My wife and I recently attended a very informative Epstein & White retirement seminar and afterward…read moremade an appointment to see Sandee; one of their financial advisers. Going into the appointment, we had a vague idea of what would be best for us; but our situation has some 'variables' and is somewhat unique - so, we knew that a 'cookie-cutter' plan definitely would not be a good strategy. After meeting with Sandee, we were impressed with how well she listened to us as we explained our situation, and then offered multiple solutions to fit our various scenarios. With just one consultation, we now have a better retirement plan and feel more comfortable about our financial future. If asked, I would confidently recommend Epstein & White for retirement planning.

So far my experience has been great! Attended a seminar, both Mr White and Mr Epstein were…read moreknowledgeable and the associate I've been working with for the last few months has gone above and beyond. Thanks giving my wife and I an extra boost going into retirement!

Often the first thing that comes to mind when looking for an advisor is managing investments. Bull…read moreOak does this of course--their philosophy is logical and evidence-based. But what set Ryan, Peter, and their team apart to us was that they were clear early in our partnership that they wanted to bring value through other avenues: tax planning and efficient financial planning, just as examples. We appreciated that they accomplished this while also factoring in our goals and especially our values. We feel lucky to be with Bull Oak and highly recommend working with them.

As a retired engineering business owner, I have been impressed by their unique financial model,…read moreservices, and, most importantly, their ethics and values. I've been their client since the inception of Bulloak and I highly recommend them to sophisticated investors.

I had to get liability insurance for a rental property that had its current insurance cancelled…read more Tried well over a dozen insurance agencies with no results. Frustration was unbelievable - I didn't even get call backs from most. Apparently my situation was just too difficult - that is until I called Kennedy Insurance. Elizabeth came through with a great policy and had it in force quickly. I can recommend this company without hesitation.

Called two times to request a quote & both times I was told I would get an email or call back and I…read morenever received anything.

I would 100% recommend David Petri for your Insurance needs.. He is professional, caring and really…read morecares about his clients best interests.

The worst service ever !!! Long story short ...my vehicle…read morewas stolen Aug 2023 and Zayra & the other women in the office insisted I had to renew my insurance. My vehicle was considered a total loss I have no car & they kept pushing me to pay around $600 to renew. I spoke to claims & they let me know the agent should've removed the vehicle from the policy when it was reported stolen & I should not renew because I don't have the vehicle. This location is super shady they stoped answering my calls and messages right after I let them know what claims told me. I was a customer of theirs for almost 12+ years !! They told me I couldn't get a new policy with AllState so I spoke to a representative from their main customer service center and was told this was not true to look for another agent ! Don't use this agent!!

Supremely disappointed in the level of service from Pete and his team. Ryan Horiye has no…read moreattention to detail nor follow up. As a mortgage professional, I've referred them many clients. However, after leaving me with no insurance coverage and NOT informing me that they didn't start my renewal, I cannot risk losing myself or my clients their homes due to bad business. This wasn't a non-renewal like we are seeing in CA, by the way, this was just not paying attention by an insurance broker.

Pete was very friendly and professional when we were setting up our homeowner's insurance after…read morepurchasing our home last year. He was communicative and offered us a competitive rate. We were sincerely hopeful that we had found a great insurance provider that we could stay with and not have to deal with the headache of requesting quotes and comparing insurances on a year-to-year basis. Fast forward a year and we receive our renewal notice and our premium has jumped up over 100% from our previous renewal. When I looked into the coverage, it looked like coverage for a pool had been added to our plan mistakenly. No worries, these things happen, so we reached out and noted the error and requested an updated quote so we could renew. That was over a month ago. First, we were told our policy was adjusted to show that we do not have a pool, but we had to forward a picture of our backyard showing no pool to have the underwriter approve the request. After we provided the photos of our backyard, we were then requested to send a picture of the front of our house so the underwriters could confirm the address. We were told we would get the policy updated in 48-72 hours after that. That was on April 9th. We followed up on a weekly basis and kept getting the run-around. On April 22nd we were told 'I have you calendared for tomorrow to follow up with them. I will let you know the outcome'. We had to reach out again at night the next day because we never heard back. Two days after we reached out, we were notified underwriting didn't see the picture that they had uploaded so they had to send it again and was told that they should have it resolved the next day. Fast forward to today - it's the end of the business day and once again we have not heard any update. Our policy is about to lapse in a week because this saga has been going on for a month. I have since reached out to other insurance providers and have gotten multiple quotes with quick responses from the agents and was able to secure a new policy for the same price as our premium from last year. (over 50% off what Farmers offered us this year, granted it seems like we'll never know what our actual premium should have been without the pool since we still have not received an updated quote to-date). I understand that things happen and sometimes it takes a little longer to get back to people but the communication was consistently abysmal and this entire experience has been frustrating. 2 stars because we had a great start, but I guess once we signed up, we were no longer valued customers.

Whether you are a financially sophisticated gazillionaire running a web of companies from your…read moremegayacht or the kind of person who goes to the ATM to see if they have any money, you need a financial advisor. But not just any financial advisor. You need Keith Paglierani. Keith will grasp all the details while staying focused on the big picture. Even if you have everything figured out, he'll have a few more ideas for you and see at least one issue and a solution you missed. And if something financially major suddenly happens (say you win the lottery or lose a job), you can pick up the phone any time, and Keith will be there for you with great advice based on rigorous analysis. Always delivered straight but with kindness. I met Keith when he did an analysis and financial plan for a relative who asked me to tag along as the financial version of a medical advocate. I was so impressed by Keith that I hired him as my advisor. I've worked with him for nearly five years now and have referred him to friends. Two other reasons I feel so good recommending Keith - Having shopped for advisors, I feel confident that his fee schedule represents the best value in financial advice you will find. - Because Keith has a group of support people around him, he can deal with lots of data, fast. A couple of times, I've buried him in paper, thinking it would be a couple of weeks before I'd get anything back, and each time he'd been back in touch in a day or two with great thoughts based on close analysis. Keith is money. Literally.

Jan and Karen have been our advisors since 2005 and we loove them! They are like friends to us…read more Ameriprise is known to be expensive, but they really help us out and never pressure us into doing things we don't want to do. They saved us from losing lots of money during the downturn in the economy. To me, they are worth every penny to make sure our investments are on track and to keep me from stressing about it all. I was originally referred to Ameriprise by a friend. His advisor was a family friend, so I trusted him. I was with him for about a year before I moved out here. My old advisor referred me to someone here in San Diego who would not return my calls or emails, so I was about to give up on Ameriprise. Then, I was referred to Jan Pretorius. I made an appointment and went in to visit him at the La Jolla branch. I then discovered he had a partner with him, Karen Purvis. He likes to take care of retirement and 401 (k) stuff and she likes to take care of expenses, insurances, your financial goals, etc. Eventually, they moved out into their own office at the Morena Blvd location. They acquired a paraplanner, Tracy, who is just as great. When we go in for our twice a year meetings, we are greeted by name and everyone is super friendly. During our visits, we track our spending and savings, mostly with Karen. We focus on how on track we are with our goals and talk about making changes if needed. Jan will then talk about the market and our 401 (k) and changes he's wanting to make, etc. I love not having to deal with all that! They've even made calls to try and help us out with things during our meetings and put the call on speaker phone for us to hear. Every once in a while, they will try to sell us the idea of something new, like life insurance. But, in the end, it is all our decision and have never ONCE felt pressured by them. I'll admit, we've gone against their recommendation before. They return all emails and calls usually in the same day. This office is very personable. They send us chocolate for Christmas, they sent us a wedding gift off our registery, and they call us for our birthdays. Seriously, I couldn't imagine using anyone else as our financial advisors. Based on other reviews of Ameriprise, it all depends on who you get as an advisor. We got lucky. They do a terrific job and anyone interested should call them up for a free consultation.

I am new to business so when I first spoke with James Harnsberger I felt like he was really going…read moreto help me in creating my company. He told me he'd be available to me to walk me through the application process. It felt like it would be great, Especially because I had no idea what I was getting into when starting my business. I loved the comfort he provided in that initial consult. After a 1 conversation with James Harnsberger, I noticed he was very insistive that I "just fill out the forms". He didn't want to answer any of my question and was aggressive over the phone not making me feel comfortable to ask more questions. After 5 minutes on the call he said "we have to go we have other calls to get to". SMIB was prompt in communicating only when asking for my money and refusing to refund me my full amount. Very other time it took 1-2 days for them to respond to me. I decided that this was not what was promised to me and that we would not work well together. So I asked for my money back. At this point all we have done was exchange email back and forth, nothing was in the works yet. James Harnsberger refuses to refund me my money saying he is charging me $300 for the 5 emails we exchanged and 5 minute conversation we had. I wanted to make this post because I want to help this company get better at servicing clients who need help and guidance around opening a corporation. James, I'm not mad about the $300. It sucks that there's people that do this out there but I can't control that. I know you've helped some people already (I can tell by some positive reviews on here), but this isn't right. I'm wanting to donate my $300 to your company to invest in helping you guys improve your service with clients. Learn from this and strive to help people feel more comfortable working with you. Take time to answer simple questions. Call people back when they ask for your help. Learn to listen. Doing these simple things will help you reach more clients and make a bigger impact for people. Which I know you want to do. P.S. everyone else on this staff was great. Susan was a sweetheart, Allan was great. James is the one who made me feel uncomfortable.

I called about my elderly parents, unsure what I could do to help them. I was given step by step…read moreinstructions on how to fix or resolve the problem with the IRS free of charge. I am so grateful because the IRS was keeping my parents from being able to pay for a place to live and I was glad to figure out the best way to help them. My father is a veteran and is near death and they continue to garnish his disability and we can't find a suitable living situation for him because of it. So thank you thank you thank you. The assistance I received was invaluable and it was given free of charge. Carla

I have used Sal the last few years for taxes and he is very knowledgeable. He also helped me fix…read morea complicated issue when the IRS incorrectly told me I owed. He helped to file an amended return to get my money back. I wouldn't have been able to navigate that on my own!

I started using Sal when I married my husband. Most of the comment I read are true. He is non…read moreresponsive , does not return phone calls or emails. I tried out reaching to him regarding my appointment for 2025 taxes. He has ignored me completely. In the past I have been disappointed in his services, but I only because of my husband. In the past he has made mistakes, I think he is lazy and has to many personal problems. Unfortunately he has left me in a bind. Thanks alot Sal!