Aloha! I'm Skyler Stokes, CEPA®, AIF®, and founder of Aloha Wealth Partners, based right here on the coast in Cardiff, CA. With over a decade in the industry, I built my practice around a simple idea: financial advice should feel like a conversation with someone who actually has your back, not a sales pitch. I work closely with real estate professionals, high income business owners, and accredited investors, helping them think through 1031 exchanges, Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) investments, pre-IPO access, and private credit opportunities. Much of my work is planning and consulting focused, built around your goals rather than a product. Outside the office, you'll find me experimenting with wood-fired pizza, chasing down a good Calabrian wine, or just enjoying the surf, which makes this part of San Diego home. If you're looking for a partner who brings clarity, honesty, and a little bit of aloha to your financial life, I'd love to talk story.

Frederick Pearson is a Series 65-licensed financial advisor with 15 years of industry experience. He operates as a self-employed advisor through his independent firm, Pearson, Frederick, Norman Jr., based in Poway, CA. His firm provides discretionary portfolio management primarily for individual investors, focusing on IRA accounts. The investment strategy centers on income through dividend-paying stocks and ETFs, with a smaller allocation to growth equities managed under a strict money-management framework.

Hi, I'm Gerardo but most people call me Jerry. I am a Marine Corps veteran, a first-generation Latino, a CFP® Professional, and the co-founder of Confianza Wealth Management. Everything I've built to this point started from a moment I will never forget. The day I left the Marines, everything changed. In uniform I had structure, purpose, camaraderie, and a consistent paycheck. The day I left, all of it vanished. What followed was a cascade of emotions I was not prepared for: depression, anxiety, and fear. I had grown up facing financial hardships, relying on food stamps and public aid, and suddenly I was on my own with no roadmap and no one who understood what that transition actually costs. That moment changed the direction of my life. I decided to become the guide I wished I had. I obtained my licenses, earned my CFP® certification and my MBA, and joined a firm to learn how to help people build real wealth. For years I helped high-net-worth clients grow their assets but kept seeing the same gap. First-gen families who earn well, save consistently, own property but have no one looking at the full picture. No one building the plan around their actual life. No one who understands that their financial reality includes family obligations that never show up on a spreadsheet and cultural expectations that no textbook ever taught. Growing up in a Latino household, the elders have the final say. I watched financial decisions get made around me that I knew were not right. But questioning them meant disrespecting the people who sacrificed everything for me. So I absorbed it. And I carried that weight into my own financial life without realizing it. I felt the firm I worked at was never built for families like mine. So in 2024, my wife Bianca and I launched Confianza - a name that means trust and confidence built specifically for the first-gen professional who has figured out how to earn well and needs a roadmap for what comes next. We work with first-gen professionals and entrepreneurs, 33 and older, who are already saving and investing but have never had a coordinated financial plan built around their real life: income, assets, family, and the future they are working toward. When I am not working with clients, you will find me outside hiking or camping with Bianca and our German Shepherd, Obi. If you are a first-gen professional or entrepreneur who earns well but has never had a plan built around your actual life, we built this for you.

Clair Leedom is the principal of Leedom Asset Management, Inc., an independent firm based in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 20 years of industry experience. Prior to founding Leedom Asset Management in 2007, he has been involved with California Equity Research since 2003, where he also serves as chairman of the board. Leedom Asset Management provides discretionary portfolio management for individual investors, charitable organizations, and pension/profit-sharing plans. The firm manages equity and fixed-income portfolios, operates a private pooled investment vehicle, and employs a growth-oriented strategy focused on small- to mid-cap emerging-growth stocks using a proprietary strength indicator and a combination of fundamental and technical analysis.

John Malaney is a financial advisor at Engineering Financial Independence, Inc. with four years of industry experience. He holds the Series 65 designation and has a background as a Program Manager at General Atomics, where he worked for fourteen years. Engineering Financial Independence, Inc. provides portfolio management and financial planning services to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $5.0 million across a small number of relationships. The firm offers a free subscription service featuring general investor commentary, and employs an investment approach that includes fundamental analysis, modern portfolio theory, quantitative methods, long-term equity strategies, options trading, mutual funds, ETFs, and fixed income.

Earl Wong is a financial advisor at Spirit Global Investment Advisors, LLC with 14 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has been with Spirit Global since 2013. Outside of his advisory role, he manages One Road Media Ventures, focusing on developing and distributing global media projects with an emphasis on partnerships in Asia. Spirit Global Investment Advisors serves family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and institutional investors with integrated wealth management, combining public-market portfolio management, alternative fund access, and institutional-grade digital asset services. The firm employs a manager-of-managers approach with significant allocations to alternatives and digital assets, primarily targeting sophisticated and institutional mandates.

Curt Di Giacomo is a CFP® professional with 24 years of industry experience, currently serving as the sole advisor at Goal Line Wealth Management, Inc. He has previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Citigroup Global Markets, and Wells Fargo Advisors. Outside of his advisory role, he is a licensed insurance agent and a notary public. Goal Line Wealth Management serves individual and high-net-worth clients by providing both discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory and financial planning services. The firm customizes portfolios based on clients’ objectives and risk tolerances, using various investment strategies and reviews accounts quarterly.

Amy Sharp is a CFP® professional with over 30 years of experience in financial advising. She is the founder of Amy T. Sharp, CFP, LLC, an independent firm based in Valley Center, CA. Her prior roles include positions at CS Planning Corp, Investacorp Advisory Services Inc, PRUCO Securities, USAA Financial Planning Services, and MSI Financial Services. Outside of advising, she co-owns a family chocolate business producing sugar-free confections. Her firm provides financial planning and portfolio management services to individuals, businesses, pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm constructs diversified, actively managed portfolios with a systematic approach and offers educational resources including a monthly newsletter and online articles.

Andrew Arroyo is the principal of Andrew Arroyo Investments, LLC and holds a Series 65 designation with 15 years of industry experience. He has operated Andrew Arroyo Real Estate Inc. since 1999, focusing on residential real estate sales and investment. Arroyo is also involved in managing real estate and securities investment funds through related entities. Andrew Arroyo Investments, LLC provides investment supervisory services to pooled investment vehicles and a variety of individual, corporate, and retirement clients. The firm employs a combination of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analyses across equity, options, and real estate-related investments, offering both discretionary and consultative advisory services.

Ahmet Turken is a financial advisor with Turken Investments LLC in San Marcos, CA. He holds a Series 65 designation and has six years of industry experience. Prior to founding Turken Investments, he worked at Thermo Fisher Scientific and is currently a Senior Finance Manager at Becton Dickinson, focusing on financial planning and budgeting for their Biosciences division. Turken Investments provides investment management and financial planning services to individuals and legal entities, including executives, retirees, and business owners. The firm emphasizes diversified portfolios based on written Investment Policies and client risk questionnaires, operating on a non-discretionary basis with client approval for trades.

Scott Melbrod is the sole advisor at Taxable Wealth in San Diego, CA, holding Series 63 and 65 licenses with 23 years of industry experience. Prior to founding Taxable Wealth in 2019, he worked at NATIONAL PLANNING CORPORATION from 2002 to 2017 and has been associated with M Wealth Management since 2015. He is also managing partner of Accumulation Wealth Partners and SH Partners, LLC, the latter involving real estate management. Taxable Wealth provides investment advisory and financial planning services mainly to individual and high-net-worth clients, as well as corporate clients. The firm emphasizes passive portfolio construction using low-cost index funds combined with fundamental analysis and periodic reviews, and it sponsors affiliated private real estate investment vehicles.

John Goodrich is a CFP® and ChFC® with 25 years of experience in financial advising. He has been the principal of Goodrich Financial Group, LLC in Escondido, CA since 2006. Outside of advising, he owns a single-family townhouse rental property in San Diego. Goodrich Financial Group provides discretionary investment supervisory services to individuals, high-net-worth individuals, and select corporate clients. The firm employs a blend of asset allocation and multiple analytical methods, using both long- and short-term strategies and active instruments such as options and margin transactions.

Robert Shopes is a CFP® with 15 years of industry experience and operates as the sole advisor at Favrile Financial in Del Mar, CA. His prior experience includes seven years at Waddell & Reed, Inc. and over two decades with Exotica Biologics. Outside of his advisory work, he owns and manages an eBay store, TeraBio, which buys and resells used goods online. Favrile Financial offers discretionary wealth management and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and corporate entities. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes fundamental analysis and long-term orientation, utilizing low-cost mutual funds and ETFs alongside other securities, while employing fixed and hourly fee arrangements rather than asset-based fees.

Cady North is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 10 years of industry experience, operating North Financial Advisors in San Diego, CA. She has been with the firm since 2015 and also engages in teaching, speaking, and coaching activities, in addition to authoring books. North Financial Advisors is an independent firm managing approximately $41.7 million for about 30 clients, including individuals, charitable organizations, and businesses. The firm employs a primarily passive investment approach with diversified, low-cost index portfolios and offers comprehensive, ongoing financial and business planning services alongside public education through seminars and workshops.

Jake Pezzi is a financial advisor at Pezzi Wealth Management LLC in San Marcos, CA, holding a Series 66 designation with two years of industry experience. He previously worked at LPL Enterprise, Prudential Financial Planning Services, and Pruco Securities, LLC. Outside of advisory services, he is a licensed insurance agent. Pezzi Wealth Management LLC provides discretionary investment management and comprehensive financial planning to individual and high-net-worth clients, focusing on portfolios built with exchange-traded funds and low-cost mutual funds. The firm employs a fundamental analysis-based investment process with a long-term orientation, incorporates independent managers without receiving direct compensation, and offers retirement and other planning services.

Christopher Ward is a financial advisor with Ward Capital Management LLC in Escondido, CA. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has 27 years of industry experience. Prior to founding Ward Capital Management in 2014, he worked at Chronos Corporation, FFEC Wealth Partners LLC, Banc Of America Investment Services, Inc., Quick & Reilly, Inc., and A. G. Edwards & Sons, Inc. Ward Capital Management provides investment advisory and retirement plan services to individual investors, including high-net-worth clients, trusts and estates, institutional retirement plans, nonprofits, foundations, corporations, small businesses, and churches. The firm manages portfolios using a single stock model supplemented by bonds and employs both fundamental and technical analysis, while also offering fiduciary consulting and participant education for plan clients.

David Banks is a financial advisor at Phase Two Capital, LLC with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has been with Phase Two Capital since 2015. Phase Two Capital, LLC provides discretionary portfolio management to individual and high-net-worth clients, offering tailored investment programs supported by written Investment Policy Statements. The firm employs fundamental analysis and modern portfolio theory with a long-term trading orientation, managing approximately $25.5 million in assets across nine client accounts.

Christopher Lavine is a CFA® charterholder based in Solana Beach, CA, and has been with Marstone LLC since 2013. He holds a Series 63 license and has 13 years of industry experience. Marstone LLC provides online financial advisory and discretionary portfolio management services to individual investors, institutions, and other advisers through sub-advisory agreements. The firm uses an algorithmic process to assess client risk and manage diversified ETF portfolios, employing a buy-and-hold approach with periodic rebalancing and customized adjustments.

Francisco Maldonado is a CFP®-certified financial advisor with 20 years of industry experience. He is the sole advisor at Global Vantage Wealth Management in Encinitas, CA, and has previously worked at Wealth Analytics Partners, Advanced Wealth Planning, First Allied Securities, Osaic FA, and Ameriprise. Global Vantage Wealth Management serves a select group of individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $75 million across 32 households. The firm offers tailored investment management and comprehensive financial planning, focusing on non-discretionary client relationships and addressing complex issues such as international financial ties and cross-border family concerns.

Merrit Strunk is a financial advisor at Momentum Financial and Insurance Services LLC with seven years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at Momentum Financial and Insurance Services since 2017, including prior roles at Foundations Investment Advisors and Asset Marketing Systems. In addition to advisory services, she is active as an insurance agent, focusing on insurance sales and tax mitigation strategies. Momentum Financial and Insurance Services LLC provides discretionary asset management, financial planning, and consulting to individuals, high-net-worth clients, foundations, and business entities, and also offers insurance products. The firm uses an open-architecture platform with third-party model strategies and conducts seminars and webinars for client education.