With me, you will not find a flashy smooth talker. My talent is with my analytical skills and I am driven to share my knowledge and experience with others.

My interest in financial planning began over 25 years ago and was the driver for my study of finance at USC. At the beginning of my career, I briefly worked at a large financial services company (not listed below) and saw an example of what financial planning should not be. At first, I was excited to be employed within a field that I felt passionately about, but I was quickly disappointed to see that the financial planning process was being used as a tool for selling expensive products. This experience led me to change my career path away from financial planning and toward being a financial analyst.

Over the next several years I worked as a financial and business analyst for technology companies in Silicon Valley. I returned to my financial planning career after I discovered the existence of fee-only financial planning. Fee-only financial planners are compensated directly by their clients and not via commissions. Fee-only financial planning removes the conflicts of interest that cause an advisor to recommend expensive insurance products that a client does not need or mutual funds with large upfront expenses.

I founded Whalen Financial Planning as a fee-only firm because I do not want the inherent conflicts that come from receiving commissions. 

Certifications and Academic Credentials:

• CFP® (Certified Financial Planner™)
• CTFA (Certified Trust and Fiduciary Advisor)
• Graduated with honors from the Marshall School of Business at USC
• Graduated with honors from Cannon Financial Institute Trust School at Pepperdine University

Highlights from Business Experience

• In 2017, I founded  Whalen Financial Planning 
• Ten years with Fidelity Investments 
• Experience with trusts, estates, and inheritance
• Financial Advisor with Merrill Lynch
• Senior Business Analyst with PeopleSoft
• Senior Financial Analyst with Hewlett Packard

Personal Information

Aside from a few years in Silicon Valley, I have lived in Southern California my entire life. I enjoy cooking and spending time with my wife and our three children. I am a second-generation USC graduate and my wife is a second-generation UCLA graduate. For the sake of family harmony, we generally avoid watching or talking about college sports.