David A. Witter is the founder and CEO of Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors in Winter Park, Florida. David and his wife, Katie Witter, are wealth strategists and co-own the firm, serving clients as an advisory team.

A CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^® and a Certified Succession Planner™, David holds FINRA Investment Advisor Representative License Series 66, enabling him to serve clients in a fiduciary capacity and Florida Life, Health, Variable Life & Annuity State Insurance Licenses.

David serves Financial Harvest Wealth Advisors’ approximately 260260 local, national, and international clients and is entrusted with more than $500 million in asset management. David is a fiduciary for clients, governed by the highest legal standards, providing care and trust for client assets and concerns. He delivers highly personalized, fee-only advice¹ to help clients preserve and enhance wealth across generations.

“I am passionate about designing new offers of help and finding new ways to help people and their loved ones. Clients commonly come in with a new concern, a breakdown, or they have a new intention on how to use their wealth, and they say, ‘I need to get here; I just don’t know how to do it.’ And that’s where design comes in.”

David’s ongoing education and knowledge of the most recent tax laws, estate planning changes, and tax-reducing strategies guide clients in tax mitigation and transferring wealth to loved ones effectively and efficiently. David also focuses on protecting client wealth from being unjustly taken and fulfilling charitable giving for maximum impact.

Raised in Fredericksburg, Virginia, David came to Florida for graduate school. But his mother, a schoolteacher for 37 years, was a catalyst for David’s passion for providing wealth management help to others. His parents divorced while David was earning his undergraduate degree, and his mother confided her financial concerns to him.

She told David, “I’m really scared about money. I’m really good at saving money, and I’ve got about ten years left to work, but I don’t know how to invest to be able to retire.” Hearing this changed David’s trajectory in life and career.

“I was earning a degree in electrical engineering, but after hearing those words, I started taking elective courses in the business school and the economics school to learn how to help my own family and help my mom.

“I think I got my teacher’s heart from her. I love to teach the adult education courses we offer,” David said.

David has taught retirement courses since 2004 at Rollins College and the University of Central Florida Business Development Center in the past. He also taught Business Finance at Emanuel University in Romania. David facilitated Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, David’s home church. Katie and David also co-lead the Couples of the Bible Sunday School class.

David’s father also influenced him as David received his entrepreneurial spirit from his dad.

“My Dad owned and ran a veterinarian practice in the same location for over 50 years. I could tell how much his clients and team admired him. Seeing that inspires me to this day.”

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Client Philosophy

David acquires a clear and detailed understanding of his clients’ values and goals and then uses Financial Harvest’s strategic partnerships and professional networks to develop customized recommendations for each client’s unique needs and objectives.

“If you meet with our clients, you will find they’re thoughtful. They know what’s important to them. They have relationships that are important to them. They tend to be disciplined, which gives them great freedom. They’re purposeful.

“When we are working with our clients, one of our core focuses is, ‘How can we help them in a new way? How can we solve their problems and reduce their worries? How can we help them live a good life?’

“We’re very intentional. We really want to help people think about their future, their life, their relationships, the people around them, and what they want that to look like. Then, we can plan and move towards that future.

David also specializes in helping business owners discover and develop what to do with new-found liquidity post-transaction and “what’s next.”

“As a business owner, I closely relate to the pride and sense of identity that comes from building a business and team from the ground up. This requires tremendous soul searching and reflecting with loved ones on what to do with new-found wealth.

“If thoughtful and planned well, there is an opportunity for an exciting new chapter of a life of significance with your loved ones and charitable causes that are meaningful to you. Too often, though, I’ve witnessed business owners post-exit drift, looking for meaning and focusing on tactics not attached to any overall strategy. This is heartbreaking to watch as they exit their business feeling lost without knowing “their why.”

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Education

• University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, M.S. Computer Engineering, 2000
• University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, B.S. Electrical Engineering, 1998

Employment

• Financial Harvest, 2002 — Present
• Sprint, 2001 — 2002

Certifications

• CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^®, January 2006, awarded by the Certified Financial Planning Board of Standards, Inc., having satisfied the education, examination, experience, and ethics requirements for CFP^®
• Certified Succession Planner™, awarded by the International Succession Planning Association, having satisfied the knowledge, examination, and experience requirements for CSP^®
• FINRA Series 66 Investment Advisor Representative License
• Florida Life, Health, Variable Life & Annuity State Insurance License

Awards

• Quoted in Financial Planning Magazine, April 2020
• 2016 and 2017 Winter Park Chamber of Commerce Ovation Award for Best Financial Advisor
• Nominated for Orlando Business Journal’s “Forty under 40,” April 2013
• Recognized in Orlando Business Journal’s 2012 List of Most Influential Men, September 2012
• Featured as a Financial Planner of Distinction, Orlando Magazine, January 2010

Author

• Uncommon Success – How Family Stewards Produce Intentional Wealth,” 2014
• Featured Author, Financial Playbook Magazine, 2007, “Ticking Time Bomb: Improper Beneficiary Designations”
• “Five Investor Blunders that Kill Wealth and Three Abundant Wealth Strategies” audio CD (also featured in CD), 2006
• “The Financial Farmer’s Almanac: A Guide to Growing Wealth and Avoiding Money Trap” ebook, 2005
• Columnist for The Key, 2004:
  • “Who Answers to You?”
  • “REIT and Eat?”
  • “What Should I do about my Annuity?”
  • “Need a Million?”

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Speaker

• Speaker, Daughters of the American Revolution, October 2023, “Change the Course of History; with Wise Wealth Decisions”
• Speaker, Nehemiah Entrepreneur Conference, July 2023, “Business Sustainability Best Practices”
• Speaker, Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, April 2015, “Earning Exceptional Trust”
• Speaker, Orlando Christian Chamber of Commerce, February 2015, “Harmonizing Career, Life and Family”
• Speaker, Rotary Clubs of Winter Park, Maitland, College Park, Windermere, and Dr. Phillips, 2014, “Uncommon Success: Harmonizing Career, Life and Giving”
• Speaker at the International Succession Planning Association Orlando Chapter, 2013, “The Unknown Fiduciary Liability – Threat to Opportunity”
• Presented to business professionals at Cross, Fernandez and Riley (Now BDO USA), October 2012, “Six Core Business Concerns” and “Succession Planning”
• Speaker at Aji Space Conferences, 2011-19. Assisted in producing work sessions on:
  • Building Identities of Superior Trustworthiness and Value
  • Helping Clients Produce Highly-Valued Accomplishments
  • Ethics of Power for Producing $500/hour
  • Mobilizing Thought & Action in your Networks
  • Clear the Decks – Preparing for the Expansion
• Keynote Speaker, University of Central Florida Investors Club, October 2007
• Round Table Discussion Leader, Mortgage Bankers Association of Central Florida, March 2005, “Real Estate Inside Your IRA”
• Keynote Speaker, Mortgage Bankers Association of Central Florida, November 2004, “Equity Repositioning” – over 70 mortgage and banking professionals
• Guest Appearance, The Money Watch Radio Network AM 660, 2003, “Four Stages of Tax Planning,” “Mortgage Planning,” and “Tax Credits”

Featured Appearances

• U.S. News & World Reports, Money: https://money.usnews.com/financial-advisors/advisor/david-witter-4519401
• Financial Planning Magazine: https://www.financial-planning.com/news/coronavirus-tests-financial-advisors-limits-like-the-financial-crisis-never-did
• Stockworth TV: https://www.facebook.com/StockworthTV/posts/1069039743481700

Personal

“I love family time, especially outdoors.

“My daughter Kate, who was born in 2013, is quite the dancer and played the lead Clara role in a production of the Nutcracker. My son Will, who was born in 2011, is a multi-sport athlete in flag football and basketball, but his first love is golf. Most weekends, you can find me coaching Will’s flag game on Friday night, followed by caddying for him over the weekend.

“Katie and I have always tried to engage in coaching their teams as much as we can to have a positive influence, not just on them but their peers. We learn so many life lessons playing sports, which is why we love investing in their lives this way.

“I compete in sprint triathlons and am interested in Lionel model trains. On the weekends, if we are not at a dance competition or caddying in a golf tournament, you can often find us boating on the Winter Park chain of lakes. Katie and I are active in First Presbyterian Church of Orlando. I have a big heart for helping people and trying to contribute.”

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¹ In 2024, Financial Harvest generated 99.8% of its revenue from fees from clients for advice and 0.2% from term life insurance sales commissions as an ancillary service for insurance planning where appropriate.