,000 in investable assets who are ready to delegate all of their financial planning and investment management.
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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Michelle Kruger 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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Michelle Kruger 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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Elwood & Goetz Wealth Advisory Group, LLC is an Approved Dimensional Funds AdvisorDimensional believes an advisor can work closely with you to understand your financial needs and provide a range of wealth management services, while encouraging the discipline essential to long-term investment success. Financial advisors who work with Dimensional operate independently from Dimensional and vary in the extent to which they use Dimensional funds.
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Michelle Kruger is Featured in Athens CEO: "Elwood & Goetz Adds Dr. Michelle Kruger as Financial Planner"
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Michelle Kruger Volunteers as a Site Coordinator with the UGA Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program
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Michelle Kruger was a Speaker for the Academy of Financial Services
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Michelle Kruger Co-Authored The Case Approach to Financial Planning: Bridging the Gap between Theory and Practice, Fourth Edition
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Michelle Kruger Contributed to the Journal of Wealth Management: "Do as I Say, Not as I Do: An Analysis of Portfolio Development Recommendations Made by Financial Advisors"
Contact Michelle Kruger
Office Locations:
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687 S. Milledge Avenue
Athens, GA 30605 -
490 Brasfield Square
Atlanta, GA 30316 -
656 Ellis Oak Ave
Suite 114
Charleston, SC 29412
