Independent, cash flow / budgeting financial advisors in Santa Monica, 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.

Managing your monthly income and expenses can feel overwhelming, especially if your cash flow fluctuates or you’re trying to save for big goals. Without clear budgeting, it’s easy to overspend or miss opportunities to build savings.

Independent advisors here focus solely on your financial picture without ties to specific products, aiming to help you understand and control your money better.

  • Detailed cash flow analysis. Look for advisors who dig into your income sources and spending habits to create a realistic budget you can stick to.
  • Goal alignment. Ask how they help prioritize your spending and saving to match your short- and long-term financial objectives.
  • Expense management strategies. Confirm they offer practical advice on reducing unnecessary costs and managing debt effectively.
  • Flexible planning. Check if they adjust your budget as your income or expenses change, keeping your plan relevant over time.

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

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Robert J

Series 66

Santa Monica, CA

Victus Capital Wealth

Robert Jones is a financial advisor at Victus Capital Wealth with 21 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has worked at Victus Capital Wealth since 2014, as well as Beverly Hills Wealth Management, LLC since 2011. Victus Capital Wealth serves individual and high-net-worth clients, trusts, pension plans, and business entities by providing portfolio management and retirement plan consulting. The firm employs a blend of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis across various investment strategies while maintaining a fiduciary standard in monitoring and rebalancing portfolios.

Options & derivatives strategies Private / alternative investments
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Skip Z

Series 66

Santa Monica, CA

Ocean Avenue Wealth Management

Skip Zwahlen is a financial advisor at Ocean Avenue Wealth Management in Santa Monica, CA, with 19 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Ocean Avenue Wealth Management since 2010. Zwahlen is also a licensed insurance agent and occasionally offers clients commissionable insurance products. Ocean Avenue Wealth Management provides ongoing portfolio management and financial planning services to individuals, including high-net-worth clients, as well as pension and profit-sharing plans, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and business entities. The firm employs multiple analytical methods and implements a range of strategies without accepting investment discretion, maintaining client authorization for trading and execution.

Options & derivatives strategies Real estate investing Annuities
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Ravin W

Series 63, Series 66

Santa Monica, CA

Thrivent Investment Management

Ravin Walters is a financial advisor at Thrivent Investment Management with 10 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 66 credentials and has previously worked at firms including Royal Alliance Associates, Bank of America, Merrill, and Charles Schwab. Thrivent Investment Management provides Dedicated Planning Services to individuals, families, businesses, and nonprofit clients, offering both one-time and ongoing planning engagements. The firm delivers holistic, goal-based analyses across a broad range of planning topics and allows clients to combine planning with managed-account services under a consolidated billing option called WealthPlan.

Business ownership considerations
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Michael H

CFP®, Series 66

Santa Monica, CA

McDonald Hartman Wealth Advisors

Michael Hartman is a CFP® professional with 12 years of experience in financial advising. He is the principal of McDonald Hartman Wealth Advisors, an independent firm he joined in 2022. His prior roles include positions at Mutual Advisors, LLC, Kaye Capital Management, WealthSource Partners, LLC, and Reilly Financial Advisors LLC. McDonald Hartman Wealth Advisors provides investment advisory and financial planning services to individual and high-net-worth clients, managing approximately $26.3 million in assets. The firm focuses on tailored advice based on client objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance, employing various strategies including asset allocation, dollar-cost averaging, and technical analysis.

Wealth management
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Devon G

CFP®, ChFC®, Series 65

Santa Monica, CA

Serenus Wealth Advisors, LLC

Devon Galindo is a CFP®, ChFC®, and holds a Series 65 license with 12 years of industry experience. He has worked at Serenus Wealth Advisors, LLC since 2024 and previously spent 10 years at Camden Capital, LLC. Serenus Wealth Advisors is an SEC-registered firm serving individual and high-net-worth clients with comprehensive portfolio management and standalone financial planning. The firm employs a diverse investment approach that includes fundamental and technical analysis, quantitative models, and third-party manager due diligence, emphasizing asset allocation, duration management, and periodic rebalancing.

Options & derivatives strategies Private / alternative investments
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Kayla S

Series 63, Series 65

Warwick, RI

Mass Mutual Investors Services

Kayla Santos is a financial advisor with Mass Mutual Investors Services in Warwick, RI, holding Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and having 10 years of industry experience. She has worked at Mass Mutual Investors Services since 2017 and previously at MetLife Securities. In addition to her advisory role, Santos is an independent insurance agent, offering life, fixed annuities, disability, long-term care, and health insurance products. Mass Mutual Investors Services, LLC is a broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser that serves individuals, business owners, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, and employers. The firm provides financial planning, asset management, wrap and money-manager programs, and educational seminars, structuring engagements as annual collaborative relationships focused on goal analysis and written recommendations.

Divorce financial planning General estate planning guidance Multi-generational wealth transfer Cash flow / budgeting Founder/Business Owner Attorney Executive Married/Couples/Partners Divorced
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Amanda Q

Series 66

Richmond, VA

Wells Fargo Advisors

Amanda Quicke is a financial advisor at Wells Fargo Advisors with 18 years of industry experience. She has worked at various Wells Fargo entities since 2009. Amanda is a Series 66 license holder and has partial ownership in an investment-related business, Granite Wealth Management, LLC. Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network serves individuals, trusts, and institutional clients by providing investment and fee-based financial planning services. The firm offers a broad range of planning options using proprietary research and tools, with services tailored to clients who meet specific net-worth criteria.

Divorce financial planning Planning for children with special needs Business exit / sale strategy Cash flow / budgeting Founder/Business Owner
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Michael I

Series 63, Series 65

Livingston, NJ

Raymond James Financial

Michael Ipp is a financial advisor with Raymond James Financial, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and bringing 42 years of industry experience. He has been with Raymond James Financial Services Advisors since 2010 and serves as an independent contractor for 1792 Wealth Advisors. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors provides financial planning, investment consulting, and advisory services to a diverse client base, including individuals, high-net-worth clients, corporations, and institutional clients. The firm offers tailored, non-discretionary planning and uses analytical tools to support client decision-making, while also maintaining specialized programs such as municipal advisory services and SIMPLE IRA Employer Advisory & Consulting Services.

Wealth management Tax strategies for small businesses Business succession planning General estate planning guidance Founder/Business Owner Executive

Vandana D

Series 66

Dublin, CA

Fidelity

Vandana Devi is a Planning Consultant at Fidelity Investments, where she has been serving since 2025. She began her career at Fidelity Investments in 2023, progressing through roles including Financial Service Representative, Financial Representative, and Relationship Manager before assuming her current position. Prior to joining Fidelity, she worked as a Personal Banker at Fremont Bank from 2020 to 2022. Her professional experience encompasses client relationship management and financial planning, with a focus on empowering clients to make informed decisions and maintain confidence in their financial goals. Vandana holds a California Insurance License, supporting her expertise in insurance-related financial services. Outside of her professional work, Vandana engages in activities such as cooking and baking, outdoor adventures, parenthood, reading, traveling, and writing.

General retirement planning Income planning Cash flow / budgeting Parents
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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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Jared F

Series 65

Huntington Beach, CA

Northwest Asset Management

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.

Retirement income strategy Wealth management Active portfolio management Founder/Business Owner
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Edwina M

Series 65

Cincinnati, OH

Waverly Advisors, LLC

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.

Private / alternative investments Real estate investing Options & derivatives strategies Tax-loss harvesting Multi-generational wealth transfer Founder/Business Owner Executive
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Craig M

Series 63, Series 65

Columbia, SC

Capital Investment Advisory Services, LLC

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.

Active portfolio management Retirement plans for business owners (SEP, solo 401k) Annuities Options & derivatives strategies Founder/Business Owner Retired
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David H

Series 65

Irvine, CA

Martin Wealth Management, LLC

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.

Medicare planning Annuities
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Sarah C

CFP®, Series 63, Series 65

Boston, MA

Santander Securities LLC

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.

ESG / Sustainable investing Tax-loss harvesting General retirement planning Income planning Founder/Business Owner
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