Independent, general estate planning guidance financial advisors in Santa Monica, CA

Robert Jones is a financial advisor at Victus Capital Wealth with 21 years of industry experience. He holds a Series 66 designation and has worked previously at Morgan Stanley and Beverly Hills Wealth Management. Jones has been with Victus Capital Wealth since 2014. 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 utilizes a blend of fundamental, technical, and cyclical analysis with various investment strategies and regularly monitors and rebalances client portfolios under a fiduciary standard.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Gordon Brown III is a financial advisor at Edward Jones with 18 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 66 designation and has been with Edward Jones since 2008. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients, with approximately $1.01 trillion in assets under management. The firm offers a range of advisory programs and investment options, operating under a fiduciary standard.

William Soltow is a financial advisor at Smith & Wyatt with 13 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and previously worked at CoreCap Advisors, LLC. Outside of advising, he is the founder of Frontier Wealth Management and serves as an independent insurance agent with Goosehead Insurance. Smith & Wyatt serves individuals, including high-net-worth clients, and corporations, managing approximately $207 million across 724 clients. The firm provides tailored financial planning, discretionary portfolio management, estate-planning consulting, and specialized educational programs, utilizing mutual funds and ETFs as primary investment vehicles.

Thaddeus Phelps is a CFP® professional with 28 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has worked at Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC since 2019 and previously spent 14 years with Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. In addition to his advisory work, Phelps owns a tax preparation business and an accounting support service, and he serves in fiduciary roles such as trustee and executor. Advance Wealth Management Service, LLC provides investment advisory and financial planning services primarily to individuals, high-net-worth clients, trusts, estates, and business entities. The firm offers discretionary investment management through a wrap asset management program and emphasizes an individualized approach with asset allocation supported by fundamental, sector, and technical analysis, including risk management strategies such as put options and conservative cash instruments.

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.