Wealth Design, LLC (San Jose)

Name: Wealth Design, LLC
Address: 50 W. San Fernando Street, San Jose, CA, 95113
Telephone: 408-558-1660

Wealth Design, LLC is a large advisory firm based in San Jose. It manages $217.06 million of regulatory assets for 397 client accounts. It has been registered with the SEC as an adviser since 2010 and has operated in the jurisdictions of California, Florida, and Texas.

Wealth Design provides financial planning services and portfolio management for individuals and small businesses. It doesn't provide financial planning services to its clients. On top of advisory services, the firm doesn't engage in other business activities.

Wealth Design: assets under management

The assets under management (AUM) of Wealth Design, LLC is $217.06 million, all of which is managed in discretionary accounts. The firm's AUM has grown by 47% since the beginning of its operation, and the company doesn't manage any assets belonging to foreign clients.

The firm manages $217.06 million in discretionary accounts. On average, the discretionary accounts where all decisions are made on behalf of the client hold $546.75 thousand each.

Wealth Design has custody of $206.92 million in cash and securities for 106 clients in total but doesn’t act as a qualified custodian.

Investments

The firm invests in investment and business development companies the most. They account for 66% of the total AUM. The second-largest asset type is state and local bonds, which make up 20% of the firm’s portfolio. Investments in exchange traded securities form 10% of the total invested assets.

Fees & Commissions

The advisory firm has several streams of revenue. Clients pay Wealth Design, LLC for their services and products based on a percentage of assets under management, hourly charges, and fixed fees. Compensation based on assets under management promotes a long-term relationship between a client and the adviser and helps align mutual interests. These fees don’t include brokerage commissions, interest, taxes, and other account expenses.

What kind of clients Gene Ka serves?

The firm provides services to individuals and high net worth individuals. The largest group of clients of Gene Ka is high net worth individuals with 52 clients and $193.57 million of assets under management. Among the 7 most similar advisory firms, Wealth Design has the 2nd highest percentage of high net worth individuals out of all clients.

The amount of regulatory assets under management is $217.06 million for 106 clients that can include trusts, estates, and 401(k) plans and IRAs of individuals and their family members. None of the firm’s clients are foreign persons or businesses.

Wealth Design doesn't advise any private funds.

Careers at Wealth Design, LLC

The company employs 4 people that are either part- or full-time employees. 25 percent of the employees work as investment advisers or researchers. Only one employee is registered as an investment adviser representative with the state securities authorities.

There isn’t anyone with the role of looking for and bringing in new clients on behalf of the firm. The firm doesn’t compensate employees in addition to the salary for bringing in new clients. Employees don’t receive compensation from other entities for client referrals.

Gene Ka has been acting as President since 1 Jun 2001. Scott Stauffer joined the executive team most recently as the Managing Member.

Direct owners and executive officers

Name	Entity	Date acquired	Ownership	Employer ID
Gene (Nmn) Ka	Managing member	1 Jun 2001	75% - 100%	2048557
Gene Ka	President/managing partner	1 Jun 2001	50% - 75%	2048557
David Leland Johanson	Ceo/managing partner	1 Jan 2002	50% - 75%	1540740
Thu Thi Ka	Chief compliance officer	1 Dec 2009	Other	4088447
Scott Stauffer	Managing member	1 Dec 2012	25% - 50%	2075137

Based in San Jose

The principal office where Wealth Design, LLC performs its advisory services is located at 50 W. San Fernando Street, San Jose, CA 95113, which is also the mailing address of the firm. It doesn’t run an office outside of the United States.

You can reach the main office by calling the phone number 408-558-1660 or by fax 408-558-1661. The normal business hours are 8:00am - 5:00pm on Monday - Friday. You can find more information about the New York firm at wealthdesignllc.com.