About Us

Arthur Otis Aust, CFP^®, is the founder of Aust Financial Advisory (AFA) LLC, an independent, fee-only (non-commission) Registered Investment Advisory firm in the State of Georgia. AFA offers comprehensive financial planning services and receives all of its compensation directly from our clients. Our focus is on providing comprehensive financial planning as a fiduciary, meaning we put the interest of our clients above any other interest including our own. AFA provides Financial Planning, Investment Management and Tax Planning for clients in North America.

Otis completed the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional Education Program through Emory University which qualified him to sit for the Certified Financial Planners™ exam. He passed the rigorous two-day 10-hour CFP^® Certification Examination on his first sitting which has an overall pass rate of 57%. He was authorized to use the CFP^® mark of distinction after completing the CFP Board of Standard’s specific experience and continuing educational requirements. He has also passed the Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser Exam. Otis has been qualified and accepted as a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA). Otis has also earned the designation of Accredited Investment Fiduciary^® (or AIF^®) from Fiduciary360. He has received formal training in investment fiduciary responsibility. This designation from The Center for Fiduciary Studies at the University of Pittsburgh, denotes a very deep understanding of the fiduciary responsibilities of an Investment Advisor in executing the processes and best practices to adhere to the requirements demanded of pension laws (ERISA, UPIA, other). These laws govern qualified retirement plans and accounts.

In 2016, Otis completed his Masters of Taxation Degree from Georgia State University. He is currently studying for the Enrolled Agent and Certified Professional Accountant examinations. Integrating financial planning with tax planning has the potential to save clients significant sums of money in federal and state income tax liability.

In 1980, Otis graduated from Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, with a BBA degree in Finance. He worked twenty seven years (27) in sales and sales management for large business application software companies providing engineering, supply chain, and business management software solutions to large global manufacturing companies. He used his financial education background to emphasize the financial benefits of these systems to cost justify them to executive management teams.

Otis enjoys hiking, fishing, working out, or any reason to be in the outdoors. He loves sports, especially college basketball and enjoys passionately discussing the old values and traditions of fundamentally sound basketball: ball handling, defense, understanding the difference between a good and bad shot, importance of team orientation, changing the clock shot from 35 seconds to 50 seconds (anybody can play defense for 35 seconds).

NAPFA Member | CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

AFA is a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Planners (NAPFA) which requires all of its members to have passed the CFP® examination and be on track to complete the experience requirement to become a CFP^® within 5 years. NAPFA also requires all members to have a fee-only policy for billing their clients. This means that 100% of our compensation comes directly from our clients. We cannot and do not receive any product commissions, revenue sharing kickbacks, referral fees, or any other form of compensation other than fees we collect from our clients.

NAPFA also requires members to sign their Fiduciary Oath and Code of Ethics. We are bound contractually to work for our clients as a fiduciary, meaning only in their best interest. We serve one master, our client, and do not have the conflict of interest that other Financial Advisors who sell products have. Our interest is completely aligned with our client’s financial well-being.