Building a Firm With 20 Years of Hindsight

I started as a computer geek guru. While attending high school, I was hired to write software for the pension industry. I learned a lot about retirement plans, and after several years, I co-founded a software company that sold pension software to firms all over the country. I was reading pension regulations, writing code, writing user manuals, copying and mailing disks, and providing technical support.  

While securing my degree in Computer Science from UC Irvine, a co-worker turned me on to the world of investing, and I began reading all that I could on the subject. After several bad experience with a stock broker, my boss asked me to take over the management of the company’s corporate retirement plan. I knew I needed a more formal education, so I enrolled in some financial planning classes at UC Irvine. After taking my first course, I was hooked on the value of financial planning.

Those classes led to an opportunity to join a (then) small financial planning firm that is now one of the top wealth management firms in the country. Over my 19 years at that firm, I worked my way up from my intern position to financial analyst to financial planner to Director of Financial Planning to Chief Investment Officer and to Partner.  It’s been over 20 years since I took those first classes; I’m still hooked!

After leaving that firm, I knew I didn’t want to work in a brokerage environment where success is defined by product sales. I surveyed several established fee-only advisory firms and found none that met my goals to provide wealth management that is customized, accessible, integrated, continuous, and understandable. I decided to start MILE Wealth Management.

It’s not often we get a “reset” in our lives and businesses. I got to rethink everything and have built a new practice using 20 years of hindsight. I’m so excited to show off what I'm doing.

Well... I do like to brag about myself.

• I’m one of only 11 people in the nation that has both the Certified Financial Planner® and Accredited Pension Administrator designations.  

• I taught Retirement Planning courses for more than a decade to future CFP® Practitioners at UC Irvine and Northwestern University.  

• I served a three-year term for the CFP Board’s Council of Examiners helping write, build, and review several comprehensive CFP® exams.

• My career has always been on the fee-only side of the business.  I have never received a commission, incentive fee, or referral bonus.

• I’m an active member of the Financial Planners Association (FPA), the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), the XY Planning Network (XYPN), and the National Institute of Pension Administrators (NIPA).

• I’m a frequent speaker at the award-winning “It’s Your Money” seminar series with a focus on teaching financial planning principles to seniors.

• I served as Planned Giving Advocate for the Orange County Chapter of JDRF (formerly Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

I have the following well-respected designations:

I am an active member in the following membership organizations:

Financial planning is not calculating how much
you need to save to retire at 65!

I break financial planning into multiple steps. 

Asset Map: “You Are Here”

I put together your financial picture in a one-page view, showing your income items, assets, and insurance coverages.  Seeing everything together is an eye-opener for most clients.

Tasks and Actions List: "My Photo Album and Itinerary”

I put together a planning agenda that integrates your financial picture and goals list. This lists items I will be covering with you quarterly and their status before/after we act. You’ll see what’s been done, what’s in process, and what’s coming.

Contact me if I might help with your research; I can be reached directly at 949-441-4410.  If I’m not able to provide any insight into your topic, I’ll try to direct you to someone who might be able to help.