About Us

History

Legacy was founded over 25 years ago as a leading financial services firm to serve businesses with best practices in executive incentive and retention planning. We began to expand to serve business owners and their families as they build a financial legacy that will thrive into the next generation for the glory of God.

One of the key discoveries we have made for companies and families has been the Collaboration Effect on Profit – the CEOP.

J. David Harper Jr.

CEO

David Harper is the CEO of Legacy Advisory Partners, the firm he co-founded in 2000. David is a Registered Representative with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC. He has worked extensively in all areas of investment advisory services – specializing in the institutional market.

Full Bio

His journey began in 1978 at The Principal Group as an investment adviser where he achieved the highest level of success. In 1991 he began working with companies on the design and implementation of qualified and non-qualified retirement plan solutions.

David serves young leaders as a Young Life Atlanta Project committee member and as the director of The Great 8 mentoring program. He has authored two books, The Great 8, and Light Their Fire for God.

He lives in Cumming, GA with his wife, Anne – both are Atlanta natives – and together they have three children and twelve grandchildren. David and Anne are members of Local Church Forsyth. David enjoys fishing, exercising, and mentoring the next generation of leaders.

David is a graduate of Davidson College (B.A.) where he played quarterback from 1971-1975. He holds the Chartered Financial Consultant designation along with a Series 6, 7, 22, 63, and 65.

We’re committed to excellent service and transparency. Check the background of this investment professional on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

Russell “Russ” H. Clemmer IV

PRESIDENT

Russ Clemmer serves as President of Legacy Advisory Partners. He joined the firm in 2014 as an investment adviser and leads Legacy’s business consulting services in addition to working closely with David and Marc on financial advisory services.

Full Bio

Prior to joining the Legacy team, Russ served in private education in North Carolina as a teacher, coach, and leader.

Russ lives in Alpharetta, GA with his wife, Lauren of Atlanta, GA. Russ is a Lowcountry native growing up on Hilton Head Island. Together they have four children, Hobie, Johnny, Caroline, and Beau. Russ and Lauren are members of First Baptist Church Alpharetta. Russ enjoys spending time with his family, Clemson football, and lazy days at the beach.
He is a graduate of Columbia International University (B.A.) and Gardner-Webb University (M.B.A.). He holds a Series 7 (General Securities Representative) and Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law Examination).

Russ is a Registered Representative with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC.

Marc A. Walker

Chief Investment Officer

Marc Walker is the Chief Investment Officer with Legacy Advisory Partners. Marc is a Registered Representative with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC. He leads Legacy’s investment services operations in the individual and institutional markets.

Full Bio

Marc joined The Principal Group in 1996 as an investment adviser and began working with David Harper in 1997. He leads Legacy with an expertise in the areas of investment due diligence, fiduciary compliance, and plan design for both qualified and nonqualified retirement plans.

He lives in Woodstock, GA with his wife, Donita – both are Atlanta natives – and are busy raising their two daughters. Marc and Donita are members of Restoration Church in Alpharetta. Marc helps lead RealMen, which is the men’s ministry at Restoration Church.  He enjoys Georgia Bulldog football, spending time with his family, and helping people fulfill their calling in life to become all that God created them to be.

Marc is a graduate of Kennesaw State University (B.S.) and holds a Series 6 (Investment Company Products/Variable Contracts Limited Representative), Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law Examination) and Series 65 (Uniform Investment Adviser Law Examination).

We’re committed to excellent service and transparency. Check the background of this investment professional on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

Kimberly Due

Service Specialist

Kim Due serves as Legacy’s Service Specialist. She joined the firm in 2016 and leads Legacy’s client services operations as well as internal operations.

Full Bio

Kim lives in John’s Creek, GA with her husband, son, and their two dogs. She is involved in animal rescue and her son’s high school. She is a native of Baltimore, MD.

Kim enjoys spending time with her family and watching soccer, especially Atlanta United.

Matt Joines

Retirement Operations Specialist and Financial Planner

Matt Joines serves as a retirement operations specialist and financial planner at Legacy. Matt is a Registered Representative with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC. He joined the firm in 2017 as an investment adviser as well as working closely on Legacy’s retirement plan management. Matt has over 15 years of financial services industry experience working with both private wealth management clients as well as corporate benefit plans.

Full Bio

Matt is a native Atlantan and says, “There’s no place like home.” He currently resides in Roswell, GA with his wife, Sweta, and their daughter, Harper. During his free time, you can find Matt and his family cheering on the Georgia Bulldogs or any Atlanta professional sports team. He also enjoys playing tennis and pickleball in local sports leagues.

Matt is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Family Financial Planning (B.S.) and holds a Certified Financial Planner® designation as well as a Series 7 (General Securities Representative) and Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law Examination).

Eleanor Hassell

Operations Associate

Eleanor serves as Legacy’s Operations Associate.  She joined the firm in 2022 and assists with operations for Legacy’s client services division.

Eleanor lives in Cartersville, GA with her husband, Bill, and their Golden Retriever, Lily. A North Carolina native, Eleanor enjoys spending time in the mountains of North Carolina with her family and friends and playing tennis.

She and her husband are actively involved in their church, Christ the Redeemer in Marietta. 

Stephanie Dermen

Consulting Support Associate

Stephanie Dermen serves as Legacy’s Consulting Support Associate.  She joined the firm in 2022 and assists with business consulting services and financial advisory services.

Full Bio

Prior to joining the Legacy team, Stephanie was a realtor where she enjoyed helping first-time homebuyers purchase their new home.

Stephanie loves exercising, traveling, being outdoors, volunteering, and spending time with her friends and family.

She is a graduate of Valdosta State University (B.A.). She holds a Series 7 (General Securities Representative) and Series 66 (Uniform Combined State Law Examination).
Stephanie is a Registered Representative with Cambridge Investment Research, Inc., a broker-dealer member FINRA/SIPC.

Case Studies

Hair Salon

Hair Salon

The original owner had a vision for the company he created. The idea was to support new stylists as they established their career and encourage them to continually grow.

read more
General Contractor

General Contractor

The company is experiencing a lack of accountability on site, creating a negative impact within the organization. As such, there is a critical need to deal with and accommodate the growing needs and expectations of an increasingly diverse team in order to prepare for a generation shift in the workforce.

read more
Road & Bridge Company

Road & Bridge Company

Throughout the years, this company has required ways to incent and retain key personnel as a part of their overall strategy to position leadership team members to be able to thrive into the future.

read more
Energy Management Company

Energy Management Company

Legacy was able to provide a best practice model for several benefits plans to help them accommodate all their growth after recent acquisitions. Working together since 2005, read more to learn about the challenges and how Legacy was able to help.

read more
Telecommunications Firm

Telecommunications Firm

The company is focused on growth and needs a firm to provide “hands-on, relationship-focused service” for their executive benefit plans to properly incentivize and retain their top people.

read more
Transportation Firm

Transportation Firm

The company is focused on retaining its key leaders during a period of intense growth. The owners want to keep the company’s culture while they experience accelerated growth, and want to build a team that can help achieve the vision.

read more

Mission, Vision, and Values

Legacy’s Mission

We help our clients optimize their financials and leaders to achieve the CEOP.

Legacy’s Vision

Helping business owners and their families build a financial legacy that will thrive into the next generation for the glory of God.

Legacy’s Values

The Great 8: A New Paradigm for Leadership