Investment Advisory Services, Financial Planning, Wealth Management and Retirement Plan Services in Santa Cruz, CA and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Beacon Pointe is a Santa Cruz based wealth advisor and is one of the largest Registered Investment Advisor firms (RIAs) in the nation working with institutions, defined contribution plans, individuals and families. Our team of investment advisors and financial planners in Santa Cruz focuses on full service financial planning and research driven investments.
Our fiduciary responsibility to clients and our holistic allWEALTH® approach addresses all aspects of your financial well-being including but not limited to wealth and retirement planning, estate and tax strategy planning, insurance reviews and risk assessments, charitable giving and education planning, values-based (SRI/ESG) investing, life transition support for divorcées and widows, financial planning for business owners and multi-generational family wealth and legacy planning.
We look forward to connecting with you virtually or at our Santa Cruz office to see how best we can assist you with your investment portfolio and financial planning needs.
Meet the Santa Cruz Financial Advisor Team
Briseida Mendoza-Ramirez
Client Service Associate
Briseida Mendoza-Ramirez (Bri) is a Client Service Associate within Beacon Pointe’s Santa Cruz office. She is responsible for partnering with the firm’s investment and wealth management teams to provide an elevated service experience for clients. Her duties include account administration, processing new and existing account paperwork, and communicating with clients to provide the highest levels of service. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Briseida worked as a life insurance agent and was licensed in Life, Accident and Health Insurance in California, Washington, and Texas. She is a first-generation graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is a Bay Area native. Outside of the office, she loves to garden, make floral arrangements, to learn about and celebrate different cultures, to explore and photograph the outdoors with her family, friends and her dog – a Pomeranian/Border Collie/Husky mix.
John Zhang, AAMS®
Senior Client Service Associate
John is an Associate Wealth Advisor in Beacon Pointe’s Northern California office, and is responsible for partnering with clients and their advisors to provide customized solutions that help clients meet their unique financial goals. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, John spent over a decade in an operations role at Charles Schwab where his managerial responsibilities included recruiting, training and managing financial consultants. In addition to earning his B.A. in Business Management Economics at University of California, Santa Cruz, John holds the Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS®) designation. Outside of the office, John is a nature lover and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and camping.
Lance Wexler
Partner, Senior Wealth Advisor
Lance Wexler is a Partner and Senior Wealth Advisor within Beacon Pointe’s Santa Cruz office and is responsible for coordinating with Beacon Pointe’s investment and financial planning teams to provide customized solutions that help clients meet their financial and legacy goals. Lance has over 25 years of experience and knowledge of investment management and financial planning. Learning about money, markets and small business management at an early age, Lance’s passion for financial services was fostered by his grandfather, Vern, who would hand him the business section of the paper and quiz him on the stocks they owned starting when he was only 8 years old. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Lance founded Nexus Wealth Advisors which merged with Beacon Pointe in 2022. He graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Economics and participated in coursework toward a Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego. In 2007, he completed the Business Professionals Course, a rigorous two-year professional program produced by The Aji Network. Lance is involved in several nonprofit organizations and is a member of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County finance committee. Lance currently resides in Scotts Valley, California with his wife and two children, and his favorite activities include hiking, surfing, diving, tennis, nature photography, carving stone, connecting with people, and exploring and discovering the world with his children.
Leah Loewenthal
Associate Wealth Advisor
Leah is an Associate Wealth Advisor and is responsible for partnering with clients and their advisors to provide customized solutions to help clients meet their financial goals. Among her duties are investment strategy implementation, portfolio performance reporting, asset allocation modeling and client servicing. Leah began her career in the financial services industry in 2013, gaining experience in various roles at Oppenheimer & Co., UBS, Morton Capital, and Wells Fargo. Leah graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Animal Science. Outside of the office, Leah enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, and coaching basketball.
Wendy Kim
Manager, Operations
Wendy is the Operations Manager for Beacon Pointe’s Northern California office with over 23 years of experience in the financial services industry. Her experience expands from operations, client service, research, billing, training, onboading, implementation, and technology. She is in responsible for managing the office’s day-to-day operations, creating policies and procedures, supervising Associate Wealth Advisors and collaborating with the Senior Wealth Advisors to create an exceptional client experience. She enjoys cooking, crafting, painting, reading, and spending time with her family in her spare time.
Meet the Santa Cruz Financial Advisor Team
Briseida Mendoza-Ramirez
Client Service Associate
Briseida Mendoza-Ramirez (Bri) is a Client Service Associate within Beacon Pointe’s Santa Cruz office. She is responsible for partnering with the firm’s investment and wealth management teams to provide an elevated service experience for clients. Her duties include account administration, processing new and existing account paperwork, and communicating with clients to provide the highest levels of service. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Briseida worked as a life insurance agent and was licensed in Life, Accident and Health Insurance in California, Washington, and Texas. She is a first-generation graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is a Bay Area native. Outside of the office, she loves to garden, make floral arrangements, to learn about and celebrate different cultures, to explore and photograph the outdoors with her family, friends and her dog – a Pomeranian/Border Collie/Husky mix.
John Zhang, AAMS®
Senior Client Service Associate
John is an Associate Wealth Advisor in Beacon Pointe’s Northern California office, and is responsible for partnering with clients and their advisors to provide customized solutions that help clients meet their unique financial goals. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, John spent over a decade in an operations role at Charles Schwab where his managerial responsibilities included recruiting, training and managing financial consultants. In addition to earning his B.A. in Business Management Economics at University of California, Santa Cruz, John holds the Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS®) designation. Outside of the office, John is a nature lover and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and camping.
Lance Wexler
Partner, Senior Wealth Advisor
Lance Wexler is a Partner and Senior Wealth Advisor within Beacon Pointe’s Santa Cruz office and is responsible for coordinating with Beacon Pointe’s investment and financial planning teams to provide customized solutions that help clients meet their financial and legacy goals. Lance has over 25 years of experience and knowledge of investment management and financial planning. Learning about money, markets and small business management at an early age, Lance’s passion for financial services was fostered by his grandfather, Vern, who would hand him the business section of the paper and quiz him on the stocks they owned starting when he was only 8 years old. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Lance founded Nexus Wealth Advisors which merged with Beacon Pointe in 2022. He graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Economics and participated in coursework toward a Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego. In 2007, he completed the Business Professionals Course, a rigorous two-year professional program produced by The Aji Network. Lance is involved in several nonprofit organizations and is a member of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County finance committee. Lance currently resides in Scotts Valley, California with his wife and two children, and his favorite activities include hiking, surfing, diving, tennis, nature photography, carving stone, connecting with people, and exploring and discovering the world with his children.
Leah Loewenthal
Associate Wealth Advisor
Leah is an Associate Wealth Advisor and is responsible for partnering with clients and their advisors to provide customized solutions to help clients meet their financial goals. Among her duties are investment strategy implementation, portfolio performance reporting, asset allocation modeling and client servicing. Leah began her career in the financial services industry in 2013, gaining experience in various roles at Oppenheimer & Co., UBS, Morton Capital, and Wells Fargo. Leah graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Animal Science. Outside of the office, Leah enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, and coaching basketball.
Wendy Kim
Manager, Operations
Wendy is the Operations Manager for Beacon Pointe’s Northern California office with over 23 years of experience in the financial services industry. Her experience expands from operations, client service, research, billing, training, onboading, implementation, and technology. She is in responsible for managing the office’s day-to-day operations, creating policies and procedures, supervising Associate Wealth Advisors and collaborating with the Senior Wealth Advisors to create an exceptional client experience. She enjoys cooking, crafting, painting, reading, and spending time with her family in her spare time.
Meet the Santa Cruz Financial Advisor Team
Briseida Mendoza-Ramirez
Client Service Associate
Briseida Mendoza-Ramirez (Bri) is a Client Service Associate within Beacon Pointe’s Santa Cruz office. She is responsible for partnering with the firm’s investment and wealth management teams to provide an elevated service experience for clients. Her duties include account administration, processing new and existing account paperwork, and communicating with clients to provide the highest levels of service. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Briseida worked as a life insurance agent and was licensed in Life, Accident and Health Insurance in California, Washington, and Texas. She is a first-generation graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz and is a Bay Area native. Outside of the office, she loves to garden, make floral arrangements, to learn about and celebrate different cultures, to explore and photograph the outdoors with her family, friends and her dog – a Pomeranian/Border Collie/Husky mix.
John Zhang, AAMS®
Senior Client Service Associate
John is an Associate Wealth Advisor in Beacon Pointe’s Northern California office, and is responsible for partnering with clients and their advisors to provide customized solutions that help clients meet their unique financial goals. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, John spent over a decade in an operations role at Charles Schwab where his managerial responsibilities included recruiting, training and managing financial consultants. In addition to earning his B.A. in Business Management Economics at University of California, Santa Cruz, John holds the Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS®) designation. Outside of the office, John is a nature lover and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking and camping.
Lance Wexler
Partner, Senior Wealth Advisor
Lance Wexler is a Partner and Senior Wealth Advisor within Beacon Pointe’s Santa Cruz office and is responsible for coordinating with Beacon Pointe’s investment and financial planning teams to provide customized solutions that help clients meet their financial and legacy goals. Lance has over 25 years of experience and knowledge of investment management and financial planning. Learning about money, markets and small business management at an early age, Lance’s passion for financial services was fostered by his grandfather, Vern, who would hand him the business section of the paper and quiz him on the stocks they owned starting when he was only 8 years old. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Lance founded Nexus Wealth Advisors which merged with Beacon Pointe in 2022. He graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Economics and participated in coursework toward a Doctor of Clinical Psychology at Alliant International University in San Diego. In 2007, he completed the Business Professionals Course, a rigorous two-year professional program produced by The Aji Network. Lance is involved in several nonprofit organizations and is a member of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County finance committee. Lance currently resides in Scotts Valley, California with his wife and two children, and his favorite activities include hiking, surfing, diving, tennis, nature photography, carving stone, connecting with people, and exploring and discovering the world with his children.
Leah Loewenthal
Associate Wealth Advisor
Leah is an Associate Wealth Advisor and is responsible for partnering with clients and their advisors to provide customized solutions to help clients meet their financial goals. Among her duties are investment strategy implementation, portfolio performance reporting, asset allocation modeling and client servicing. Leah began her career in the financial services industry in 2013, gaining experience in various roles at Oppenheimer & Co., UBS, Morton Capital, and Wells Fargo. Leah graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with a B.S. in Animal Science. Outside of the office, Leah enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, and coaching basketball.
Wendy Kim
Manager, Operations
Wendy is the Operations Manager for Beacon Pointe’s Northern California office with over 23 years of experience in the financial services industry. Her experience expands from operations, client service, research, billing, training, onboading, implementation, and technology. She is in responsible for managing the office’s day-to-day operations, creating policies and procedures, supervising Associate Wealth Advisors and collaborating with the Senior Wealth Advisors to create an exceptional client experience. She enjoys cooking, crafting, painting, reading, and spending time with her family in her spare time.
Connect with one of our trusted Financial Advisors in Santa Cruz.
We are here to be a partner with you on your personal wealth journey. Please contact us if we can be of service.
