John has been a financial professional since 1982 and holds Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from San Diego State University. In 1985, he completed his Certified Financial Planner® professional studies through the College for Financial Planning in Denver and was admitted to the Directory of CFP Practitioners in 1993. John completed a 3 year post-doctoral training in Wealth Strategies Planning from the Estate and Wealth Strategies Institute at Michigan State University and is endowed as a full Fellow of the Esperti Peterson Institute. In addition, he is a Certified Agent for the California Partnership for Long Term Care (AEP®) and an Enrolled Agent (EA), having successfully passed the exam administered by the Internal Revenue Service.

John conducts numerous seminars and workshops every year. He has been a guest on the PBS show “The Money Makers” and its successor, “The Financial Advisors,” as well as the syndicated news magazine show “Heartbeat of the City.” He has also authored and co-authored several books and publications. John was an Adjunct Faculty member of the National Endowment for Financial Education in Denver and is recognized in both “Who’s Who in California” and “Who’s Who in Finance.” He completed five years of service on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA) and the Board of the San Diego Estate Planning Council.  He is currently serving as a member of the Estates and Trusts Committee for Rady Children’s Hospital Foundation.

He has been quoted in many local and national publications including: Financial Planning News, The San Diego Union Tribune, La Jolla Light, Research magazine, PRWeb.com, and San Diego Business Journal. John is a member of the Financial Planning Association, The California Society of Tax Consultants and the Estate Planning Council of San Diego.

Stefan is a licensed financial adviser and President of Alpha Wealth Partners and founder of Transition.Services. Stefan helps his clients, create, manage and preserve wealth. Stefan also oversees five additional regional financial offices and eight financial advisers.  Born in Dayton, Ohio, he considers himself a true Ohio State Buckeye Fan.  In 2001, Stefan relocated to Southern California where he now lives in downtown Fullerton, Ca with his wife Melissa and son’s Ian, Bryce and daughter Charity. Upon receiving his BA in Accounting and dual minor’s in Finance and Military Science in 1993, Stefan served proudly as a 1^st Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserves. He later continued his professional pursuits as a research analyst at Smith Barney and financial consultant at Merrill Lynch.

Advising clients over the past 20 years has earned Stefan a longstanding reputation as an expert in the field of investment management, income and retirement planning. His professional licenses include FINRA series 7, 24, 63, and 65 registrations.

What really inspires Stefan is working side by side with clients thru the personal and financial journey towards a safe and secure financial future. “I look forward to being a part of your successful transition.”

Planning services include:

1. Helping client rollover 401 (K) savings, ESOP and pension plans to personal Individual Retirement Accounts.

2. Developing life time income strategies with a goal of creating a guaranteed, risk free and secure retirement.

3. Pre-Retirement financial planning through the use of goals based planning and cash flow analysis.

4. Planning services are provided to any client, regardless of account size, or complexity.

About Me

Merrit A. Strunk President, Momentum Financial and Insurance Services LLC – San Diego

President San Diego Chapter – Society for Financial Awareness – SOFA (a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization)

Merrit has been a business leader all his life. In his 20s and 30s, he successfully headed marketing for fortune 500 brands in retail, manufacturing, and a variety of business-to-business industries. He has also traveled around the world speaking on Business, Marketing, Financial and Personal Achievement. Later in his career, he was a repeat C-Suite executive for multibillion-dollar financial organizations and successfully built top-performing teams around the United States. Merrit has always been passionate about financial education. This is precisely why he started the San Diego Chapter of the Society for Financial Awareness an organization with the goal to end financial illiteracy one organization at a time. Concurrently, Merrit is the President of Momentum Financial and Insurance Services in Rancho Bernardo, California, a full financial services firm that helps clients make better decisions for their financial future.

Services Provided:

• Retirement Income Planning • Lifetime Income Planning • College Funding

• Charitable Giving • Asset Protection • Safe Money Options

• IRA & 401k Assets and Roll Overs • Social Security • Annuities

• Life insurance

Robert Trejo is a Certified Financial Fiduciary®, an Investment Advisor Representative and Senior Managing Partner of Coeus Financial, an independent, full-service wealth management firm. After a nine year career as director of financial services for a large national firm, Robert co-founded Coeus Financial in 2013. The credo he developed was “Progress through Process.” With over 14 years in the financial industry, Robert believes the secret to a long client/advisor relationship is communication. That is the first step in the process of progress. Continuous communication allows Robert to maintain a financial plan that best suits his client’s ever-changing lifestyle. As a Fiduciary, Robert is legally and morally bound to putting his client’s best interest first. This provides peace of mind for his clients, knowing that they are in safe hands. Robert holds his series 6, 63, 65 securities licenses; he is a National Social Security Advisor (NSSA®) and holds a life insurance license. He is a member of the National Association of Certified Financial Fiduciaries | NACFF® and the Society of Financial Awareness, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public benefit corporation, whose mission is to provide financial education across America, one community at a time. Robert regularly hosts free financial educational workshops across the country. Robert is a family man at heart and has been happily married to his wife Meghan for 15 years; they have four children and live in Pleasanton, CA. In his spare time Robert enjoys coaching his children’s sports team, reading, being outdoors, and competing in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

Neal began his career in the financial services industry in 1997 and is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Sciences degree in Family Financial Planning. He focuses at the intersection of goals-based financial planning and efficient cash/income management. As a wealth manager, Neal specializes in building and managing his client’s financial lives.

Michael is a Certified Retirement Financial Advisor (CRFA), Chartered Federal Employee Benefits Consultant (ChFEBC) and Chartered Senior Financial Planner and he holds a Life and Health License, a Long- Term Care Certification and a California Partnership Long-Term Care Certification. Michael's professional memberships include the Better Business Bureau, Business Consumer Alliance and the National Ethics Association.

Over the last 19 years, Michael has assisted over 2,000 California teachers, school administrators, and public school employees on retirement planning through his seminars, videos and personal consultations.

Michael educates his clients on how to achieve financial success in retirement. He takes his clients through a step-by-step comprehensive retirement planning process that includes providing information on how to lower taxes in retirement planning process that includes providing information on how to lower taxes in retirement, how to maximize Social Security income and retirement plan distribution options, Estate planning, and assessing insurance needs in retirement.

Michael has been honored with many professional awards and he has lectured widely on estate planning and financial topics throughout southern California. Michael has written several articles on the importance of wealth preservation and long-term care that have been published in leading outlets.

Michael lives in Thousand Oaks, California with his wife Jeanne of 20 years and their two sons. Michael's wife, his grown daughter, and son-in-law are also Financial Advisors and his business partners. When not working, Michael enjoys spending time with his family which now includes two young grandsons.

Jonathan Vasquez is a strategic retirement planner to Los Angeles' top financial services company. Jon serves his clients by educating and explaining ways to maximize retirement accounts to include 403b, 457, 401ks, and IRAs.

Additionally, Jon has advised many state and federal employees on retirement solutions. His unique blend of strategies and discipline has produced a demonstrated track record of successful outcomes for his clients. He is frequently sought after to speak on issues related to retirement planning and how clients can mitigate – and ultimately overcome – significant risk.

As an Air Force veteran, Jon completed 3 overseas tours and continues to help military veterans and local communities.

Jon lives in Thousand Oaks with his high school sweetheart Alexis and 2 young boys, Daxton and Declan. Alexis works alongside Jon, as an Investment Advisor Representative . Working as a team, they provide some of the most unique strategies and ideas for all situations. When not working, they enjoy spending time with family and participating in outdoor activities.

Gary Ybarra, is a CFF (Certified Financial Fiduciary) and as one of the Managing Partners of Gemlife Financial, Gary is focused on helping clients work toward their retirement dreams through a well-thought-out strategy for retirement income, preservation and legacy. Gary enjoys helping people protect their retirement money and create guaranteed income for life. He is specifically skilled in retirement income planning, asset protection and tax minimization strategies. Gary is a member of National Association of Certified Fiduciaries (NACFF), the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA) and his of his local Chamber of Commerce in Pasadena Ca.

Gary has been featured on news outlets for his industry experience and trusted guidance, including AM870 The Answer radio. He serves business owners, residents and their families in the state of California, as well as surrounding states.

Gary enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing golf and attending sporting events and contributes regularly to local and national non-profit works.

(Annuities, Insurance, and Mortgage)

I have been a licensed CA mortgage broker in Southern California since 1981. I work with first time buyers, move up buyers, investors, as well as seniors who may be in need of a reverse mortgage.

In addition to the mortgage brokers license I also hold a CA Life and Health Insurance license. My goal is to educate my clients on how they can achieve a true TAX FREE retirement by using a safe, long term investment with no risk of principle loss what so ever. It’s time to retire your 401(k) and set up your own private reserve to fund your TAX FREE retirement. Call me and I will show you how.

Specialties: Conventional, FHA, VA, commercial loans, reverse mortgages, real estate investments, life insurance, and annuities.

In addition, I am uniquely qualified as an AIM professional to provide information in the following areas:Tax-Free Retirement Planning

• Social Security Planning
• Mortgage Protection
• College Planning