Principal
Getting to Know Chris
As a principal of Armstrong, Fleming & Moore, Inc., Chris provides individuals and couples with personalized and comprehensive financial planning services, including guidance on investment, retirement, tax, and estate planning issues, as well as other wealth management needs.
After graduating from the University of Maryland, Chris joined Armstrong, Welch & MacIntyre, Inc., a precursor to AFM, as a portfolio analyst. He served AFM’s clients in various capacities for seven years, working primarily with Alexandra Armstrong. He then earned his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificate and began working as lead advisor to his clients.
He has been quoted in Financial Times and The Washington Times and has spoken at D.C.-area schools on financial planning topics. Chris has served as a subject matter expert for the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, contributing to the development and review of questions for the CFP® certification examination.
Chris and his wife, Caroline, grew up around the corner from each other in Rockville, Maryland, and currently live in Potomac, Maryland, with their three children, Annie, Billy, and Claire, and their dog, Oliver. In the little free time he has, Chris likes to read, particularly history and classic literature. He is an avid music fan with a growing collection of vinyl LPs, a craft beer and bourbon enthusiast, a mediocre golfer, a volunteer basketball coach, and a diehard fan of the Washington Nationals and the University of Maryland. A baseball history buff, he is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.
Place Chris would most like to visit: Utah’s Big 5 National Parks
Favorite book: Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Favorite movie: Cool Hand Luke
Favorite TV show: Seinfeld
Favorite band/song/album: Too many to list, but Gillian Welch, Tom Waits, and A Tribe Called Quest is a start
Favorite food: Fajitas
Favorite quote: “Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.” – Marcus Aurelius
Favorite holiday: Thanksgiving
Hidden talent: Making pizza from scratch
What motivates Chris: I love to learn–I’m never happier than when I’ve learned about something or someone new
Something on Chris’s bucket list: A Washington Nationals World Series win (woo!)
More From
Chris Rivers, CFP®, CRPC®
What You Need to Know About Retiring in Another State
August 6, 2024One of the secondary effects of the COVID pandemic and shift to remote work was an uptick in people moving…
2023 Summer Reading List
July 24, 2023Summer is a time of warmth, sunshine, and relaxation—a perfect opportunity to unwind and immerse yourself in the captivating world…
Survive and Advance
April 26, 2023March is my favorite time of year. I like the way the transition in the sports world in March…
Charting a Course for 2023
February 21, 2023Investors had to navigate an environment full of twists and turns in 2022. After hitting a new all-time high in…
Year-End Review: How History Provides a Path Forward
October 26, 2022As 2022 progressed, investors and consumers were treated to a steady stream of bad news, and the markets reacted in-kind,…
Freedom and Financial Planning
August 15, 2022One of the great traps of the information age is the wealth of data at our fingertips. It stands to…
A Real Cool Hand
April 26, 2022My favorite movie for many years was the 1967 Paul Newman classic Cool Hand Luke.* It’s a fairly straightforward tale…
Knowledge Is Power: The Great Wealth Transfer & Financial Education
April 26, 2022In 1973, just shy of the 100th anniversary of his death, descendants of Cornelius (“the Commodore”) Vanderbilt gathered at Vanderbilt…
A Form that Accommodates the Mess: Financial Planning in an Age of Uncertainty
February 3, 2022The idea that times past were simpler isn’t new. Modern life buzzes with confusion. The pace at which things change…
Cybersecurity: What Can You Do to Stay Protected?
November 2, 2021Prior to the pandemic, the risks of cyber fraud and identity theft were already a significant worry for many. As…
Inflation Returns After a Long Hiatus
October 1, 2021An old foe returned in the fall of 2021, one we had not seen in more than 30 years, as…
Here Be Dragons: The strange new world of bitcoin, SPACs, meme stocks, and more
April 1, 2021The first chapter of the financial story during the pandemic focused on how quickly recovery took off, long before we…
Lessons from the Plague Year | Part II - At AFM
January 1, 2021DEVELOP A PLAN, AND STICK TO IT A handful of us were working at AFM in our old office at…
Lessons from the Plague Year | Part I - Planning & Investing
January 1, 2021Around this time a year ago, you would have been considered a pessimist if you had said we would still…
With Election Season Heating Up, How Much Volatility Should We Prepare For?
October 21, 2020As we head into October, with a contentious election less than five weeks away, it’s easy to see why investors…
Is the Market Recovery Rooted in Reality?
July 9, 2020Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman famously said that "nobody knows anything" when it comes to what works in Hollywood. Despite decades of experience,…
With Election Season Heating Up, How Much Volatility Should We Prepare For?
July 1, 2020As we head into October, with a contentious election less than five weeks away, it’s easy to see why investors…
Machines of Loving Grace
April 9, 2020I like to think (it has to be!) of a cybernetic ecology where we are free of our labors and…
Is the Market Recovery Rooted in Reality?
April 1, 2020Hollywood screenwriter William Goldman (All the President’s Men, The Princess Bride) famously said that "nobody knows anything" when it comes…
All Of It
April 30, 2019We lionize problem solvers. Rescue someone, and you’re their hero. Problem solvers earn accolades, headlines, and promotions. Problem solvers tend…
The Usual Mistake
April 1, 2019The financial world gave scant attention to the passing of Murray Gell-Mann last May at the age of 89. Gell-Mann…
Future Shock
March 27, 2019Metropolis 1927 We like to think we take things at face value. But it seems that our emotions are not…
The Survival of the Modern Portfolio
March 4, 2019By the time he was 25 years old, Henri Vaillancourt of Greenville, New Hampshire had been on four canoe trips.…
When Information Is Cheap, Attention Becomes Expensive
January 29, 2019In the introduction to his 2016 book “The Attention Merchants,” Tim Wu writes: As William James observed, we must reflect…