ABOUT

About Us

We specialize in retirement and advanced tax planning for individuals and couples over age 50. Retirement and tax planning is all we do. 
Over 20 years serving clients.
Founder and Owner
Travis Echols
Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®)
Certified Senior Adviser (CSA®)

Travis Echols is the owner and founder of Echols Financial Services, a financial planning, tax planning, and investment firm for retirees located in Cumming, Georgia. 

Travis’ firm specializes in helping people who are in or near retirement, who are optimistic but cautious, and whose complexity typically involves assets of $500,000 or more.  

Travis has been helping people with their retirement for over 20 years. His careful attention to risk and taxes makes him the perfect fit for conservative-minded people who have saved all their lives so they can retire with confidence and keep more of their hard-earned money from unnecessary taxes. 

Before starting his financial planning career, he was an engineer for Rockwell Missile Systems, Boeing, and ARRIS, having a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering Technology. 

Travis watched his parents work hard, save their money, seek professional financial advice, and retire prior to age 50. Travis and his wife were able to become totally debt free at age 36. These blessings inspired him to want to help others achieve their financial goals. See article "Why I Became a Financial Adviser".

The early days of starting a financial planning business was hard because he built a business from scratch, but through focusing on providing exceptional client service, Travis has been able to build a successful business based on the fiduciary approach. 

Travis began his financial adviser career with American Express Financial Advisers, then moved to Wachovia Securities. In 2004, he started Echols Financial Services, a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA). With the significant growth of the business, in 2022, Travis partnered with JT Stratford (RIA) to continue to provide superior financial planning, tax planning, and investment services with a more fortified client support team. 

Travis holds the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor℠ (CRPC®) designation from the Denver College for Financial Planning, having completed a course of study encompassing pre- and post-retirement needs, asset management, estate planning and the entire retirement planning process using models and techniques from real client situations. All designees have agreed to adhere to Standards of Professional Conduct and are required to renew their designation every two-years by completing 16 hours of continuing education, reaffirming adherence to the Standards of Professional Conduct and complying with self-disclosure requirements. Travis is also enrolled in the College of Financial Planning’s Certified Financial Planner (CFP) program.  

Travis is also a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and a member in good standing with the Society of Certified Senior Advisors (SCSA). SCSA is an international organization that has trained more than 20,000 professionals to meet the changing needs of a growing senior population. As a CSA, Travis participates in continuing education that emphasizes ethical business practices.

Travis is an eighth-generation Forsyth County resident. He lives in Cumming with his wife, Lisa. Travis is a member of First Redeemer Church. He enjoys teaching Christian apologetics and theology and has taught at several churches in the Forsyth County area over the last 30 years. 

Travis holds Black Belts in three styles of Martial Arts and still practices self-defense. His most recent competitive hobby is Pickleball. 

Executive Assistant
Katie Lampl, MBA   
Executive Assistant, Echols Financial Services 

Katie is responsible for assisting and collaborating with Travis on research, preparation for client meetings, new client onboarding, process improvement, and business development of the firm and assisting with special projects. 

Katie's previous experience in the financial industry with JT Stratford makes her the perfect fit for this important role.

Katie graduated from Piedmont University in Demorest, GA with an MBA in 2011 and Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2010. 

Katie currently resides in Gainesville, Georgia, with her husband Daniel, and her two sons, Hudson and Ethan. She is a member of Free Chapel Church in Gainesville, GA. 

In her spare time, Katie enjoys being around her family, traveling, hiking, and being a foodie.
JT Stratford Support Team
J T Stratford (JTS) Wealth Management is one of the premier investment management and financial planning firms in the Southeast.

JTS was founded in 1995 and its home office is in Gainesville, GA. Since its founding in 1995, JTS established a reputation for having a deep knowledge base, a disciplined investment approach, and one of complete trust. 
  • Fiduciary Registered Investment Advisor (RIA)
  • Established in 1995
  • Over $500 million in assets under management
  • Offices in Georgia and North Carolina
  • Over 20 team members in operations, management, and client advisory
JTS provides customer and back-office operational support for Echols Financial Services.  Learn more about the JTS team here.
Our Commitment

As the owner of Echols Financial Services, my goal is to continue to hone my skills as a retirement planning specialist so our firm can help retirees live their ideal life without financial worries or mistakes. Retirement planning is all we do.

Having great technology is very important to our firm; however, it can never substitute for knowledge, skill, and good advice. That is why I am committed to focusing my research on the issues facing retirees and providing them with the best experience possible.

Over the last 18 years, I have read scores of books and articles on retirement planning, tax planning, and investing, so I can deliver maximum value to retirees who want to get it right. I am also a member of a master-mind group of advisers who regularly meet to discuss best practices in the financial planning profession. 
The Rest of Our Team

We have intentionally limited the size of my firm to ensure that every client receives the very highest level of personalized service. Despite our small size, we maintain a network of professionals whose knowledge and experience rivals that of the largest firms. This includes:
  • Accountants
  • Attorneys
  • Stocks and Bonds Research Firms
  • Medicare/Medigap (supplement) Experts
  • Social Security Expert
  • Life Insurance Experts
  • Long-Term Care Experts
  • Mortgage / Banking Experts
  • Other experts behind the scenes (Tyler, Greg, Grace, Andrew, Nathan, and Ruby)

Our primary investment custodian, Charles Schwab, Inc.

With more than 30 years of experience, Charles Schwab has become one of the world’s largest providers of financial services.

We choose to hold our clients' investment and retirement accounts at Schwab because of their:
  • Innovative solutions
  • Low-cost investment options
  • Robust research
  • Industry-leading technology
  • We also value the unparalleled support they provide to make sure we are giving our clients the best possible experience when working with our firm.
Although Echols Financial Services and JT Stratford are independent and we do not work for Schwab (we work for our clients), we do work side-by-side with the service team at Schwab to serve our clients.

Founded in 1971, Charles Schwab Corporation is a leading provider of investment management, retirement planning, portfolio guidance, and many other financial products and services to more than 15,000 independent firms like ours.

“Have peace of mind knowing your money stays with an established institution you can trust.”
Research Affliates
As an independent investment advisory firm, we are not obligated to use specific investment products. Our job as a Fiduciary is to seek out the best solution at the best price for our clients. Research Affiliates is one of the research organizations we use to align clients' investments with their goals. 

Research Affiliates, LLC, is a global leader in smart beta and asset allocation. Dedicated to creating value for investors, they seek to have a profound impact on the global investment community through their insights and products.

Their investment strategies are built on a strong research base and are led by Rob Arnott and Chris Brightman. They  deliver solutions in partnership with some of the world’s leading financial institutions, through their offerings of mutual funds, ETFs, separately managed accounts, and/or commingled accounts.

Research Affiliates was founded in 2002 and is based in Newport Beach, California.

As of June 30, 2019, $184 billion in assets are managed worldwide using investment strategies developed by Research Affiliates.

Dimensional Fund Advisors
As an independent investment advisory firm, we are not obligated to use specific investment products. Our job as a Fiduciary is to seek out the best solution at the best price for our clients.

Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) is one of the solutions that we use.

Decades of financial research have identified dimensions of higher expected returns in the global capital markets. Portfolios can be structured around these dimensions, which are sensible, backed by data, and cost-effective to capture in diversified portfolios.

Dimensional designs and manages strategies to pursue these dimensions for investors around the world.

Founded in 1981, DFA manages $409 Billion for investors worldwide (as of 3/31/2016).


Fiduciary Obligation

Travis Echols is an Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) financial fiduciary held to the highest standard of ethical and professional conduct toward clients.

We place our clients’ best interests first. Therefore, we commit to the following five fiduciary principles:


    We will always put our clients’ best interests first.

    We will act with prudence; that is, with the skill, care, diligence, and good judgment of a professional.

    We will not mislead clients and will provide conspicuous, full and fair disclosure of all important facts.

    We will avoid conflicts of interest when possible.

    We will fully disclose and fairly manage, in our clients’ favor, any unavoidable conflicts of interest if they arise.



In other words, we will treat you with the honesty and integrity that you would expect from someone with whom you are entrusting your retirement. Please print an unsigned copy of this obligation that you can take to any other advisers you are interviewing.

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