For investment firms and asset managers selling into the wealth channel, DC is not a secondary market. It is a primary target. The metro is home to more than 9,600 financial advisors across every major broker-dealer, private bank, and wirehouse in the market, according to Dakota Marketplace – similar to what we’ve seen in markets like New York City and Boston.
Dakota FAs tracks financial advisors across Los Angeles and every major metro in the country, with 9,600+ verified contacts across broker-dealers, banks, and select RIA hybrids. The advisors featured below were selected using the same data framework that powers the Dakota 500, Dakota's annual independent recognition of leading financial advisors across the United States.
In this article we’ll review ten of the most significant advisor teams in the Los Angeles area.
Top 10 Financial Advisors in Los Angeles
1. Mark Thompson – UBS Team
Mark Thompson is Director and Senior Wealth Strategy Associate at Mainsail Wealth Partners, a UBS Private Wealth Management team based in Los Angeles, managing approximately $8.7 billion in assets. Thompson joined the team in 2011 and leads the analyst group responsible for portfolio analysis, investment due diligence, and custom reporting for multigenerational families, entrepreneurs, and senior executives.
2. Daniel White – J.P. Morgan Team
Daniel White is Managing Director and Wealth Partner at The McNamee White Group, a J.P. Morgan Wealth Management team based in Los Angeles, managing approximately $4.5 billion in assets. A co-founder of the group, White brings over 25 years of private wealth management experience from Merrill Lynch and First Republic, focusing on estate planning, asset allocation, and equity and fixed income management for multi-generational families and institutions.
3. Jones Zafari Group
Jones Zafari Group is a Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group team based in Los Angeles, managing approximately $23.8 billion in assets for ultra-affluent individuals, families, corporations, endowments, and foundations. The group serves a diverse client base ranging from entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 executives to media personalities and nonprofit organizations, with account sizes from $10 million to over $1 billion.
4. Carol Wilshire – RBC
Carol Lynn Wilshire is a Financial Advisor at RBC Wealth Management based in El Segundo, CA, serving clients across the Los Angeles metro area. Wilshire brings a generalist practice focused on delivering tailored financial advisory solutions to her client base.
5. Kevin Hale – Merrill Lynch Wealth Management
Kevin Hale is a Financial Advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch based in Los Angeles, serving clients across the metro area. Hale brings a generalist practice focused on delivering tailored financial advisory solutions to his client base.
Want to see every financial advisor in Los Angeles? Dakota FAs gives you instant access to 9,600+ Los Angeles area advisors with verified contact details, AUM data, and investment preference indicators.
6. Scott Sangerman – RBC Team
Scott Sangerman leads an RBC Wealth Management team based in Beverly Hills, CA, serving clients across the Los Angeles metro area with approximately $200 million in assets under management. The team delivers tailored financial services to its client base from its Wilshire Boulevard office.
7. Richard Jones – Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Management
Richard Allen Jones is a Financial Advisor at Bank of America Merrill Lynch based in Los Angeles, bringing a broad generalist practice to a diverse client base. Jones focuses on delivering tailored financial advisory solutions to meet the needs of his clientele.
8. Kyle Kazmer – J.P. Morgan Wealth Management
Kyle Kazmer is Managing Director and Wealth Partner at The Desser Group, a J.P. Morgan Wealth Management team based in Los Angeles, managing approximately $500 million in assets. Kazmer holds the CFP, ChFC, and CRPC designations and has been a member of The Desser Group since 2013, recently advancing to Managing Director in March 2026.
9. Ryan McClellan – UBS PWM Team
Ryan McClellan is Managing Director at Private Family Wealth Partners, a UBS Private Wealth Management team based in Los Angeles, managing approximately $3.7 billion in assets. With 21 years of experience advising affluent individuals, multi-generational families, and foundations, McClellan joined UBS in 2008 following eight years in the Private Investment Management division at Lehman Brothers.
10. Reza Zafari – ML PBIG Team
Reza Zafari is Managing Director and Director of Research at Jones Zafari Group, a Merrill Lynch Private Banking and Investment Group team based in Los Angeles, managing approximately $23.8 billion in assets. With over 40 years of experience in private investment services spanning Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, and Merrill Lynch, Zafari has been ranked on Barron's Top 100 Financial Advisors list every year from 2005 to 2022 and placed #3 in Forbes' Best-In-State Advisors for Los Angeles Private Wealth in 2023.
Start Calling on the Right Advisors with Dakota FAs
Financial Advisors are the largest, and most overlooked, allocator channel in the market. Dakota FAs gives fundraisers and investment sales teams a structured, metro-specific view into this massive audience so you can stop guessing and start booking meetings.
Here’s what you get:
- Organized by Metro Area: Every advisor and financial advisor team in your metro, grouped by location for instant targeting.
- Verified Contact Info: Accurate emails, phone numbers, and office details across broker-dealers, banks, and select RIA hybrids. No bouncing emails or outdated records.
- Investment Preferences and Indicators: Filter by asset class interest, AUM, channel, and advisor attributes to prioritize the right targets before you pick up the phone.
- Form ADV Data: Available for hybrid advisors where applicable, giving you added context on the teams you're approaching.
- LinkedIn Profiles: Fast context on individual advisors for warm, informed outreach.
- Home Office Coverage: Up-to-date research and verified contacts identifying key centers of influence and decision-makers driving platform and product approvals.
- Dakota Recommends: Curated, location-specific recommendations for coffee shops, restaurants, event spaces, and hotels when traveling to meet advisors in DC and beyond.
Dakota FAs is updated weekly, purpose-built for sellers, and priced for teams of any size: individual access starts at $999 per year with no contract required.
If you're ready to go beyond a top 10 and see the full advisor picture in Los Angeles and across the country, get access here.
