About Us
At Hipp and Associates, we are dedicated to our clients and we do everything we can to help them in their financial lives. Since 1992, we have helped hundreds of individuals and families work towards their financial goals, educate their children, retire with dignity, and take care of their inheritors. We take our responsibility to serve the specific needs of our clients seriously and have the depth of experience to meet those requirements.
We firmly believe that before making any recommendations, we must take the time to get to know our clients and understand their goals and concerns. At the same time, it is equally important that you get to know us and the value we can bring to you and your family. By making this investment of time, we are able to develop a meaningful partnership with our clients who entrust us with their future. As your partner and advocate, we examine your situation thoroughly. Our approach, strategies, and service are coordinated to your specific needs, and we consistently monitor and proactively modify your wealth plan as needed.
Our Team
Emily Hipp, CFP®
Emily began her financial career working at Morgan Stanley in 2013, spending several years learning the industry and gaining valuable experience in a major investment bank. She later transitioned to a privately-owned wealth management firm in Columbus, OH, which allowed her to round out professional experience by working directly with a small number of clients. It was during the time with her firm that she studied for and obtained the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certification. Emily agrees with Chris’s philosophy that the best financial guidance and service comes from operating independently from any one investment product or company. In 2019, with her CFP® certification obtained, she returned to her hometown to join her father in providing independent financial planning services at Hipp and Associates.
Emily enjoys spending her spare time with her son, her husband Derek, and rescue dog Penny. On her days off she enjoys cooking, hiking, camping, and traveling. She is an alumnus of St. Paul High School class of 2004, and a graduate of The Ohio State University class of 2008.
Crystal Howard
Crystal is passionate about learning, mastering process nuances and maintaining an efficient office. She has a strong background in business and networking, and her outgoing nature helps create a welcoming experience for our clients. She has spent the majority of the last decade of her career in administration at local accounting firms and in real estate and automotive sales.
Crystal is a graduate of Midview High School and received her bachelor’s degree in 2012 from Ashford University. After a relocation to Ashland and then Mansfield for her Real Estate career, she and her children moved back to Vermilion in 2020. In 2021 she started with Hipp and Associates as a Client Relationship Associate. Outside of work Crystal enjoys painting, baking, wine making, snuggling with Frank (her puggle, numerous photos available upon request), shopping with her kids, and family trips to local beaches.
Our Legacy
Chris Hipp began his career in the financial services business with Prudential Insurance in 1987. A native of Norwalk, he is a graduate of the University of Dayton (1975) and Southern Illinois University (1980). In addition, he was awarded the Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) designation in 1992, at which point he left Prudential to establish Hipp and Associates. Having access to only one company’s products limited his ability to do a credible job for his clients and made it necessary for him to establish an independent financial firm. This independence allows him to utilize products from a wide variety of companies and make recommendations based on what is best for his clients. Chris has always felt that being totally independent and eliminating any inducements or incentives to promote one product over another is the only way to operate a professional planning firm.
Chris retired at the end of 2020 after a fulfilling advisory career spanning four decades. Chris and his wife, Janet, have three grown children and currently reside in Norwalk. He is active in his community and serves as a member of the St. Mary Parish Financial, the Thomas E. Reynolds Charitable and Norwalk Parochial Trust advisory boards, and is a trustee for the Huron County Historical Society.
“Our goal is to provide exceptional, ongoing service. We want to make the management of our clients’ financial matters more understandable by providing qualified answers and solutions, regardless of the size of their accounts.”
— Chris Hipp, Founder of Hipp and Associates