Lawrence Smith, CFP®, CRPC®, CRPS®
President & Wealth Planning Advisor
Lawrence Smith is the founder and president of ELS Vision Wealth Management. He serves as a Wealth Planning Advisor who specializes in partnering with successful professionals, small business owners, and professional athletes to provide comprehensive financial planning for life’s more important financial decisions. Lawrence guides his clients, with their vision in mind, through a strategic design, empowering them to secure their legacy.
Lawrence has over a decade of experience in the financial planning industry with positions at JPMorgan Chase and Lincoln Financial Group. During this time, he developed his passion for helping others achieve their financial goals, ultimately leading to the creation of ELS Vision Wealth Management in 2017. The firm was founded in alignment with the mission to serve first, serve last and serve always, while standing on the principle of good fiscal stewardship in the community and among our clients.
Lawrence is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional with designations from the College for Financial Planning as a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) and Chartered Retirement Plan Specialist (CRPS). He is also a National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) Registered Player Financial Advisor. He holds his Series 6,7,63, 66 registrations and Life and Health Insurance Licenses. His work has been highly regarded in the industry and has been recognized with the 2019, 2020, and 2021 Five Star Professional Wealth Manager award1. He is the namesake of a Life Happens Foundation scholarship and listed in the Association of African American Financial Advisors’ Top 50 Under 502. In 2022 Lawrence was honored by Investment News Magazine with the DEI See it to be it Role Model award3.
An alum of Paul Quinn College, A certificate holder from Howard University, an initiate of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and a board member of the Guide Right Foundation of Dallas, Lawrence finds passion in uplifting his community. He volunteers his time serving on church and community boards. Lawrence is a proud father and husband who is motivated by his wife and two children to make a difference every day.
1 The Five Star Wealth Manager Award is independently produced by Five Star Professional (FSP) and is based on data from financial advisors, regulatory disclosures, and FSP research. We applied for the award. Neither the advisors nor their parent firm pay a fee to FSP for the nomination or receipt of the award. The award was independently granted and membership in an organization was not required. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager is no guarantee of investment success.
2The Fifty Under 50 Award is independently produced by the Association of African American Financial Advisors (AAAA) and is based on accomplishments, contributions to the industry, leadership, and promise by a committee of their peers. Lawrence was independently nominated for the award. Neither the advisors nor their parent firm pay a fee to AAAA for the nomination or receipt of the award. The award was independently granted and membership in an organization was required. Working with a Fifty Under 50 Award recipient is no guarantee of investment success.
3 read more about this accomplishment here