Ryan Austin, CFP®
Hi 👋🏼 I’m Ryan. I’m a financial advisor based in Syracuse, Indiana, and the founder of Green Heron Wealthways. I work with small business owners, people approaching or living in retirement, widows and widowers, and individuals navigating an inheritance or other significant financial transition.
My background in philosophy and theology influences the way I approach financial planning. I ask thoughtful questions to understand not only the numbers, but also the values, priorities, concerns, and aspirations behind them. From retirement income and investment management to estate considerations and charitable giving, I help clients connect the different pieces of their financial lives and make informed decisions about what comes next.
Syracuse, IN
“I ask thoughtful questions to understand what matters most to my clients, then help them bring their financial decisions together into a clear plan for the life they want to lead.”
How can I help?
Retirement Planning
Transition into your golden years with confidence. Our goal is to see to it that you’re prepared for the unpredictable. Let us turn your retirement dreams into actionable plans.
Financial Planning & Analysis
Personalized wealth management helps our clients protect their assets. We use a holistic approach to financial planning that integrates tax strategy, trust & estate planning, and risk management.
Income Planning
Understand your income with an annual plan showing where cash flow is generated, and why. This weaves together Restricted Stock Units (RSU) flows, stock option exercises, long-term capital gains, Roth Conversions, etc.
Estate & Trust Planning
Get to know Ryan
Ryan Austin is a CFP® professional and founder of Green Heron Wealthways, based in Syracuse, Indiana. His path into financial services began after graduating magna cum laude from Huntington University in 2012, where he studied philosophy and theology.
Growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ryan learned about hard work and service firsthand. His father became a general contractor while Ryan was in middle school, and Ryan spent years working alongside him. That experience gave Ryan an early appreciation for the responsibility that comes with running a business and the importance of doing work with integrity.
After college, Ryan entered the financial services industry through life, health, and long-term care insurance. He later moved into leadership, training and developing other professionals before obtaining his securities licenses and expanding the scope of his work with clients. In 2021, he shifted his focus fully toward serving clients and earned his CFP® certification. He later pursued the WMCP® and RICP® designations to deepen his knowledge of wealth management and retirement income planning.
Today, Ryan works with people facing a range of financial decisions, including retirement transitions, business ownership, inherited assets, investment management, charitable giving, estate considerations, healthcare costs, and Social Security. His approach combines technical planning with the curiosity that grew from his study of philosophy. He wants to understand the person behind the financial plan and what they want their resources to accomplish.
Ryan and his wife, Emily, married in 2017 and made their home in Syracuse. They welcomed their daughter, Sylvia, in December 2024. Through Green Heron Wealthways and Savvy, Ryan is building the independent advisory practice he envisioned for his community.
After college, a friend introduced me to the financial services industry, and I began working with retirees and pre-retirees through life and health insurance. Those first several years taught me a great deal about risk management and the financial questions people encounter as they approach retirement.
After five years in insurance, I earned my Series 7, Series 63, and Series 66 licenses so I could work with clients across more areas of their financial lives. I also spent time training, developing, and managing other professionals. Eventually, I realized that working directly with clients was where I wanted to focus my energy.
In 2021, I shifted my attention fully to client relationships and pursued my CFP® certification. I later added the WMCP® and RICP® designations as I continued building my knowledge around wealth management and retirement income planning.
Much of my work centers on retirement and cash-flow planning. I help clients analyze how their income and expenses may change as they transition into retirement, then coordinate those needs with their investment and income strategies.
My work can also involve customized investment portfolios, retirement income planning, healthcare premium considerations, portfolio diversification, long-term care planning, charitable giving, estate planning considerations, inherited IRA distributions, and Social Security claiming analysis.
I enjoy helping clients understand how these individual decisions connect so they can evaluate their financial lives as a whole rather than as a collection of unrelated pieces.
I work with small business owners, people approaching or already in retirement, widows and widowers, and people who have received an inheritance or another financial windfall.
My experience also includes working with employees of Lake City Bank and people connected to the orthopedic industry around Warsaw, including companies such as DePuy, Zimmer Biomet, and Medtronic. On the business-owner side, I’ve worked with people in trades and locally owned businesses, including homebuilding, tile installation, painting and sundries, cement work, roofing, and childcare.
I focus on tax planning and optimization because they are crucial aspects to consider when managing your finances. By strategizing efficient ways to minimize tax liabilities and maximize savings, my clients can plan for the future. Additionally, I also help clients with retirement planning, Investment management, and cash flow planning because they are essential for maintaining a healthy financial balance.
The strategies depend on what is happening in a client’s life. For someone nearing retirement, that might mean analyzing cash flow, Social Security choices, healthcare expenses, investment allocation, and where retirement income will come from.
For a business owner or someone who has accumulated significant assets, the conversation may also include portfolio diversification, charitable giving, estate considerations, long-term care, or coordinating financial decisions with other professionals in their life.
My goal is to organize these moving pieces into a practical plan and help clients understand why a particular course of action may make sense for their circumstances.
My background in philosophy and theology shapes the questions I ask and the way I think about financial planning. Money decisions are rarely only about money. They can reflect someone's assumptions, priorities, family relationships, fears, hopes, and ideas about what makes a meaningful life.
I spend time asking deeper questions so I can understand those factors before moving into the technical details. From there, I combine financial planning with accessible explanations, analogies, and visual materials that can make complicated concepts easier to understand.
I also believe good planning is collaborative. When appropriate, I work alongside the attorneys, accountants, family members, and other professionals who are already important to a client.
My favorite part is being a guide who can help take some of the weight of financial decision-making off a client’s shoulders.
I enjoy helping people organize what may initially feel complicated or overwhelming, understand the choices in front of them, and identify a direction that reflects what they care about. Ultimately, I want clients to feel informed and prepared to move forward with purpose.
What I appreciate about Savvy is having a team and platform that support the vision I have for serving clients through Green Heron Wealthways.
The technology, resources, and operational support allow me to spend more of my time doing the work I value most: asking thoughtful questions, developing financial plans, educating clients, and helping people navigate important financial decisions.
Book a 30-min introductory call with Joshua.
Meet and greet. Get to know each other and learn about the benefits of wealth management through Savvy.
Ryan Austin is an investment adviser representative with Savvy Advisors, Inc. (“Savvy Advisors”). Savvy Advisors is an investment advisor registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Green Heron Wealthways is an independent marketing brand name used by Ryan Austin for advertising and marketing purposes only. All advisory services are offered through Savvy Advisors. Savvy Wealth Inc. is the parent company of Savvy Advisors and operates as a technology company. This website may include information about both Savvy Wealth Inc. and Savvy Advisors. Savvy Advisors is an SEC registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission. Savvy Advisors may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against loss. For information about Savvy, visit our website: www.SavvyWealth.com. For more information about Savvy’s investment advisory business, please see our Form ADV and Form CRS.
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization's initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.
Neither Savvy Wealth, nor Savvy Advisors compensates directly for testimonials or endorsements provided herein, by advisers. However advisors may have an indirect financial incentive to provide testimonials.
