Profile

The son of college graduates, Justin witnessed his dad’s health problems upend his parents’ comfortable financial lives and visions of the future. An accountant at the time, Justin decided to change professions to one in which he could help people manage risk and prepare for likely (and unlikely) circumstances.

Today, Justin is a highly credentialed and successful advisor with an extensive and wide-ranging financial background. Before joining Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in 2017, he spent six years at UBS as a financial planning consultant and a financial advisor, at Deloitte as a tax auditor, and at Goldman Sachs as an analyst.

Each day (and many evenings), Justin caters to the myriad wealth management needs of accomplished clients who wish to accomplish more. His circle of clients includes executives and business owners, law partners, physicians and their families.

To gain a full appreciation of each client’s situation and ambitions, Justin utilizes a planning-based approach that is ongoing, rather than a one-time event. Asking questions, he looks to identify goals and holes in their financial pictures, “What’s the purpose of your wealth? What major expense is coming up – will you be using cash or financing? How do you handle debt? Who are you responsible for? And how are you prepared for the unexpected?”

Unbiased in his recommendations and unwavering in his commitment to serve their best interests, Justin guides clients like he would a family member. For executives, he crafts equity compensation strategies – advising, among other things, on when to sell stock options on a tax-efficient basis. For business owners, he constructs exit-planning strategies and advises on other important decisions. For all clients, Justin can coordinate and share documents with their CPAs and attorneys, and also offer access to Bank of America for residential, securities-based and commercial lending.

Justin finds his rigorous industry training allows him to bring clients an extra measure of knowledge and insight. He holds the designations of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, CFP® professional, Certified Public Accountant* (CPA®), Certified Private Wealth Advisor (CPWA®), and Accredited Wealth Management Advisor, AWMA®.

When it comes to investments, Justin utilizes portfolio models from the firm’s Chief Investment Office and the expertise of selected outside managers. Building individual portfolios to reflect a client’s comfort with risk, need for liquidity, investment timeline and other factors, typical holdings may include stocks, bonds, ETFs, and alternative investments** (private equity and real estate, for example). 

Justin is a member of the Bank of America Black Executive Leadership Team (BELT), USC Leventhal School of Accounting Board and the USC Black Alumni Association Board. 

He graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Southern California where he double-majored in Business Administration and Accounting.

A resident of Long Beach, Justin’s passions include playing basketball, struggling to improve his golf game, rooting for the USC Trojans, LA Lakers, Anaheim Angels and – for some inexplicable reason – the Miami Dolphins.

*Justin does not provide tax advice in his current role with Merrill.

**Some or all alternative investment programs may not be in the best interest of certain investors. No assurance can be given that any alternative investment’s investment objectives will be achieved.

***NMLS#1682203

****Merrill Life Agency's California License Number 0522776 

*****The Chief Investment Office (CIO) provides thought leadership on wealth management, investment strategy and global markets; portfolio management solutions; due diligence; and solutions oversight and data analytics. CIO viewpoints are developed for Bank of America Private Bank, a division of Bank of America, N.A., (“Bank of America”) and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”), a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. This information should not be construed as investment advice and is subject to change. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be either a specific offer by Bank of America, Merrill or any affiliate to sell or provide, or a specific invitation for a consumer to apply for, any particular retail financial product or service that may be available.