Amy Irvine, CFP®, EA, MPAS®, CCFC, CDFA®, CFT™
Amy Irvine, CFP®, EA, MPAS®, CCFC, CDFA®, CFT™, is a financial planner, keynote speaker, and founder of Irvine Wealth Planning Strategies, LLC, doing business as Rooted Planning Group. Her career in financial services began in 1994 in a small trust department, where she worked with estate and trust administration, investment accounts, and tax-related portfolios. Early exposure to fiduciary work laid the foundation for her deep understanding of wealth management, while subsequent roles in a union benefit office expanded her expertise in healthcare plans, pension systems, and collaboration with actuaries and investment managers.
In 1996, Amy transitioned into a trust company role where she led 401(k) open enrollment meetings and plan administration. This experience was pivotal, shaping her belief in holistic financial planning—viewing financial life not as isolated products, but as an interconnected whole. At the time, when retirement plans were not yet digitized and financial education was essential, she often found herself fielding broader life-planning questions from clients. Recognizing gaps in her training, she returned to school in 2001, earning a bachelor’s degree in financial planning and later completing her master’s degree while continuing to work in the field. Her career advanced into a credit union wealth management division, where she developed a strong appreciation for client relationships and the importance of time, trust, and education in financial guidance.
Amy later served in leadership roles at an RIA firm as Chief Compliance Officer and Director of Financial Planning, where she refined her expertise in regulatory oversight and comprehensive planning. In 2014, personal losses of close family members became a turning point, reinforcing her belief in the urgency of living with purpose and intention. In 2015, she stepped into entrepreneurship, initially as a partner in a short-lived venture that clarified her professional direction. In 2016, she founded Rooted Planning Group, a firm built on independence, values-based advising, and client-centered planning. Since then, she has grown a collaborative team and continues to deliver holistic financial guidance rooted in education, relationships, and aligning money with what matters most in life.
• CFP (Certified Financial Planner)
• Enrolled Agent
• MPAS (Master of Planning Applied Science)
• ChFC (Chartered Financial Consultant)
• CDFA (Chartered Divorce Financial Analyst)
• CFT (Certified Financial Therapist)
• Certified College Financial Consultant (CCFC)
• Alfred State College - SUNY College of Technology - BS, Financial Planning
• College for Financial Planning - MS PFP
• NAPFA (National Association of Personal Financial Advisors)
• XY Planning Network
• Fund for Women of the Southern Tier
• Faith in Action
• National Association of Personal Financial Advisors
• Corning Painted-Post Historical Society
• Savvy Ladies
• The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes
• Advisers Give Back
• Faith in Action Steuben County
• Cornell Cooperative Extension - Steuben County
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to curiosity and having mentors who encouraged that curiosity. When I was in high school, accounting and math came super easy to me, and I had an accounting teacher, Lenny Crusoe, who told me 'Amy, just do this. It's such a natural talent.' When I got my first job at a trust company, my supervisor John Cleveland taught me so much about how to do research. I think he saw that curiosity in me, because all he had to do was give me a little bit of direction, and I was doing research for stock certificates that might be 40 or 50 or 60 years old. There's just so much of this vast world of information that I needed to explore and learn, and it was very interesting to me. That's what retained me in this profession and led me down this path - I could constantly be curious. There was never a moment where I couldn't ask 'well, what does this mean? Or what does that mean?' The best career advice I ever received was 'be curious,' and when I was given permission to do that, I thought, okay, game on.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Be curious. I think when I was given permission to be curious, I thought, okay, game on. I've always been someone who was probably a pain in the butt with questions, but when I was given that permission to explore and ask 'what does this mean?' or 'what does that mean?', it opened up this vast world of information that I needed to explore and learn. That curiosity is what has retained me in this profession and led me down this path.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think it's important for younger women, especially in their 30s, to see that there's somebody that's 54 years old that has worked through the challenges, stayed in the profession, and grown a business of other women in the financial planning field. It can be done. We lose a lot of women in the profession in their 30s for some reason. The numbers show that typically there's about a 50-50 entry point to our profession, meaning 50% women and 50% men, but it starts to veer off somewhere in the 30s. Women start to drop out of the profession and men stay in, and we can't seem to get above the 25% mark of women in financial planning. That's why visibility and the 'she can be it if she sees it' concept is so important to me. I want more women to get involved in financial planning, and they need to see examples of women who have made it work long-term.