Want to feel confident in your ability to navigate retirement and prepared to begin your journey?
Click to enroll in our free Retirement Basecamp™ online course today.

Chris Merchant

President, CFP® BFA® MBA

Let’s prepare for your journey into retirement…

My name is Chris. Across the nation, individuals like you may hire me and my firm to prepare and support their retirements. I help you map out the journey designed to help you enjoy one of the greatest chapters of your life–retirement. 

My formal background includes an MBA with degrees in finance and economics. I hold both CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Behavioral Financial Advisor™ designations and uphold a fiduciary standard. I was awarded The Women’s Choice Award® in 2019 and 2020 for my work with women in investing, and I’m the bestselling author of On Investing Well: The Elements of Good Investing. 

Most importantly, my true education and experience come from directly working with a variety of individuals just like YOU.

Having supported Fortune 500 leaders, entrepreneurs, pilots, nurses, rocket scientists–everyone from professional athletes to primary educators succeed in their retirements, I believe I’m uniquely qualified to help YOU do the same.  I’ve worked with hundreds of different employer-sponsored plans including 401(k)s, TSPs, 403(b)s, 457s and Defined Pensions. I’d love for you to join our community of diverse retirees!

If you are in a place of frustration or confusion and are ready to evolve into a place of clarity and direction, please reach out. Your retirement years are so much more than preserving your money for old age. We’ll also use your available resources, plans for the future and unique opportunities to create a personalized path to retirement. It will provide you with the confidence to enjoy life without sacrificing your future security.

Our goal after working together is that you will feel clear and certain about your retirement. You’ll have a secure and stable foundation so you can enjoy the freedom you’ve earned through a life of hard work and preparation.

# MEET HOLLI

MEET HEATHER $

I’m the son of a land surveyor.

When I was growing up, my father was a professional cartographer and land surveyor. I would often help him survey. Together, we’d go out into uncharted lands, explore, measure and map.

I always found it gratifying to complete a survey project and deliver a sense of order and direction to a client. What had once been an unmapped 100-acre parcel of wild wood now made sense. The property corners were clearly marked, the boundaries known and important landmarks identified – always with great precision! Our data would provide guidance and the necessary information for other’s to make informed decisions. 

Why am I talking about surveying and how does this relate to your retirement? Well, I actually see many parallels in what we do for people at Hunt Country Wealth Management. We also help people map out their futures. We provide them with information so they can make important financial decisions with confidence.

We create order and help them make sense of uncertainty. We share our extensive financial knowledge and leverage our experience to get them where they want to go. We help them avoid pitfalls and dangers along the way. The average Financial Advisor doesn’t see the adventure in helping people achieve their financial futures. But we see your future like that precise and expertly-curated map my dad helped to create. 

Behavioral Finance

As a certified Behavioral Financial Advisor™, I recognize that successful investing isn’t just about following traditional financial principles. It involves managing the hardwired intricacies of the human brain. Humans are not computers, and we sometimes act outside of our best interest and make knee-jerk reactions based on emotional responses (including fear, greed, FOMO, bias). The average person underperforms the S&P 500 or Barclays Bond Index over any given time frame – not because of poor investment selections, but because of poor investment decisions. Our behavioral coaching is designed to help you enhance your thinking and decipher real threats to your long-term plan from flash-in-the-pan news stories and tabloid-selling headlines.

You don’t wander around and find yourself at the top of Mount Everest.

Preparation is key to a successful journey. The world’s most notable explorers have all taught us something about planning.

Momentous journeys (Think: Apollo 11’s 1969 Moon Landing!) inspired us all to put in the hard work.  Notorious disasters have shown us the grave risks posed by faulty preparation and poor leadership. The journey into retirement is no different. Having a plan, knowing what to expect and being prepared for the things you can’t control play an important role in your success.

It’s not just about what you need. What you want matters.

 

Fearing the unknown may cause people to think with a scarcity mindset. Fear creates an impulse to seek security and to play it small. It may lead to making poor decisions. We believe enjoying life in retirement is just as important as providing for the essentials.

Don’t be afraid to live a big life (whatever that means to you). With our financial plan behind you, there is no need to make rationalizations or excuses for settling. Life is an adventure.

Go and live it!

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”

 

– Henry David Thoreau

Our Services

 

Let’s help you navigate the road ahead…

The Sovereign Series™ Retirement Plan is our signature planning service that will show you how to retire. Our guided step-by-step framework is easy to follow and provides a written financial plan that outlines the best use of your resources and a path to produce reliable income. Gain clarity of direction and a stable foundation to experience the freedom of a well-planned retirement. 

This service was designed for those who want to...

  • Feel confident and prepared for retirement
  • Know the amount/regularity of income your resources can produce 
  • Have control over your financial future and clarity of direction. 

Guided Investing™ is our comprehensive investment management service. It was designed to help you create a master plan for your finances and offer a strategy to help you optimize and preserve your resources. This process starts with defining your why. It can be applied to investors who are saving for retirement, building wealth, wanting to manage risk or all of the above.

This service was designed for those who want to...

  • Feel more confident in their investment decisions 
  • Design a strategy to reach planned financial milestones such as retirement 
  • Collaborate with an professional to manage risk and monitor performance

The 90-Minute Strategy Session is a 1:1 session with Chris Merchant, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. Sometimes you just want to talk to a professional. Whether you want to tap into a broader understanding of a financial topic such as How to Prepare for Retirement or you seek a second opinion on your investment strategy, this session is a great time to discuss the financial considerations on your mind.

This service was designed for those who want to...

  • Feel confident and prepared for retirement
  • Know the amount/regularity of income your resources can produce 
  • Feel supported and reinforced working with a Retirement Income Professional
We believe retirement should free you. It all starts with a plan.

Have Questions? Schedule 15-Minute Discovery Call™

Media Bio, Chris Merchant CFP®

Chris Merchant is a financial professional specializing in advanced planning strategies for Retirement Income. He is the bestselling author of On Investing Well: The Elements of Good Investing Well and President of Hunt Country Wealth Management. Chris is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ and Behavioral Financial Advisor™.

Through his work with hundreds of clients preparing for their journey into retirement, he developed The Prepared Retiree Method™, The Sovereign Series™ Retirement Plan and the Investment Management philosophy and framework Guided Investing™.