Christian Ragsdale

Advisor at Merrill

Updated today
Merrill logo

Firm

Merrill

Location

Laingsburg, MI

Credentials

CFP®, Series 66

Industry experience

8 years

About

Christian Ragsdale is the Resident Director at Merrill, where he leverages a holistic approach to wealth management as a member of Cross, Ragsdale & Associates. Since joining Merrill in 2021, Christian has focused on building strong client relationships to address all aspects of financial strategy, simplifying complex financial needs and guiding clients through personalized, goals-based plans. He collaborates with clients’ attorneys, CPAs, and other specialists to create tailored strategies that support long-term financial goals.

Christian brings a background in financial planning and holds several professional designations, including Certified Financial Planner® (CFP), Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor (CPFA), Personal Investment Advisor (PIA), and Retirement Benefits Consultant (RBC). He earned a bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management from Michigan State University. His professional focus includes areas such as college education planning, family wealth management, retirement income, and tax minimization.

Outside of work, Christian participates in community organizations including Generation Lansing, Junior Achievement of Mid Michigan, Laingsburg Educational Advancement Foundation, and Laingsburg Alumni Legacy Association. He lives in Laingsburg, Michigan, with his wife and two sons and enjoys reading, spending time with family and friends, following Michigan State athletics, and engaging in football, music, running, traveling, and watching movies.

Client services

Portfolio management Pension consulting Selection of other advisers Educational seminars or workshops
Performance measurement reports, allocation modeling, ips, research reports and services, see schedule d

Expertise

Wealth management Retirement income strategy College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) Divorce financial planning Tax strategies for small businesses

Work history

Bank of America N.A.

2022 - Present (4 years)

Merrill Lynch, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH INCORPORATED

2021 - Present (5 years)

Hantz Financial Services Inc

2015 - 2021 (6 years)

Michigan State University

2015 - 2017 (2 years)

Eagle Eye Golf Club

2013 - 2017 (4 years)

Disclosures

Exclamation point means they have disclosures of this type. Check mark means no disclosures of this type were found.

Business activities & affiliations

Rich F

CFP®, EA

East Lansing, MI

IAM Financial

Work history In December of 2007 Rich created IAM Financial to serve clients seeking objective, affordable, independent advice. Prior to this, Mr. Feight was an investment advisor representative of Creative Financial Design, where he was responsible for the selection of securities used in, and management of, asset allocation portfolios for numerous client accounts. His career began as a registered representative of Vestax Securities Corp. where he was a fee-based advisor. Rich was also licensed in the state of Michigan with Jackson National Life to advise and sell life insurance. Education Rich is a graduate of Michigan State University where he received a degree in Finance. Rich earned the Certificate of Financial Planning from The College for Financial Planning in Denver, Colorado that was comprised of intense graduate-level classes grounding him in the various foundations of financial planning. He is a CFP® (Certified Financial Planner®) since 2001, meeting the experience, education requirements and passing the two-day, 10-hour exam, making him one of the few in the country who hold the designation. Rich became an Enrolled Agent (EA) with the Internal Revenue Service in January 2011. An EA is a federally-authorized tax practitioner with technical expertise in the field of taxation. EAs are empowered by the Department of Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections, and appeals. Only Enrolled Agents, attorneys, and CPAs may represent taxpayers before the IRS. Since 2004, Rich has subscribed to the stringent and mandatory annual educational hours, experience, and code of ethics to meet the requirements to be a NAPFA Registered Financial Advisor. Out of the 800,000 individuals in the country who claim they are financial advisors/planners, fewer than 5,000 in the country qualify for the membership; Rich is one of them. Rich is also a member of the National Association of Tax Professionals, Tax Professionals.com and the Greater Lansing Estate Planning Counsel. Volunteering Rich served on the National Board of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors as membership director. He served on the Small Business Association of Michigan's Strategic Communications Committee and is a past President and Chairman of the Board of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) of Michigan, one of the largest and most influential of the FPA chapters in the country. Rich is also a past President for Transportation Toastmasters Club 4776 downtown Lansing where he enjoyed enhancing his speaking skills.

Business ownership considerations Business exit / sale strategy Established Professionals FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) Gen X (Born 1965-1980)

Lori F

Series 66

East Lansing, MI

Edward Jones

General retirement planning Multi-generational wealth transfer

Joni P

CFP®, Series 66

Dewitt, MI

Edward Jones

Retirement income strategy Charitable giving & philanthropy College savings (529s, UTMA, etc.) ESG / Sustainable investing LGBTQIA

Andrew R

Series 66

Owosso, MI

Edward Jones

Charitable giving & philanthropy Retirement income strategy Planning for children with special needs Wealth management Military & Veterans

Tyler B

CFP®, ChFC®, Series 66

St Johns, MI

Edward Jones

Retirement income strategy Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business ownership considerations Inheritance planning Founder/Business Owner

Diana L

Series 66

Dewitt, MI

Edward Jones

Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Business ownership considerations General retirement planning Planning for children with special needs Wealth management Founder/Business Owner
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