L to R: Tommy Battle (President), Sarah Scruggs-Reddell (Advisor & Retirement Plan Specialist), Rick Scruggs, David Loy (CPA)
Rick’s Story
In 1973 in Lynchburg, Virginia, an 18-year-old’s life took an unexpected turn when his father died suddenly on Christmas Eve, leaving a void that shaped his future. That moment led Rick Scruggs to understand the significance of financial planning for his family, propelling him on a journey that has spanned four transformative decades and instilling an unwavering commitment to securing others’ financial futures.
Just 10 years later in 1983, after receiving his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from The College of William & Mary and pursuing a career in the financial services industry as a top advisor with MML Investors Services and MassMutual Life Insurance Company, Scruggs founded Financial Designs to create a cornerstone of financial guidance in this community. In 2012, Rick’s daughter Sarah Scruggs Reddell joined the firm. Recognized in 2022 as one of the top 50 female retirement plan advisors in the country by the National Association of Plan Advisors, Sarah helps businesses design benefit plans that give their employees financial resources for a secure future and a better life. In 2020, Tommy Battle, former Headmaster of Virginia Episcopal School joined the firm as President and Advisor. As a Certified Pinnacle Business Guide, Tommy spearheads the business coaching side of the company. Drawing from his experience in leading business turnarounds, he helps business owners and their teams achieve their goals through culture, brand, and financial transformations.
The firm has grown to 11 employees who work with clients to create more abundant futures through planning, foresight, and protection. Services span wealth management and investments, financial protection, and creating multigenerational legacies. The firm works with business owners on coaching and planning for continuity, succession, transition, and exit planning.
With innovative financial solutions and coaching, the team has been a constant presence by the side of hundreds of companies and business owners and tens of thousands of employees and their families in Central Virginia and the mid-Atlantic.
Financial Designs has expanded its impact throughout the mid-Atlantic and South, partnering for growth with colleagues in the Legacy Advisors Network, a team of premier business transition, succession and exit planners and coaches across the country. Scruggs serves on the executive committee of the organization, guiding its role in bringing crucial expertise to the 10 million small to mid-size businesses in the U.S. that will change hands over the next decade.
Beyond individual success stories, Financial Designs is known for its philanthropic commitment to the community at large, empowering local organizations including the D-Day Memorial, the Centra Health Foundation, the Academy Center of the Arts, and other non-profits. This mindset of giving back underscores Financial Designs’ ethos of “harnessing the power of collaboration and entrepreneurialism.”
Rick’s journey with Financial Designs has transformed not only his own life but the lives of thousands. His determination to protect and empower the people he loves has evolved into Financial Designs—a pillar of financial well-being for the community.