Cannon Financial Strategists

What Cannon Financial Strategists does

Cannon Financial Strategists, Inc. is a fee-based Registered Investment Advisor founded in 1984 and headquartered in Athens, Georgia, with a secondary office in Albany. The firm serves two principal customer segments: employer retirement plan sponsors (401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans, ranging from small medical practices to a 2,000-employee hospital) and individuals/families seeking retirement planning and wealth management. Core products include plan-level consulting, compliance and administration, participant education and advice, retirement planning, asset management, and tax services, supported by ShareFile-based client and Caseware Cloud tax portals.

The firm's investment approach is built on Modern Portfolio Theory, emphasizing low-cost, tax-efficient index fund allocation and behavioral coaching, and the firm accepts ERISA 3(38) and 3(21) fiduciary responsibility to consolidate roles typically spread across multiple providers. The business model is subscription-recurring fee-based advisory, with transparent pricing stated to be below industry averages; specific fee schedules are not publicly disclosed. The firm distributes through direct advisor-to-client relationships with on-site plan sponsor presentations and individual counseling, supported by content marketing (articles and case studies) and organic search.

Cannon is a privately held, founder-influenced firm (Hamp Williams, Founder; Kelly Dixon, CEO; Jeff Young, CIO; Chris Euell, COO) with 30+ team members, average employee tenure of 16+ years, and average client tenure exceeding 20 years. There are no disclosed funding rounds, M&A activity, or institutional investors, and the firm's footprint is regional (Southeast US) with no claims of global operations.

Name

Cannon Financial Strategists

Legal name

Cannon Financial Strategists, Inc.

Website

https://cannonfinancialstrategists.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cannon Financial Strategists is a fee-based RIA in Georgia providing employer retirement plan services and individual wealth management, built on Modern Portfolio Theory-based asset allocation, ERISA fiduciary acceptance, and bundled plan consulting, compliance, and participant education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investment Advisory Services

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (52394)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Retirement & Distribution Planning RIAs (401(k)/IRA/Pension Rollovers) (FSAAACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Retirement Plan Advisory RIAs (ERISA 401(k)/403(b)) (FSAAACAF), Employer Retirement Plan Advisory (401(k)/Pension) (FSAEABAE), Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) Wealth Management (FSAEABAA), Financial Planning–Led RIAs (FSAAACAB), Retirement & Pension Wealth (401(k)/IRA/SIPP/Superannuation Retail) (FSAAAAAJ)

Keywords

• Retirement plan consulting
• Registered investment advisory
• Asset management services
• Individual financial planning
• Tax preparation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Athens

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Fee-Based Investment Advisory: Registered Investment Advisor providing fiduciary investment management services to retirement plans and individuals. Services include plan design consultation, compliance administration, participant education, and ongoing investment management. Operates under transparent fee structure below industry averages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cannon Financial Strategists is a fee-based Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) that provides retirement plan consulting and fiduciary investment management to employer plan sponsors (401(k), 403(b), 457 plans), and individual financial planning, asset management, and tax services to individuals and families. The firm combines plan design, compliance administration, and participant education for employers with retirement income planning, Social Security optimization, and Modern Portfolio Theory-based portfolio management for individuals.

Product overview

Cannon Financial Strategists is a fee-based Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) providing a unified financial services offering rather than a modular platform. The core offering combines retirement plan consulting services for employers with individual financial planning and asset management for consumers. The product portfolio includes Employer Retirement Plans Services (encompassing Plan-level Consulting, Compliance and Administration, and Participant Education and Advice), Individual Services (including Retirement Planning, Asset Management, and Tax Services), plus Client and Tax Portal access tools. The company operates on a fiduciary basis, implementing Modern Portfolio Theory with emphasis on low-cost index funds and tax-efficient strategies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Employer Retirement Plans Services
• Plan-level Consulting
• Compliance and Administration
• Participant Education and Advice
• Retirement Planning
• Asset Management
• Tax Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.0% additional increase in net portfolio returns for clients working with advisors (based on Vanguard research)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• TIAA-CREFcoreOthersTIAA-CREF serves as a retirement plan provider referenced in case studies. Cannon helps clients transition from TIAA-CREF products and implements open architecture investment menus that include TIAA Real Estate Account and Traditional Annuity options alongside other fund families.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Retirement Plan Advisors: Mid-size independent firm focused on retirement plan design, fiduciary investment management, and participant education. Closely matches Cannon's core employer retirement plan service line.
• Edelman Financial Engines: Large national RIA offering employer retirement plan advisory combined with individual wealth management and financial planning. Comparable to Cannon's dual B2B plan sponsor and B2C individual retirement business model, though at materially greater scale.
• CAPTRUST: One of the largest independent RIA firms focused on employer retirement plan advisory and institutional investment consulting. CAPTRUST is the most direct competitor to Cannon in providing ERISA 3(38)/3(21) fiduciary services to plan sponsors across the U.S.
• SageView Advisory: National retirement plan advisory firm specializing in plan design, investment due diligence, and participant services for employer-sponsored plans. Closely mirrors Cannon's employer-side retirement plan consulting offering.
• Beacon Pointe Advisors: Fee-only wealth management and retirement plan consulting firm serving plan sponsors and individuals with comprehensive financial planning. Comparable scale and integrated advisory model to Cannon.
• Mariner Wealth Advisors: National RIA providing retirement plan advisory, financial planning, and tax services to both corporate clients and high-net-worth individuals. Overlapping fiduciary retirement advisory and wealth management offerings.
• Creative Planning: Large fee-only RIA offering comprehensive financial planning, retirement plan services, and investment management. Comparable dual-segment (employer + individual) service model with Modern Portfolio Theory-based asset allocation philosophy.
• Sequoia Financial Group: Fee-only RIA providing retirement plan advisory, wealth management, and financial planning to corporate and individual clients. Directly comparable integrated model serving both employer plans and individuals.

Broad incumbents

• Vanguard (Plan Sponsor Services): Dominant low-cost index fund provider offering direct retirement plan services and target-date fund solutions. Represents the structural low-cost incumbent whose pricing pressure shapes the RIA advisory fee environment Cannon operates in.
• Charles Schwab (Advisor Services): Major incumbent providing custody, trading, and technology platforms for RIAs alongside its own retirement plan and wealth management products. Represents the broader competitive backdrop for RIA-firm operations like Cannon's.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cannon Financial Strategists