Alexandra Armstrong, CFP®

Getting to Know Alexandra

 

Alexandra has worked in the investment field for more than 40 years. In 1977, she was one of the first females in the country to earn the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification.  Previously a senior vice president of a New York Stock Exchange firm, she founded her own financial planning firm and broker/dealer in 1983.

Alexandra coauthored a book for widows with psychologist Mary R. Donahue in 1993, titled On Your Own: A Widow’s Passage to Emotional and Financial Well-Being and its sixth edition was released in 2024.  They teamed up again to write, Your Next Chapter: A Woman’s Guide To A Successful Retirement, released in 2020, to help women navigate successfully through another major life transition.

Since 1980 she has written a monthly column on financial planning topics for Better Investing Magazine published by the National Association of Investment Clubs.

A native Washingtonian, Alexandra has been active in the local community. She served as president of the Boy Scouts of America, National Capital Area Council (its first and only female president). She served on the national board of Reading Is Fundamental, including treasurer, for over 20 years. She is a past president and cofounder of International of the Women’s Forum of Washington DC, which is part of an international organization of preeminent women in their respective fields.  She was a board member of the DC Police Foundation, including treasurer.  Alexandra served for seven years on the national board of the International Association for Financial Planning (the precursor to the Financial Planning Association), retiring as chairman in 1987 after becoming the first woman to hold that position.

She also served as chairman of the Foundation for Financial Planning (2000) and continues to serve on that board. She is a current member of the Cosmos Club and a past chair of their investment committee. Alexandra is currently Vice Chair of the Foundation Board of the Boys & Girls Club of Sarasota and Desoto Counties, Florida.

Throughout her career, Alexandra has received several awards for her achievements. Among them, in 2004, she was the first woman to receive the P Kemp Fain, Jr., Award*, which is one of the highest recognitions bestowed on financial professionals annually by the Financial Planning Association. In 2006, she was inducted into the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame. In 2013, Alexandra received the Special Services Award from Commonwealth Financial Network for her volunteer activities. In 2014, she received the Invest in Others Charitable Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award for her national work with the Foundation for Financial Planning. In 2016, Alexandra was awarded the inaugural Women to Watch Lifetime Achievement Award** by InvestmentNews in New York City.  This award is now known as the “Alexandra Armstrong Lifetime Achievement Award”. In 2019 Alexandra received the inaugural Financial Planning Lifetime Achievement Award and an annual grant is made in her name to a deserving non-profit organization.  In 2024 Commonwealth awarded her the inaugural Alexandra Armstrong Empowerment Award.