Michael Day (shown on right) joined the California Wealth Advisors team in 2020 as a wealth advisor, helping clients establish personalized investment plans that have been customized to pursue their loftiest goals.
As a hands-on, client-facing member of our team, Michael is dedicated to placing service above everything, and in a business based on relationships, he knows that the easiest way to serve a client is by simply getting to know them. “I always start with a welcome meeting to let clients know who I am and how I can help them,” Michael says. “At the same time, it’s also important that I understand their circumstances and their objectives. At California Wealth Advisors, we assemble financial plans that are tailored to the goals of pre-retirees and retirees alike. We also know how important it is to lay that financial foundation, giving our clients a chance to protect themselves and their families no matter the obstacles they encounter.”
A family man himself, Michael spends the majority of his free time with his beautiful wife and daughter. “My family is the biggest reason I’m in this industry,” he says. “I know how important it is to set them up for success, not just if something were to happen to me, but to help them prepare for the future. Also, as financial planners, we’re so used to people walking into our office worried about the possibility of hearing that they’re no longer allowed to spend their money how they’d like. Really, we’re here to help them find direction for that money so they’re better prepared to spend it on the things they enjoy, like making memories with their families.”
Michael’s credentials as a wealth advisor are extensive. He has passed the Securities Industry Essentials (SIE) Exam, the General Securities Representative Qualification Examination (Series 7), the Uniform Combined State Law Exam (Series 66) and the California Department of Insurance Life Exam. These registrations and qualifications give him the ability to provide holistic financial planning services for a client with any goal or tolerance for risk. In fact, Michael believes that no financial plan is complete until every avenue has been explored. This means considering options that are directly linked to the market as well as ones that aren’t, potentially offering more risk-averse clients the possibility of more protection for their hard-earned assets.
“Financial planning can be complex,” he says. “I’ve worked with hundreds of clients, and no two have been the same. Each person walks through the doors of California Wealth Advisors with a different vision of a perfect future, and it’s my job to construct a plan that helps them get there. Now, from my time in this industry, I know that means completely individualized service for each person. Cookie-cutter approaches simply don’t work, and neither do old, generalized recommendations that pose ratios and percentages based on age. I can help you find out how much market exposure you’re ready for, as well as the amount I think you should incorporate in your portfolio, then together, we can work toward protecting everything you’ve accumulated while still aiming to maximize the potential of growing it.”
Always dedicated to his craft, Michael attended the University of Wyoming where he achieved his bachelor’s degree in finance. He also has an associate degree in business administration from Santa Barbara City College. He says, “The combination of my degrees gives me a good idea of the type of assistance a client might be looking for. We mostly work with individuals, but many of our clients do own their own businesses. While the two should be kept somewhat separate, there’s no denying that the success of an individual’s business overlaps with their personal finance. If someone comes to us looking for help or strategies with their business, or they’re looking to achieve financial stability as a business owner, we can help.”
In his free time, Michael enjoys playing men’s adult league baseball and golfing. An athlete growing up, both have remained close to his heart, and he still enjoys the opportunity to have fun playing the games he has always loved. “On the surface, golf and baseball are so different, but I like to think that playing one helps the other. Both keep me active, but they also employ a lot of the same mechanics and muscles,” he says. “They also help me keep my competitive spirit intact. As a kid, I loved playing sports and competing, especially with my friends and teammates by my side. Now, playing sports as an adult gives me the same rush I chased when I was young, and I love being outside, having fun and giving my all.”
Though it’s certainly a different type of team, Michael still enjoys working on the California Wealth Advisors team to help clients reach their goals. “That’s one of my favorite parts of the job. Every day I get to walk into our office and work with people who I know share not just my values, but also my outlook on life, my sense of humor and my desire to place clients first,” he says. “We all have the client in mind, so we can put our heads together to find strategies that we may not have conceptualized by ourselves. I think that’s the most powerful part of working in an office with an experienced team led by someone like Kelley. It instills confidence in the client, and it tells me that I’m right where I should be as a professional and as a person.
