Top financial advisors working with gen x clients in Santa Ana, CA

Sandeep Madhavan is a CFP® with 22 years of industry experience, currently serving as a financial advisor at Ameriprise since 2020. He previously worked at Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. from 2003 to 2020. Madhavan serves on the Board of Directors for the Santiago Canyon College Foundation and is the Sponsorship Chair for the Tustin Western Little League. Ameriprise provides a retirement-income planning service aimed at individuals approaching or in retirement with significant investable assets, combining research-driven modeling and tax-efficient strategies. As a large institutional firm, it offers a broad range of advisory, brokerage, and insurance solutions through affiliated entities.

Scott Wetzel is the principal of Greenworth Investment Advisors, LLC, an independent firm based in Santa Ana, CA. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has 13 years of experience in the financial industry. Prior to founding Greenworth Investment Advisors in 2011, he was president and partner at Ticon General Contractors, a commercial construction company, where he worked from 1998 to 2021. Greenworth Investment Advisors serves individual clients through fee-based portfolio management and hourly consultations. The firm employs a long-term, rules-based investment approach focusing on value investing and passive strategies, managing client accounts directly without outsourcing.

Michael Morera is a financial advisor at Virtue Capital Management, LLC with 18 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 licenses and has been with Virtue Capital Management since 2015. Outside of his advisory role, Morera is the owner of Beach Cities Tax Service and teaches financial literacy at Financial Education Jr Business School. Virtue Capital Management, LLC is an SEC-registered enterprise investment adviser managing approximately $1.2 billion in discretionary assets for over 4,000 clients through about 90 advisers. The firm offers discretionary portfolio management, financial planning, and ERISA consulting, employing strategic and model-driven investment approaches primarily using mutual funds and ETFs.

Taylor Bell is a financial advisor with Aequitas Financial, LLC, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and five years of industry experience. He previously worked at firms including Blue Barn Wealth and Fidelity Brokerage Services and is also the owner of Aequitas Bookkeeping, a business providing bookkeeping and accounting services to small business owners. Additionally, Bell is employed as a Direct Solutions Consultant at Addepar, a performance reporting software company. Aequitas Financial is a single-advisor independent firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with fee-only financial planning and discretionary investment management. The firm combines passive and active investments with socially responsible options and offers educational seminars alongside ongoing client engagements.

Sandip Sehmi is a financial advisor with LPL Financial, holding Series 63 and Series 65 credentials and over 27 years of industry experience. He has been with LPL Financial since 2009. Sehmi is also involved as a sole proprietor in OC Wealth Advisors and serves as a successor trustee on his family trust. LPL Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, retirement plans, institutions, and charitable organizations. The firm offers a range of financial planning and advisory programs, including discretionary and non-discretionary management, utilizing model portfolios, third-party subadvisors, and advanced technologies.

Michelle Vargas, Certified Financial Planner™ is the President of Waymaker Financial Planning, a Fee-Only firm that provides transparent and accessible financial guidance. She enjoys helping clients navigate and plan all aspects of their financial life so that they will worry less about their future and free up more time to spend doing what they love. After earning a degree in Finance from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1990, she moved to Florida and started her career with Harcourt Brace Publishing. Her journey into personal finance began when she signed up for her 401K and wanted to learn about additional options to plan for retirement. This eventually led to working as a financial advisor and completing the extensive education requirements for becoming a CFP® in 1998. She believes her experience as a young professional searching for unbiased advice enables her to better serve Gen XY professionals because she remembers what it was like being in their shoes. As a former homeschool parent and the wife of a federal employee, she is passionate about helping women, homeschool families, and federal workers plan wisely for a comfortable financial future. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in Colorado, barbecuing with family, and working in her garden.

Many blue-collar business owners spend years building successful companies but struggle with inconsistent cash flow, high taxes, and uncertainty about how to turn their business into a secure retirement. Unlike most financial firms that focus primarily on investments, I take a planning-first approach that connects your business strategy with your personal financial goals. As a CFP® professional and fee-only fiduciary advisor with 10+ years of experience, I help business owners integrate cash flow planning, tax strategies, risk management, retirement planning, and investments into one coordinated plan. Having experienced the challenges of business ownership firsthand and growing up in a family business, I understand that your business is often your largest asset. My goal is to provide the guidance and strategy business owners need to protect what they've built and create financial freedom beyond their business.

I believe that everyone should have access to a professional advisor who understands their needs and can help them achieve the lifestyle they desire. As a financial advisor, I am dedicated to learning about your personal goals and using them to build a retirement plan tailored to your unique situation. NexJenn Financial Services was founded in response to the demand for financial planning from my tax clients. Often squeezed between spending for their kids’ education, caring for an elderly relative and saving for their own retirement, many were anxious about their financial future. I have enjoyed helping my clients find a balance and focus on building a strong financial future. I am a CPA® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER Professional®, as well as a Retirement Income Certified Professional®. Additionally, I am a member of the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors and the XY Planning Network. In my spare time, my husband and I volunteer at a homeless shelter. I also love to bike and travel and am an aspiring photographer. I have been married for 30 years and together with my awesome husband, we’ve raised three awesome kids.

I'm a fiduciary & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER living in Indianapolis, Indiana but serving clients nationwide. For years I've helped individuals and families plan for retirement and other imporant financial decisions. In college, I studied economics with a concentration in finance. After college, I worked for large wealth management firm in Indiana and then a boutique financial advising office specializing in retirement planning. That firm was later acquired and after a few years working for the acquiring firm I left to start WealthGuides. As an advisor I've worked with clients age 22 to 92. While I've worked with a wide range of people, I've always found my passion was with working with people to create a plan for retirement. As an advisor I provide guidance to my clients on taxes, their investment portfolios, estate planning, & charitable giving amongst others areas. I show people where they can save on taxes and I give clarity and strategies for how my clients can maximize the potential for what they can spend on themselves and give to others. On the personal side I'm a runner, a reader, a cat dad, and a traveler. I also enjoy sipping on a nice glass of wine or whiskey.

I am a seasoned technology professional and an entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley. I have experience starting and running a software company that was venture-funded and subsequently acquired by a public company. During my high-tech career, I got intrigued by money matters such as savings, investments, insurance, taxes in order to achieve my family's financial goals. Out of curiosity, I spent time reading and researching various aspects of personal finance. I realized that there are a growing number of financial options available with increasing complexity in these choices. My passion towards financial planning ultimately resulted in pursuing formal education in financial planning, subsequently completing the CFP Board requirements to be a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professional. I launched Encover Personal Finance in 2018, primarily to help technology professionals achieve their financial life goals based on my own experience. I believe in serving clients honestly and transparently in a conflict-free manner. https://www.encoverpersonalfinance.com/about