Top cross-border / expatriate tax planning financial advisors in Irvine, CA

Scott Schiffer is a financial advisor at Centaurus Financial, Inc. with 28 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 63 designation and has been with Centaurus since 1998. In addition to his advisory role, Schiffer is a senior partner at Kieckhafer Schiffer LLP, a certified public accounting firm where he oversees client tax matters and supervises accounting staff. Centaurus Financial, Inc. provides advisory and brokerage services to a diverse client base, including individuals, families, businesses, corporations, trusts, and foundations. The firm offers financial planning, portfolio management, retirement-plan consulting, and specialized services, employing a variety of investment analyses and both discretionary and non-discretionary arrangements.

Steven Henningson is a financial advisor at Carson Wealth with Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and 41 years of industry experience. He has held positions at firms including Cetera, Creative Planning Institutional Advisors, and Citigroup Global Markets. Outside of his advisory work, he serves on the advisory board of a community church focused on recovery ministries and is involved with the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Library. Carson Wealth is an enterprise platform managing approximately $50.6 billion through a network of over 650 advisors. The firm offers discretionary asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan services, using an Investment Committee to construct and monitor model portfolios and providing tailored solutions that integrate custodial and technology partnerships.

Spencer Johnston is a financial advisor at Carson Wealth with five years of industry experience. He holds Series 66 and Series 63 licenses and has held roles at firms including Thrivent Financial and Ameriprise Financial Services. Johnston’s prior work includes a 15-year tenure at EWI Worldwide. Carson Wealth operates an enterprise platform overseeing approximately $50.6 billion through more than 650 advisors. The firm offers discretionary asset management, financial planning, and retirement plan services, with an investment approach guided by an Investment Committee that manages model portfolios and provides tailored solutions including custom indexing and alternative investments.

Richard Lewis is a CFA charterholder with seven years of industry experience. He has worked at White Stork Asset Management LLC since 2018 and previously at Raj Vasudevan LLC from 2016 to 2018. He is based in Irvine, CA. White Stork Asset Management provides discretionary investment management to individuals, non-profit organizations, and institutions, focusing mainly on equities and U.S. Treasury securities. The firm’s bottom-up, fundamental investment approach emphasizes undervalued market leaders for long-term holding, active allocation, and risk controls at the position level, serving a client base that includes a notable share of non-U.S. investors.

William Oconnor is a financial advisor with Applied Financial Planning, Inc. in Irvine, CA, holding a Series 63 designation and over 40 years of industry experience. His career includes roles at LPL Financial and Midland National Life, and he currently owns and operates several financial and tax-related businesses. He also hosts a radio program called The Money Guys, which promotes local news and financial planning ideas. Applied Financial Planning, Inc. provides tax preparation and tax planning services to individuals, institutions, and various organizations, focusing on tax-efficiency and long-term investment considerations. The firm bills on a fixed-fee or hourly basis and does not manage client investment accounts directly.

Anthony Caba is a financial advisor at Transition Financial Advisors Group, LLC in Gilbert, AZ, with two years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has prior work history at Office Depot and Florida International University. Transition Financial Advisors Group serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, and estates. The firm offers discretionary investment management and wealth management services, combining portfolio management with financial planning and also provides outsourced tax-preparation services and management of variable annuity sub-accounts.

Mark Wilson is a financial advisor at Branson Fowlkes & Co Inc with 24 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at Branson Fowlkes & Co since 1999, as well as at Triad Advisors, Inc. from 2008 to 2022. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as the treasurer for Boy Scouts of America Troop 1891. Branson Fowlkes & Company provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, families, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and small- to medium-sized businesses, employing a strategic diversification approach that combines asset-class allocation with multiple investment styles and manager selections.

John Clagett is a financial advisor with One Capital Management, LLC in Fort Collins, CO, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 32 years of industry experience. His prior work includes roles at 2 Four2 LLC, Q4 Wealth Management, Inc., Crump Life Insurance, and Nations Financial Group, Inc. One Capital Management serves individuals, retirement plans, trusts, corporations, and institutional clients with a multi-advisor team managing approximately $7.0 billion in discretionary assets. The firm offers wealth management, financial planning, sub-advisory and retirement plan solutions, advisory consulting, and cash management services, and acts as investment adviser to the FundX suite of ETFs.

Joseph Accurso is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. He serves as a Senior Portfolio Manager on an international advisory team, advising high-net-worth individuals, families, and institutions on complex investment and planning needs across global markets. His role involves managing personalized strategies that may incorporate individual stocks and bonds, Merrill model portfolios, and third-party investment strategies. With nearly two decades as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional and over a decade of prior experience as a proprietary trader, Joseph combines institutional trading experience with holistic wealth planning. His expertise spans risk-managed, data-driven portfolio construction, asset allocation, and downside protection, especially in volatile markets. He focuses on wealth accumulation, preservation, multi-generational transfer, integrating investment management with tax-aware planning, estate strategies, and cross-border considerations. Joseph holds a Bachelor's degree from Rutgers University and professional designations including CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). He is fluent in English and Italian. Outside of his professional work, his personal interests include adventure sports, billiards, boxing, chess, football, horseback riding, music, skiing, spending time with his family, and watching movies.

Nicholas Taggart is a CFP® with 23 years of industry experience currently serving at ACR Alpine Capital Research, LLC. He has worked at ACR Alpine since 2017 and previously was with Cetera Advisors LLC from 2013 to 2017. Outside of his advisory role, he is a joint owner of a rental property in Canby, Oregon. ACR Alpine Capital Research provides discretionary portfolio management to institutional investors, intermediaries, and individual clients, including high net worth individuals and retirement plans. The firm employs a fundamentally valuation-based, bottom-up investment approach across various equity and multi-asset strategies and manages both registered mutual funds and private pooled vehicles along with sub-advisory, wrap, and UMA relationships.