Profile

The most important thing you should know about me is that I love working with busy, hard-working professionals like you, with the goal of finding strategies to your financial problems and issues so you can have the freedom and sense of calm to enjoy all that life has to offer.

My practice is built on a foundation of integrity, service and respect for the power of money, a respect I learned early in life when, in 1980, at age 17, I escaped from Vietnam and settled in America. Working my way through college, I gained further insight into how to use money as a tool to do good, by first helping to finance the escape of four younger brothers, who I also supported through college and eventually sponsored four other younger siblings and my parents six years later. Today, all of my siblings have graduated from college and have respectable careers.

While I have long wanted to work in finance, my first career after receiving a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science in 1986 was as a software engineer. It was a combination of my desire to help people with their finances and a shift in the financial services that allowed for true financial consulting, that led me to get an MBA in Personal Financial Planning.

While I consider myself a world traveler, Seattle has been my home since 1980 and I have been committed to working with and strengthening the Vietnamese and local communities here ever since.

I currently serve as the President of the Greater Seattle Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and was the Co-Founder of the Ethic Chamber of Commerce Coalition, which was founded in 2016.  I have also served as a board member of several Asian American charities and organizations for several terms, such as Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), Urban Enterprise Center (UEC), and Seafair.

I take a four step approach to Wealth Management that includes the creation of a wealth management plan and an investment portfolio that is flexible enough to be adjusted to stay on track to help meet your long and short-term objectives.

Step 1. My client profiling step. Learn everything I can about you and your goals by gaining a deep understanding of your current financial situation, your risk tolerance and your long and short term financial needs. You may have children and are concerned about inherent issues, or you may be searching for the best strategies on how to pay for their education or to fund your retirement. I then apply this understanding to help create a personalized wealth management plan. Once we agree on an overall plan, we can go to the next step.

Step 2. Develop an investment proposal using individual stocks, ETFs and Mutual Funds that will make up a diversified portfolio drawn from 30+ different investment securities and asset classes. This proposal will reflect your unique needs, goals and risk levels. Once you agree on the asset allocation and strategy, I become your portfolio manager, keeping you apprised of any decision such as when I get in and out of a particular investment or market and why. This is a fee-based portfolio model, which is how I am compensated.

Step 3. The implementation part of the process. Whenever I execute an investment strategy for a new client, I’ll walk you through it and communicate with you frequently. I want you to have a better understanding of how I work with complete transparency. I will meet with you and go over your monthly statement so you have a clear understanding of everything that it contains. I’ll also sign you up on line so you can track how your portfolio is performing and I’ll make myself available should you have any questions or concerns.

Step 4. Regular reviews of your investment portfolio and your wealth management plan to stay up to date with any new life events or changes that could impact your financial picture. We’ll periodically discuss any issues or concerns. This will also allow us to rebalance your investments to help ensure they remain on track to meet your goals. I am committed to communicating with all of my clients at least once a month either by email or phone calls.

Trong Pham is a qualified Portfolio Manager who, in addition to providing traditional advice and guidance, can help clients pursue their objectives by building and managing his own personalized or defined strategies, which may incorporate individual stocks and bonds, Merrill Lynch model portfolios, and third-party investment strategies. When servicing clients through the Firm’s Investment Advisory Program, a Portfolio Manager may manage his strategies on a discretionary basis.

I follow the deep-seated Merrill tradition of participating in the communities we serve. This drives my interest in spending time volunteering with organizations in our community.