Large-firm, social Security optimization financial advisors in San Francisco, CA

The right financial advisor for you depends on how you weigh location, expertise, experience, the clients they typically serve, and how they work with you.

If you're approaching Social Security age and want to maximize your benefits, you need an advisor who understands the complex rules and timing options that affect your monthly payments. A common mistake is claiming benefits too early or in the wrong sequence, which can reduce your lifetime income.

  • Benefit timing strategies. Ask how they determine the optimal age to start benefits based on your work history and spouse's records.
  • Tax impact awareness. Confirm they consider how Social Security income interacts with your other income and California's high state taxes.
  • Coordination with retirement plans. Look for advisors who integrate Social Security decisions with your overall retirement income sources.
  • Large-firm resources. These advisors often have access to specialized tools and teams that can model complex Social Security scenarios for you.

Here are top matches to get you started. Review each profile to compare experience, credentials, and approach.

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Roger W

Series 63, Series 65

San Francisco, CA

Wittlin Advisory

Roger Wittlin is a financial advisor at Wittlin Advisory with eight years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at firms including True Capital, Monroe Capital, and PCCP. Wittlin Advisory is a fee-only investment management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, families, and foundations, with a notably international client base. The firm provides discretionary and non-discretionary portfolio management, utilizing fundamental analysis and ongoing monitoring to guide asset allocation, including traditional funds, private placements, and digital assets.

Private / alternative investments
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Brett J

Series 66

San Francisco, CA

Ameriprise

Brett Jennings is a financial advisor at Ameriprise in San Francisco, holding a Series 66 designation with three years of industry experience. His prior roles include positions at Modern Woodmen of America and the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ameriprise offers retirement-income planning services primarily for individuals with significant investable assets, combining research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to deliver tailored Recommendation Reports. The firm provides a broad range of advisory, brokerage, and insurance solutions through affiliated companies.

Retirement income strategy Income planning Social Security optimization Retirement withdrawal strategies Approaching retirement
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Darren K

CFP®, Series 66

San Francisco, CA

Creative Planning

Darren Kalb is a CFP® and holds the Series 66 designation, with 14 years of industry experience. He has worked at Creative Planning since 2017 and previously spent three years at Polaris Greystone Financial Group, LLC. He is based in San Francisco, CA. Creative Planning provides wealth management, financial planning, and retirement-plan advisory services to individuals, pension plans, trusts, foundations, and corporations. The firm employs a financial-planning-led investment approach that emphasizes low-cost indexing and buy-and-hold strategies for long-term goals, supplemented by selective private market exposure and various tax-efficient strategies.

Private / alternative investments Tax-loss harvesting ESG / Sustainable investing Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Retirement income strategy Founder/Business Owner Executive Retired
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Abu F

Series 63

San Francisco, CA

Raymond James & Associates

Abu Farukh is a financial advisor with Raymond James & Associates, holding a Series 63 designation and bringing 46 years of industry experience. He has been with Raymond James & Associates since 2012. The firm is a large, dually registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $501 billion in assets. It serves a diverse client base, including individuals, institutions, and municipal entities, offering financial planning and non-discretionary investment consulting through various advisory programs.

General retirement planning Retirement income strategy Business succession planning Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Giani K

Series 65

San Francisco, CA

Global Key Advisors

Giani Kurniawan is a financial advisor at Global Key Advisors with a Series 65 credential and four years of industry experience. Prior to joining Global Key Advisors, Giani worked at Global Insight Advisors and held various roles related to education and entrepreneurship. Global Key Advisors provides financial planning and investment management services to individuals, corporations, trusts, foundations, and family offices, primarily through separately managed accounts branded InsideTrack®. The firm uses statistically driven, multivariate analysis of unconventional data sources and proprietary tools to manage concentrated, long-only portfolios, generally avoiding macro market timing and direct cryptocurrency holdings.

Active portfolio management Factor investing / smart beta Wealth management
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Willie M

Series 63, Series 66

Cary, NC

Equitable Advisors

Willie Myles is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016 and previously at AXA Advisors, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for the nonprofit Alpha Light Fund Inc., focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individual, high-net-worth, retirement plan, corporate, charitable, and institutional clients, offering financial planning, broker-dealer services, insurance distribution, and access to third-party asset management programs. The firm operates as both an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer, leveraging LPL-sponsored programs and endorsed TAMPs to deliver advisory and brokerage solutions.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Founder/Business Owner Retired Executive Approaching retirement Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964)
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Stavroula K

Series 63, Series 65

Linwood, NJ

Ameriprise

Stavroula Koutsfetsoulis is a financial advisor at Ameriprise with 25 years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has been with Ameriprise and its affiliated entities since 2011. In addition to her advisory role, she is involved in fiduciary activities as an attorney-in-fact (power of attorney). Ameriprise is a large institutional firm that provides retirement-income planning services primarily to individuals with substantial investable assets. The firm combines research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to deliver written recommendation reports through a centralized consulting team, focusing on tailored retirement income strategies.

Retirement income strategy Income planning Social Security optimization Retirement withdrawal strategies Approaching retirement
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Cassandra S

Series 63, Series 65

Plano, TX

Financial & Tax Architects, LLC

Cassandra Sanchez is a financial advisor at Financial & Tax Architects, LLC with seven years of industry experience. She holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has previously worked at Fisher Investments, TIAA, US Health Advisors, and various other firms. Sanchez also had involvement with Drunken Donkey, reflecting experience outside the financial sector. Financial & Tax Architects provides discretionary portfolio management and financial planning primarily for individual and high-net-worth clients, focusing on those nearing or in retirement. The firm offers proprietary “Private Wealth Strategies” that use ETFs, individual securities, and trend-aware rebalancing, with accounts reviewed monthly and customizable strategies to meet client needs.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Annuities Income planning General tax planning Retired
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Keith E

CFP®

Pittsburgh, PA

Keith L. Eliou, CFP

Keith Eliou is the principal of Keith L. Eliou, CFP, an investment management firm based in Pittsburgh, PA. He holds the CFP® designation and has one year of experience as a financial advisor. In addition to his advisory role, he practices law focusing on elder law and real estate and is involved in insurance, mortgage lending, and real estate brokerage businesses. The firm primarily serves pooled vehicles and institutional accounts, offering portfolio management, retirement plan services, and financial planning. It utilizes an open-architecture investment approach with third-party money managers and employs multiple analytical methods and strategies, conducting annual account reviews.

Social Security optimization Retirement income strategy Cash flow / budgeting Charitable giving tax strategies Business exit / sale strategy Founder/Business Owner
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Charles P

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

San Rafael, CA

WealthSpire Advisors

Charles Pyfer III is a CFP® professional with 19 years of industry experience, currently serving at Wealthspire Advisors since 2024. Prior to this, he spent 15 years at Private Ocean. Wealthspire Advisors provides wealth management, investment advisory, financial planning, and family office support to a diverse client base including individuals, corporations, retirement plans, and nonprofit organizations. The firm employs a relationship-driven, customized investment approach that emphasizes diversified, institutional-style asset allocation and utilizes a range of investment vehicles and third-party platforms for comprehensive portfolio management.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Roth conversion strategy Tax-loss harvesting Private / alternative investments Founder/Business Owner Retired Mid-Career Professionals Established Professionals
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Jeffrey P

Series 66

Dacula, GA

Merrill

Jeffrey Park is a financial advisor at Merrill with eight years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked at Merrill and affiliated firms since 2011, including roles at JPMorgan Chase Bank and J.P. Morgan Securities. Outside of his advisory work, he is a sole owner and co-owner of family rental properties in Lawrenceville, Georgia. 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 model-based and discretionary strategies for individuals, high-net-worth clients, and institutional investors.

Tax-loss harvesting Active portfolio management Wealth management
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Scott M

Series 63, Series 65

New York, NY

Morgan Stanley

Scott Mahoney is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley in New York, NY, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and bringing 34 years of industry experience. He has been with Morgan Stanley since 2009, including roles at Morgan Stanley Private Bank, N.A. Outside of his advisory work, he is involved with Giants Foot Cubed LLC. Morgan Stanley Wealth Management is a large SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer that serves both individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a wide range of advisory programs and financial planning services supported by structured planning tools and broad investment resources.

General estate planning guidance
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Elizabeth B

Series 66

New York, NY

J.P. Morgan Securities

Elizabeth Brown is a Series 66 licensed financial advisor with J.P. Morgan Securities in New York, NY, where she has worked since 2012. She has 26 years of industry experience. J.P. Morgan Securities provides institutional consulting services to clients such as corporations, foundations, and defined contribution plan sponsors, offering asset allocation advice, investment manager and fund searches, and customized performance reporting through a select group of Wealth Advisors. The firm combines large institutional advisory operations with brokerage, distribution, and investment management capabilities.

Wealth management Executive Founder/Business Owner
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Wesley P

Series 63, Series 66

Fort Worth, TX

Wells Fargo Clearing

Wesley Pool is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Clearing with 15 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and previously worked at JPMorgan Securities LLC for seven years. Outside of finance, he has been involved with #TagMeBro LLC and Fry Street Public House. Wells Fargo Advisors is a national securities firm serving individual, corporate, and institutional clients with investment advisory services, financial planning, and retirement plan consulting. The firm manages approximately $671 billion in assets and offers both brokerage and advisory solutions.

Retired Founder/Business Owner
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Willie M

Series 63, Series 66

Cary, NC

Equitable Advisors

Willie Myles is a financial advisor with Equitable Advisors in Cary, NC, holding Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and bringing 16 years of industry experience. He has worked at Equitable Advisors since 2016 and previously at AXA Advisors, LLC. Outside of his advisory work, he serves as co-chairman of a fundraising campaign for the nonprofit Alpha Light Fund Inc., focused on renovating the House of Alpha. Equitable Advisors serves a diverse client base including individual, high-net-worth, retirement plan, corporate, charitable, and institutional clients, offering financial planning, broker-dealer services, insurance distribution, and access to third-party asset management programs. The firm operates as both an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer, leveraging LPL-sponsored programs and endorsed TAMPs to deliver advisory and brokerage solutions.

Retirement income strategy Social Security optimization Founder/Business Owner Retired Executive Approaching retirement Baby Boomers (Born 1946-1964)
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