I highly recommend Sean Burgess' financial planning services. I chose Sean because of his…read moreaffordable, one-hour consultation session offering. I wasn't looking to spend thousands of dollars to have a financial advisor provide ongoing money management services. I really just wanted an expert to look at my situation in detail and provide advice that I could execute on myself. That's exactly what I got, and it was an incredibly valuable hour for me. Going into our session, I felt overwhelmed and without a plan for achieving my short and long term financial goals. Sean examined my situation (via a detailed questionnaire he had me complete in advance of our meeting) and provided, in a kind and straight-forward manner, both high-level perspective and clear guidance on specific actions to take. The greatest benefit of my meeting with Sean was that I came away with a much-increased clarity of my financial picture, which improved my sense of control and reduced my stress. I wouldn't hesitate to consult him again in the future when the need arises.

It has been several years since I went to see Sean so please keep that in mind but I just came…read moreacross his Yelp profile and realized I should add a review as meeting with him has stuck with me since then. I went to see him originally as I was searching for a financial planner that would really dig into my specific situation and help me "tune" my finances. At that time I had a general idea of finances, more than most people but less than some. I had read up on compound interest, opportunity costs... blah blah... and I had been saving about 50% of my paycheck and maxing out my 401k for decades. I've also tracked my spending in Quicken for about 20 years so I have an amazingly detailed view on exactly where all my money goes. With all this data, I was looking for a partner to put things over the finish line as I wrapped up my last few years of working. So now was the time that I needed another set of eyes on my finances to put an exit plan together and double check my math. It turns out that Sean isn't the person for this type of work. Although a SUPER nice guy with a passion for helping others, his advice from our one meeting was just the very basic fundamentals of financial planning. For example, for retirement he recommended that a person have X percentage of their current salary saved for a certain number of years. This is a common boiler plate idea that is a good starting point for thinking about finances. Unfortunately, this didn't fit my goal of seeing him as I wanted to "tune" my finances, not just keep sacking away as much as possible and use an off the shelf formula to determine success. I was willing to pay for personal advice but what he offered wasn't helpful or tailored to me in any way. I pointed out that this calculation doesn't apply to me because half of my salary as well as my max 401k match shouldn't be calculated into what I need to save for retirement. Will I keep saving 50% of my income during retirement? Of course not. When I pressed him on this, he didn't seem to have an answer. There were many more examples like this where he used a very basic spreadsheet to determine net retirement needed, current savings rates... which, for the right client, would be a great place to start. I do see that some people will get real value from working with Sean because they might not understand these concepts. What I am thankful to Sean for is that he inspired me to take matters into my own hands and dig deep into this project myself so I was able to retire at 50. This wouldn't have happened if I stuck with Sean. All of the resources that Sean brings to the discussion can easily be found for free on most any 101 planning website. But, if you want someone to walk you through these new concepts, Sean is easy to talk to and pleasant to be around. I would also plan on moving on from him fairly quickly as you will be doing yourself a disservice to stick with the basics that he provides for very long. Lastly, I would echo Daniel F's review almost verbatim.

I started out needing financial planning in the early 2000's and worked directly with Jackie…read moreKleinman. I then founded PeopleThink and realized that my financials were becoming more complicated and I was going to need more council as my business grew. As an entrepreneur with a million and one things to accomplish, I needed to have trusted financial advisors to guide me with my financial decisions. The team needed to be knowledgeable, have my best interest in mind and provide me with ideas and options as my business grew. I get this type of service from KB Advisors. Their team are experts who take the worry out of investing.

Landon was my advisor for their "On Your Way To Wealth" service ($325/mo), for 7 months. The…read moreservice was quite basic. It could be worth it for folks who don't have basic knowledge in personal finance. For professionals who are in the accumulation phase, if you already understand the benefits of index fund investing, asset allocation, I'd say this service doesn't provide a great deal of additional value. The $325/mo covers a once-a-year planning (approximately a couple hours of work), and email/phone support in between. Problems: - Non-responsiveness. I asked questions mostly via email, on average one thread per month, perhaps with 1-2 followup questions. The support was not responsive. Average response times were 3 days, even for 1-sentence answers. But several times there would be no response at all until I followed up 4-7 days later. What exactly am I paying monthly for? Even to initially sign up I had to email twice, which should have been a red flag. There was not even an acknowledgement when I cancelled. My friend also used him and had the same frustrations with lack of response, so this isn't an isolated event. - Simplistic advice. I asked for advice on a couple situations, but responses usually lacked quantitative justifications. I would have liked to see upside/downside scenarios laid out and their impact calculated, rather than general advice based on his intuitions and personal philosophies. In fairness, the pros: + Their basic investing advice/philosophy is sound, though it's what you can easily gather from reading online. + Their website has good articles e.g. on stock compensation. + Tax filing service is included (they partner with McCarthy Tax Preparation), they were professional and did a good job, though my tax situation was also straightforward.

I highly recommend Cortland L. Golightly at Element Wealth Management as a Financial Advisor. As…read moreCo-founder and Managing Partner, Cortland brings over two decades of industry experience to his office in Walnut Creek. He serves as a compassionate and attentive partner who genuinely cares about our financial goals and has methodically tailored our accounts to meet them. As a mom, it means everything to have a trusted advisor who understands the dedication it takes to build both a stable future and a nurturing home for our family. Cortland and his team check in with us several times throughout the year to ensure my family's questions are answered and strengthens our confidence by patiently explaining financial strategies and concepts. I learn something new every time we chat with him. If you're looking for a trustworthy and dedicated financial advisor, I wholeheartedly recommend Cortland! Feel free to message me if you have further questions!

My husband and I have been working with Evor and Johnny for 4 years now and couldn't be happier. We…read morefound them through a website that listed fee-only financial management firm. This appealed to us because we were looking to hire someone who would manage our investments according to what would be best for US, not where they would get the most commissions. I don't like dealing with accounting stuff and was dreading the process before our initial appointment, but they ended up making it fun for us, yes, FUN! We did some exercises that helped us define what kind of a life and future we wanted, where we saw ourselves and the process from there was pretty easy. Evor and Johnny exceeded our expectations as far as the services they provided. We were expecting someone to manage our accounts, but they went over our trust documents, disability insurance, taxes, and had great referrals to the best of people in all those areas. What I like most about working with Evor and Johnny is that they are very pleasant to deal with, easy to get ahold of and answer any questions you may have, personable, transparent, have high level of integrity, and truly care about your personal goals and future. I have been recommending them to friends and family and anyone looking for a trustworthy financial advisor.

I had an appointment for my son today at 10:00 AM, and unfortunately, our experience was very…read moredisappointing from the moment we arrived. We arrived a few minutes early, but there was nobody at the front desk. I had to walk around looking for someone and eventually found two women talking, who told me to wait. While we were waiting, my son became increasingly anxious and uncomfortable, so we were walking around the hallway to help him stay calm. A staff member approached me and told me that I needed to keep him contained in the waiting area. I explained that it is very difficult to keep him in one small area when he is anxious and that I was simply walking with him in the hallway to help him regulate. She still insisted that we stay in the waiting area. At this point, my son was becoming very fussy and upset. We had already been waiting for about 10 minutes and still had not been called back. Given the way the situation was handled, I did not feel comfortable staying. What was especially disappointing is that I had already had concerns about this office because they have been difficult to reach by phone and slow to respond. After today's experience, those concerns were confirmed. I did not feel that the staff understood how to appropriately handle or accommodate a young child who may become anxious or overwhelmed. I understand that offices have procedures and waiting areas, but there should also be some understanding and flexibility when working with toddlers, especially children who may have difficulty sitting still or regulating their emotions. We ultimately left without being seen because we were simply waiting and waiting, and I did not feel comfortable with how the situation was being handled. Unfortunately, based on our experience, I would not recommend this place.

In the past week, two people asked me if I would recommend a reliable and honest investment…read moreadviser, so I thought I would write a review for mine. After being a stockbroker for a decade, I learned a lot about investing. On the job training taught me many things. I learned that you have to be confident to trust your investment expert and your investment expert needs to be smart and well versed in the financial markets. Jonathan DeYoe and his team of experts continually earn that confidence from me and my family. For several years, we have been clients of DeYoe Wealth Management. Thank goodness. The team at the firm care about our portfolio as if it was their own. They are on top of things and they keep us connected. Jonathan makes sure to keep us informed of changes in the market that affect our investments. He publishes newsletters that are informative and keeps us in tune with what is going on in the world of finance. We appreciate the expertise and care the DeYoe team provides time and time again. Over the years, we have transferred our Merill Lynch personal account and opened a SEP, two IRAs and a college fund with DeYoe Wealth Management. We took our time to get to know Jonathan and his associates and we are very pleased with our professional relationship. The team at this firm is very knowledgeable and we have been happy with our rate of return and results ... even in a down market. Their choices have outperformed the S&P on a regular basis. Originally I met Jonathan at a business networking meeting (BNI) and he was introduced to me by a mutual friend and client. In the last five years, I have recommended DeYoe Wealth Management to friends and I have heard great feedback from them as well. The DeYoe investment team has a terrific track record and their excellent reputation is well deserved. So if you are confused about all of the financial information you hear on the news and read in the papers, call these guys and ask them to help you understand what is going on and to get you on the right track. They will ... cause that is what they do.

Financial Planning isn't something I'm good at... Saving money, isn't my forte! The entire aspect…read moreis daunting and overwhelming to me! I've worked with Jonathan for 5+ years. What is consistent is his honesty, sincerity, and transparency in what he does. With all the ugly news of our financial systems running aground due to lack of integrity and greed, Jonathan is a fresh breath of air. Working with Jonathan has been good for me because he's firm, but completely flexible with how he works with me. He's also very passionate about what he does and that passion really shines thru. In addition, the support staff always makes me feel warm and welcomed and part of the DeYoe Family. Jonathan is my defacto Financial Planner.

My brother referred me to Jeremy and his team at Conversant and I've been with them for almost…read moreseven years now. From the beginning, Jeremy has prioritized getting to know me, my career, my family, and what matters most to us. What impresses me most is Jeremy's approach, he is not focused simply on "beating the market." Instead, he helps us stay focused on the bigger picture, studying how markets have performed and reacted over time and planning ahead for the next opportunity. Jeremy schedules quarterly check-ins and is attentive and easy to talk to, I always feel like his advice is tailored to our family's goals. I'd highly recommend him and the Conversant Wealth Management team to anyone looking for a trusted advisor who truly takes the time to understand you.

They are professional and very knowledgeable. I feel safe with our money being managed by them.read more

All I have to say is that if you are looking for a new tax person, look no further. Kevin Leitner…read morehas been the most responsive communicator, clear and has guided us expertly with our taxes. He was even helping us troubleshoot a problem on tax day and he was so even keel and kind. My husband and I have seen a few other tax people in the past who had us dinged on taxes every year and weren't responsive. Completely the opposite experience here. We absolutely love Kevin !

Absolutely incredible service and very detailed oriented, exactly what you want when it comes to…read morepaperwork specifics! I've been using TheTaxGuySF for my filings for years now, with the last few seasons being done by Kevin. I have a huge peace of mind knowing everything will be filed on time AND Kevin has helped us find deductions we didn't know we had qualified for :) Very thorough, extremely reliable, prompt replies to my questions. 5/5. I a a long term customer who is very happy! Chris M.

I greatly enjoyed my experience working with Tan. Tan was professional, highly skilled, and our…read moreprocess together was seamless from start to finish. I would absolutely recommend his exceptional services to anyone in need of them. Overall, Tan runs a great business and is a pleasure to work with!

It's difficult trusting anyone with your finances. After meeting with about 6 different companies,…read moreI am glad I chose TWM. I was referred to him by a family member who knew him from a prior firm. Tan, made m feel extremely comfortable, listened to my goals and guided me to making the right financial decisions that suit my current and future needs. He was not persistent, did not use any sales tactics, etc. He provided me all the information necessary and allowed me to make the decision at my convenience knowing he is available to respond to any questions or concerns. I appreciated your help and look forward to working with you short and long term.