Top financial advisors working with young professionals in Cupertino, CA

Susan Bergstrom is a financial advisor with Edward Jones in Cupertino, CA. She holds a Series 66 designation and has one year of industry experience. Prior to joining Edward Jones, she worked for ten years at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving individual and institutional clients with over $1 trillion in assets under management. The firm offers a range of advisory programs, including discretionary and non-discretionary wrap fee strategies, separately managed accounts, and affiliated mutual funds, supported by a large network of financial advisors and branch offices across the United States.

Sara Alaei is a financial advisor at Merrill in Cupertino, CA, holding a Series 66 designation with seven years of industry experience. Her prior work includes roles at Bank of America and Wells Fargo. Merrill, together with its affiliate Managed Account Advisors LLC, provides managed account services to Bank of America fiduciary clients through the Select Portfolio Solutions Program, offering a range of model-based and discretionary investment strategies for individuals, high-net-worth clients, pension plans, corporations, and charitable organizations.

Weiming Ho is a financial advisor at Integral Financial LLC with 29 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been involved with Integral Financial LLC since 2002 and IF Direct LLC since 2011. Outside of advisory work, he is the founder of an insurance agency and is an investor in a restaurant business. Integral Financial LLC provides portfolio management services primarily to individual clients, focusing on diversified allocations across U.S. and international equities, bonds, and cash. The firm employs a low-turnover, buy-and-hold investment approach using low-cost index funds, CDs, and U.S. Treasuries, with portfolios rebalanced annually.

Satish Soman is the sole advisor at Soman Advisors LLC in Cupertino, CA, holding a Series 65 designation with one year of industry experience. Prior to founding his firm, he has been Vice President of ASICs at Infinera, a telecom equipment provider, since 2017. In this role, he works part-time focusing on ASIC design methodologies and processes. Soman Advisors LLC provides discretionary portfolio management primarily to high-net-worth individuals, managing approximately $3 million across a limited number of accounts. The firm’s investment approach centers on derivatives strategies using broad-based index options and structured spreads, with a focus on tax-efficient growth and income tailored to client risk profiles.

Meng Zhang is a financial advisor at J.P. Morgan Securities with Series 66 and Series 63 licenses and four years of industry experience. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan, Zhang worked at HSBC Bank USA and has been involved in entrepreneurial activities including roles at Luckybird Fashion and 6 kiss travel. Zhang also spent five years at De Anza College. J.P. Morgan Securities provides investment consulting and advisory services primarily to institutional clients and retirement plan sponsors, combining quantitative asset-allocation modeling with centralized due diligence and an ESG eligibility framework to guide investment decisions.

Donald Harris is a financial advisor at Beaird Harris with 29 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Beaird Harris Wealth Management, Inc. since 1996, as well as Beaird Harris & Co P.C. since 1989. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a managing officer and trustee for several trusts and management companies. Beaird Harris Wealth Management, LLC is a fee-only, SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension plans, and business entities. The firm employs Modern Portfolio Theory with diversified asset-class exposure primarily through low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and it offers alternative investments and tax-managed strategies.

Katie Strother is a financial advisor with Curi Capital, LLC in Raleigh, NC, holding CFP® and Series 65 credentials and bringing 11 years of industry experience. Her prior experience includes roles at Park Ridge Asset Management and Curi RMB Capital LLC. Outside of her advisory work, she is involved in her community as a nursery room leader at Peace Church and serves as a varsity girls soccer coach at Wilson Christian Academy. Curi Capital is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $11.6 billion in assets and serving individuals, retirement plans, institutions, and family offices. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach using proprietary and third-party strategies across equity and fixed income, and offers a range of services including wealth management and specialized offerings for medical professionals.

Jill Raderstorf is a financial advisor at Aptus Financial, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Hamilton Capital, LLC and Fifth Third Bank. Outside of her advisory role, she serves as an unpaid advisor to Accelerating Angels, a venture investment firm focused on high-growth, women-owned businesses, where she assists with building due diligence processes. Aptus Financial provides flat-fee financial planning and advisory services to individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, and employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans. The firm emphasizes financial planning over discretionary portfolio management, supporting clients with passive, long-term indexing strategies, structured educational programs, and subscription-based ongoing support.

We’re built for families! We focus on bridging generations to connect families and their finances. As Baby Boomers, you created more wealth than any generation before you. Now in your retirement years, the economic expansion that aided your careers doesn’t feel as robust. You worry about your savings lasting a lengthy life expectancy. You also worry that your children and grandchildren will be the first generation to not have it better than the generation before them. Our goal is to solve both problems. Our structure allows us to provide the same great advice whether you have a lifetime of savings or you are just starting out. That means we can work with multiple generations, and where appropriate, find opportunities to coordinate across generations while maintaining privacy and independence. I am a millennial myself with over a decade of experience helping retirees with personal finances. That combination of youth and experience gives me an advantage over many of the advisors out there. My youth, to retirees, means I am likely to be around for the entirety of your retirement. All those plans you made with your advisor, will be executed by the advisor that helped you plan them. If that includes an inheritance, good news because I want to work with your heirs too! To a younger generation, you get an advisor you can relate to who doesn’t treat your problems as less significant because you don’t have the same level of assets. Just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I’m green! I was previously the Practicing Partner of a wealth management firm focused solely on retirees. As the lead portfolio manager, I oversaw almost $500 million in client portfolios. That experience means I’ve guided and advised clients through every stage of a successful retirement. It also means I know what a successful retirement looks like. As I’ve always said, best laid plans begin with the end in mind, so my experience serves just as well early in your journey to financial independence. I started my own firm because I saw an increasing need to reconnect families and their finances. Grandparents are providing child care, children are providing elderly care, and everyone is chipping in to pay for education. As much as ever families need each other, and our program is specifically designed to be prepared when they do.

Michael Grinnell is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has brought a problem-solving approach influenced by his background in Mechanical Engineering, earned from Santa Clara University. Michael concentrates on business development, marketing, and engaging with the next generation of clients. His areas of expertise include education planning, family wealth management strategies, legacy planning, liquidity management, personal retirement planning, portfolio management services, and small business strategies. He holds several professional designations, including Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Outside of work, Michael enjoys a range of outdoor activities such as fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting, music, rock climbing, running, skiing, surfing, and tennis. He is actively involved in the community through organizations like St. Anthony Organization and The Covenant House California.