Financial Advisor for CRNAs in Atlanta, GA
Atlanta’s healthcare market gives CRNAs strong earning power. The question is whether your financial plan is making the most of it. We help nurse anesthetists lower their lifetime tax bill, build retirement-ready portfolios, and map a clear path out of the OR.
Financial Advisor, 2025
No commissions. Ever.
Brett Fellows, 20+ Years
You've Earned This
Strong Income Isn't Enough. You Need a Plan Built for It.
CRNAs in the Atlanta metro typically earn between $195,000 and $230,000 a year. In a major medical market with systems like Emory, Piedmont, and Wellstar, there’s no shortage of clinical opportunity, but the financial complexity that comes with it is another matter entirely.
A career in anesthesia builds wealth at a high rate. It also builds a specific set of financial problems: pre-tax accounts that will generate tax bills in retirement, income that keeps you in the top federal brackets, and often a combination of employed and independent work that few advisors know how to coordinate. On top of all of it, Atlanta’s cost of living creates its own set of pressures that affect how much of that income actually translates to long-term security.
Oak Capital Advisors was built for exactly this situation. We specialize in financial planning for CRNAs and have spent years developing a planning process designed around the financial realities of your profession, not a standard approach repurposed for healthcare workers.
“Between my 403(b) and my locum income, I feel like I’m leaving money on the table. Am I?””I’m doing well financially, but I have no idea what retirement is actually going to cost me in taxes.””I want to retire by 55. Is that realistic, and what would it actually take?””Are there advisors who specialize in CRNAs, or is this something I’d have to explain from scratch every time?”
“I’ve been working for 25 years. I want to know there’s actually a finish line in sight.”
“Can someone build a plan around my situation specifically, not just tell me to max out my 401(k)?”
If those questions sound familiar, keep reading.
What We See Every Day
The Financial Challenges Specific to a CRNA's Career
The financial issues CRNAs face aren’t random. They follow a predictable pattern driven by how your career is structured. These are the ones we see most often, and the ones that tend to cost people the most when they go unaddressed.
A Growing Pre-Tax Tax Liability
The 403(b) and 457(b) contributions you’ve been making are a smart short-term tax move. But the deferred tax bill accumulates alongside the account. Required minimum distributions can force large withdrawals whether you need the money or not, potentially pushing you back into high brackets well into your 80s. A Roth conversion strategy between now and retirement can change that outcome.
The Burnout-to-Retirement Window
Anesthesia is demanding in ways that wear on people faster than they expect. Many of the CRNAs we work with come to us in their early-to-mid 50s, ready to stop, but not sure whether they can afford to. We specialize in building the analysis that answers that question clearly, so you know your real number and your real options.
IRMAA and Healthcare Costs in Retirement
IRMAA surcharges on Medicare premiums are calculated based on your income two years prior. For CRNAs, this often means the same high earnings that built your wealth also trigger additional Medicare costs in early retirement. Managing this proactively, through income timing and Roth conversions, can reduce the impact.
Employed and Independent Income Streams
Atlanta’s healthcare market offers strong locum opportunities alongside staff positions. The financial interaction between the two, retirement contributions, self-employment taxes, deductible expenses, and contribution limits, requires a level of coordination that goes beyond what most generalist advisors provide.
Retirement Income Without a Drawdown Strategy
There’s a real gap between having money saved and knowing how to turn those savings into income efficiently. The sequence of withdrawals across taxable, tax-deferred, and Roth accounts directly affects how much of your wealth goes to you versus to taxes over the course of retirement.
Social Security Planning for High Earners
High-income earners have among the most to gain from getting Social Security right, and among the most to lose from getting it wrong. When to claim, how spouse benefits interact, and how Social Security timing coordinates with your other income sources in retirement all require careful modeling.
What We Do Together
Comprehensive Planning Built Around Your Life as a CRNA
Your situation is specific, your income sources, your account mix, your timeline, your goals. We build a plan around all of it, not around a general framework for someone vaguely like you.
Roth Conversion Planning
We identify the optimal years and amounts for converting pre-tax retirement funds to Roth, reducing your total lifetime tax exposure and building a tax-free income source for retirement.
Retirement Income Strategy
We design the sequencing of your withdrawals across account types, taxable, tax-deferred, Roth, in a way that keeps your tax burden as low as possible throughout retirement.
Year-Round Tax Planning
Tax strategy isn’t a once-a-year exercise. We stay engaged with your tax picture throughout the year and capture opportunities that only exist if you’re paying attention before December 31.
Investment Management
Evidence-based portfolios built around your risk tolerance, timeline, and goals. No market timing, no commission-driven product recommendations.
Social Security Optimization
We model out your Social Security options with your specific benefit history, your spouse’s situation, and your other retirement income, so you make this decision with confidence, not a guess.
Estate and Legacy Planning
Working in coordination with your estate attorney, we make sure your assets are structured to transfer to your beneficiaries with minimal tax friction and legal complication.
How It Works
Getting Started Is Simpler Than You Think
We don’t believe in pressure. We believe in fit. Our process is designed to give you a clear picture of how we can help before you make any commitment
1
Schedule Your Introductory Call
Think of it like your Pre-Op Assessment. Share your plans and your current challenges. We’ll talk about our process and see if we’re a good fit for working together.
You’ll see, at a high level, how our firm can improve your finances and help you build, grow, and preserve your wealth. To learn more about what to expect, check out our full discovery process.
2
Take a Time-Out
We’re looking for a long-term relationship, not a quick transaction. After your call, take the time you need to decide if working together makes sense. If we aren’t the right fit, we’ll do our best to point you toward someone who is.
3
Induction of Ongoing Advice
Once you decide to move forward, we get to work. We gather a full picture of your finances, build your personalized plan, and become your ongoing financial partner. You delegate the complexity. We handle it.
Why Oak Capital Advisors
A Firm That Was Built Around CRNAs
Most financial advisors serve everyone. We’ve built our practice around the specific financial planning needs of nurses and advanced practice providers. That focus changes the quality of advice you receive.
CRNA-Focused From the Start
We didn’t stumble into serving CRNAs. We built our practice around the specific planning challenges of your career, from 403(b) distribution strategy to locum income coordination to IRMAA planning. This is our area of expertise, not a specialty we bolted on.
Fee-Only and Fiduciary
We don’t earn commissions. We don’t sell products. We charge a transparent fee and are legally required to act in your best interest. That’s what fiduciary means, and it’s non-negotiable for us.
Wealthtender Voice of the Client™ Award
In 2025, Brett Fellows was named a Wealthtender Highly Rated Advisor, recognizing advisors who consistently earn superior client reviews with an average rating of 4.75 or higher.
Based in South Carolina. Serving Atlanta and Beyond.
Our office is in Mt. Pleasant, SC, and we serve clients across the Southeast and nationwide via phone and Zoom. Distance is not a barrier to getting specialized advice.
20+ Years of Experience
Brett Fellows entered the financial planning profession in 2005. His experience spans multiple market environments, major tax code changes, and a wide range of retirement and income planning situations that closely mirror what CRNAs face.
CFP® Certified
The CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation is held by roughly 25% of advisors in the U.S. It requires rigorous education, an extensive exam, and thousands of hours of qualifying experience. Brett holds it.
Common Questions
What CRNAs in Atlanta Ask Us Most
High earnings give you the tools to build wealth, but they don’t guarantee a well-structured plan. Retirement readiness depends on your savings rate, your account mix, your expected lifestyle in retirement, your Social Security benefit, and how well your assets are positioned from a tax standpoint. The only way to answer this accurately is to build a projection around your specific numbers.
A large pre-tax 403(b) is valuable but carries a concentrated tax liability. The most effective strategy for most CRNAs involves Roth conversions during the years between retirement and when Social Security and required minimum distributions begin, using up lower tax brackets before higher-income events push you into them. The right conversion amounts depend on your full picture, which is why this requires an individualized plan rather than a rule of thumb.
This combination is increasingly common among Atlanta-area CRNAs, and it creates some of the most involved planning situations we work through. Your locum income is 1099, which means self-employment tax exposure but also access to a Solo 401(k). Your hospital position has its own retirement plan. How those two interact, and how to get the most out of contributions while managing total tax, requires careful, specific planning. It’s not something most generalist advisors handle well.
Traditional advisors may be compensated through commissions on products they sell you, annuities, insurance policies, mutual funds with loads. That creates a financial incentive that may not be aligned with your best interest. A fee-only fiduciary is paid directly by you and has a legal obligation to recommend what’s best for your situation, not what generates the most revenue. In financial planning, that distinction has real consequences over time.
An early retirement for a CRNA typically involves a few key challenges: bridging the gap between retirement and Social Security eligibility, managing healthcare costs before Medicare kicks in, and planning for IRMAA once it does. We’ve helped CRNAs plan for early exits specifically, and we build those analyses as a core part of our work.
Yes, and the majority of our CRNA clients are outside the Charleston area. We work nationwide via phone and video. Location has never been a limitation for us or for the CRNAs we serve.
Your financial future shouldn't be a guessing game.
Schedule a free 30-minute call. We’ll talk through your situation, explain how we approach CRNA financial planning, and give you a clear sense of whether we’re the right fit. No sales pitch. No obligation.
Oak Capital Advisors
126 Seven Farms Drive Suite 160
Charleston, SC 29492 • (843) 284-0798
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