Independent, cross-border & expatriate issues financial advisors in Palo Alto, CA

Adam Gensler is a CFP® with eight years of industry experience and is currently a financial advisor at Frank, Rimerman Advisors LLC in Palo Alto, CA. He has been a tax partner at Frank, Rimerman & Co. LLP, a public accounting firm, since 2012. Frank, Rimerman Advisors LLC provides financial planning, wealth management, and portfolio management services to high-net-worth individuals, qualified investors, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and select limited liability companies. The firm employs a long-term, individualized investment approach with diversified portfolios and conducts ongoing client reviews.

Lavina Nagar is a CFP® and Series 65-licensed financial advisor with 15 years of industry experience. She has been with Maya Advisors, Inc., an independent firm based in Menlo Park, CA, since 2008. Maya Advisors serves individual and high-net-worth clients as well as charitable organizations, offering investment and portfolio management, financial planning, and advisory services for donor-advised funds through Schwab Charitable. The firm’s investment approach emphasizes long-term fundamental analysis, utilizing low-cost diversified mutual funds and ETFs, and provides a notable client-managed program for self-directed investors.

Kanaka Szabo Cummings is a CFP® with 27 years of experience in the financial services industry. She has been with Gates Pass Advisors, LLC since 2015. Gates Pass Advisors, LLC provides comprehensive financial planning and ongoing wealth management primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients. The firm emphasizes financial-planning-driven asset allocation, diversification, and tax-aware management, typically implementing strategies through third-party independent managers on a turn-key platform.

Nicholas Raffin is a financial advisor at The Raffin Group LLC with 11 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at Merrill from 2016 to 2020. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as an advisor and strategic partner to Rowzzy, an AI startup focused on Natural Vision Understanding technology. The Raffin Group is an independent advisory firm that provides tailored portfolio management and financial planning to individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and charitable organizations. The firm employs a range of investment approaches, including model allocations with low-cost ETFs and mutual funds, and offers discretionary portfolio management, standalone financial planning, and a wrap-fee program.

Jacques Shepherd is a financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Securities in Palo Alto, CA, holding a Series 66 designation and six years of industry experience. He has worked at J.P. Morgan Securities and JPMorgan Chase Bank since 2021 and previously held positions at UBS Financial Services and UBS. J.P. Morgan Securities provides investment consulting and advisory services primarily to institutional clients and retirement plan sponsors through its Institutional Consulting Services program, combining quantitative asset-allocation modeling with centralized due diligence and an ESG eligibility framework in its investment recommendations.

Christopher Mittleman is the principal of Mittleman Value Partners LLC, an independent investment advisory firm based in New York, NY. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 18 years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Aimia Am Holdings Inc., Aimia Inc., and leadership at Mittleman Brothers LLC and Mittleman Investment Management LLC. Mittleman Value Partners provides discretionary investment management for high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients, including private funds, endowments, and retirement accounts. The firm employs a concentrated, long-term value strategy focused on domestic and foreign equities, with notable features such as managing performance-based fees, use of leverage within separately managed accounts, and serving a significant non-U.S. and institutional client base.

Laura Thomas is a financial advisor at International Asset Management with nine years of industry experience. She holds a Series 63 designation and has worked at Individual Asset Management since 2016. International Asset Management is a team-based registered investment adviser serving individual clients, including high-net-worth and expatriate investors, as well as advisory firms and small businesses. The firm employs a global investment approach with services such as discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and cross-border consulting.

Kautilya Palaypu is a financial advisor at Cow Capital Inc in Newark, CA, holding a Series 65 designation with three years of industry experience. He has been involved in multiple private companies, serving as a director and management consultant for businesses including a gold bullion distribution firm. Cow Capital Inc provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individuals, high-net-worth clients, and business entities. The firm offers a range of services from portfolio management to self-directed retirement plans, employing diverse investment strategies and features such as performance-based fees and advice on non-conventional tangible assets.

Eric Diandrea is a financial advisor at WealthUnite Advisors, LLC with 10 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and has worked at WealthUnite Advisors since 2017. Outside of advisory work, he serves as CFO of DiAndrea Design and Development, a real estate development company. WealthUnite Advisors primarily serves U.K. expatriates in the U.S. with overseas pension assets and U.S. residents seeking investment advice. The firm provides non-discretionary portfolio management focused on international pension arrangements, using mutual funds, ETFs, UCITS, and individual securities.

Robert Mori is a CFA® charterholder with 15 years of industry experience, currently serving at Mori Huston Partners, a firm he has been with since 2009. Based in Miami, FL, he is one of two advisors at the firm. Mori Huston Partners provides fee-only portfolio management and investment consultation primarily to high-net-worth individuals, including U.S. citizens and foreign nationals, as well as certain pension and profit-sharing plans. The firm emphasizes individualized investment policies and active asset allocation, combining fundamental and technical analysis to pursue inflation-adjusted, risk-aware returns with a focus on capital preservation.

Jared Fruth is a financial advisor at Northwest Asset Management with four years of industry experience. He holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Securities America, Inc., KMS Financial Services, Inc., Oppenheimer Funds, and John Paul Mitchell Systems. Northwest Asset Management is a registered investment adviser managing approximately $3.6 billion for nearly 3,000 clients, including individuals, pension and profit-sharing plans, charities, and corporations. The firm employs a customized, fiduciary approach using Modern Portfolio Theory and strategic asset allocation, combining fundamental and technical analysis to build diversified portfolios with periodic rebalancing.

Edwina Martin is a Series 65 licensed financial advisor with two years of industry experience, currently with Waverly Advisors, LLC. She previously worked at 9258 Wealth Management for five years and was employed at Teradata Corp for eleven years. Martin also serves as assistant director of tax planning at 9258 Tax and Planning, a non-investment related business. Waverly Advisors is a multi-team registered investment adviser managing portfolios for individuals, retirement plans, and pooled investment vehicles. The firm combines traditional equity and fixed-income strategies with alternative and private-market allocations, offering a range of investment management and financial planning services.

Craig Mcdaniel Jr. is a financial advisor with Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC in Columbia, SC. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 13 years of industry experience. He has been with Capital Investment Group, Inc. and The McDaniel Corporation since 2012. Outside of his advisory role, he is involved in life insurance sales and serves as an independent agent for annuities and related products. Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC provides investment advisory and supervisory services to individuals, retirement plans, corporations, trusts, estates, and charitable organizations. The firm offers customized investment management through discretionary mandates, third-party managers, and private-label model portfolios, using a blend of analytical methods with ongoing portfolio monitoring.

David Hart is a financial advisor with Martin Wealth Management, LLC in Irvine, CA. He holds a Series 65 credential and has 15 years of industry experience. Hart previously worked with Safeguard Investment Advisory Group and LifePro Asset Management. He is also a Certified Financial Fiduciary and volunteers as an instructor with the Foundation for Fiduciary Education, providing unbiased fiduciary financial education to the public. Martin Wealth Management offers investment advisory services primarily to individuals and high-net-worth clients by co-advising and directing accounts to a third-party money manager, Matson Money. The firm focuses on client onboarding, documentation, and ongoing review of third-party manager accounts rather than direct asset management.

Sarah Currier Barrella is a CFP® professional with 26 years of experience in financial advisory services. She currently works at Santander Securities LLC and Santander Bank, NA, having previously held positions at TD Bank and Citizens Securities, Inc. Barrella is based in Boston, MA. Santander Securities LLC serves a broad retail client base with approximately $3.14 billion in regulatory assets under management across 10,800 client relationships. The firm offers investment advisory services, portfolio management through wrap-fee programs, and financial planning, operating both as a registered investment adviser and a FINRA-registered broker-dealer.