Investment Management for Pre-Retirees, Retirees and Business Owners in Del Mar, CA

Personalized portfolio management built around your income needs, tax situation, and time horizon, coordinated with the rest of your financial plan.

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It is complimentary, with no obligation. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you honestly.
Serving Families in Southern
California since 2015
Chad Waters is a CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional
Affiliated with LPL Financial, a Fortune
500 company; Member FINRA/SIPC

Check the background of this firm on FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

Often times a portfolio that built your wealth was designed for a different job. If it was built during your highest-earning years, it was likely positioned for growth. It was built to ride out volatility, because you still had decades of income ahead to absorb any losses.

That is not where you are now. If you are retired or getting close, a market downturn in your first few years of drawing income can meaningfully affect what your portfolio is able to support for decades to come. That is true even if long-term averages hold up. This is sequence-of-returns risk, and most accumulation-era portfolios were never built to manage it.

If you are an executive or a business owner, the risk looks different but the dynamic is often similar. Concentrated stock from years of vesting, or a business that represents most of your net worth, can sit without a real diversification strategy behind it.

California adds its own layer. The state taxes investment income and retirement withdrawals as ordinary income, with no preferential treatment for capital gains. Timing decisions made without a coordinated plan can carry a meaningful cost.

Most people in this position have a portfolio. Few have a portfolio that was rebuilt for the phase of life they are actually in now.

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What it Looks Like When Done Right

You have a personalized portfolio built around your goals, risk tolerance, time horizon, and tax situation. You are not managing any of this alone.

You have a clear sense of why you own what you own. Not because a 401(k) defaulted you into it years ago, but because someone looked at it in the context of your income needs, your tax situation, and your actual time horizon.

Your portfolio is positioned for the job it needs to do now, reflecting where you actually are in life rather than where you were when it was last reviewed.

A concentrated position that has been a source of concern has a thoughtful plan behind it, one that considers timing, tax implications, and what a more diversified picture could look like.

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Our Investment Management Process

Investment management at Trifecta Wealth Management is not approached in isolation. It is one part of the same coordinated plan that covers your taxes, your estate, and your income needs, built around your purpose, your goals, and the people you care about most.

Through our affiliation with LPL Financial, we have access to thousands of investment options with no proprietary products, which means portfolio decisions are driven by your situation rather than a limited shelf of proprietary options.The goal is a portfolio that reflects where you are today and what your money needs to do now, reviewed and adjusted as your life evolves rather than left on autopilot from an earlier stage of life.

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Complimentary Second Opinion

A no-obligation conversation about your current portfolio, your goals, and whether Trifecta Wealth Management may be the right fit.

Portfolio Review

We review your current holdings in the context of your goals, income needs, risk tolerance, time horizon, tax situation, and any concentrated positions.

Coordinated Strategy

We develop a portfolio strategy connected to your broader financial plan, not managed as a standalone account. Where relevant, that includes considering an income-oriented shift and managing sequence-of-returns risk for clients who are drawing income now or approaching that transition.

Implementation

Once you approve the strategy, we execute the transition and keep you informed at every step.

Ongoing Management

We monitor your portfolio on an ongoing basis, rebalance as appropriate, and aim to reach out when something in your plan may warrant a conversation.

Why Work With Trifecta Wealth Management

One Dedicated Advisor

You work directly with Chad Waters, CFP® and his team, not a rotating service team. The person you met is the person managing your portfolio and the person you call when something comes up.

Broad Investment Access

Through our affiliation with LPL Financial, we have access to thousands of investment options with no proprietary products. Recommendations are driven by your situation, not by what is available on a limited shelf.

A Capped Client Roster

Fewer than 100 families means your portfolio receives the ongoing attention it deserves.

Fully Coordinated Planning

Your investments are managed alongside your tax strategy, your estate plan, and your income needs, as one integrated picture rather than a standalone account.

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What Our Clients Say

It is to my great fortune to have met Chad Waters 7 years ago! My husband and I signed up with Chad to manage our portfolio. When Chad started his new business, Trifecta Wealth Management, we were all too happy to follow him, and Heather St. Amour, Trifecta's Branch Operations Manager. We trust them for our financial management and peace of mind, and whenever I call, the phone is answered immediately or I'm called back within minutes. It's so wonderful learning from Chad's expertise if I have a question or concern, he is so knowledgeable. I have recommended Trifecta to all of my friends and family. We are extremely satisfied clients!

Mary Jo S.
Business Owner
September 2, 2026

My wife and I have worked with Chad Waters for 10 years since he knocked on my door a year before our retirement. Usually I shoo away people selling services but there was something about Chad that made me want to hear what he had to say. In our experience Chad and Heather have always had our best interests at heart. I find that they are always available. They have our absolute trust with our money for our financial plan and retirement savings. We look forward to a continued relationship with Trifecta Wealth Management, LLC.

Jere D.
Retired
August 14, 2026

Chad Waters and Heather St. Amour of Trifecta Wealth Management are a wealth of knowledge and they are always well prepared for our quarterly meetings. They are very patient with our questions and always provide knowledgeable answers. They always provide a great long-term plan and always take into account our risk tolerance. They always stay in touch and respond to our emails or phone calls in a timely manner. If my wife or I do not understand something they explain it in simple terms.

Pat H.
Business Owner
August 13, 2026

This statement is a testimonial by a client of the financial professional as of the indicated date. The client has not been paid or received any other compensation for making these statements. As a result, the client does not receive any material incentives or benefits for providing the testimonial. These views may not be representative of the views of other clients and are not indicative of future performance or success.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is your investment philosophy?

Our approach is built around your individual circumstances and where you are in life. We develop a portfolio strategy based on your goals, risk tolerance, and time horizon, and we revisit it as any of those things change. Through our affiliation with LPL Financial, we have access to thousands of investment options with no proprietary products, which means recommendations are driven by your situation rather than a limited shelf of options.

Do you use proprietary investment products?

No. Through our affiliation with LPL Financial, we have access to thousands of investment options. Recommendations are based on what appears to fit your situation, not on what a product shelf requires us to offer.

How often do you review or rebalance my portfolio?

Portfolio review is ongoing, not a one-time engagement. Rebalancing happens as appropriate, and your portfolio is considered as part of the same annual review and regular check-in cadence as the rest of your financial plan.

I have a concentrated stock position from my job. Can you help with that?

Yes. Concentrated position review is part of our investment management process for executives and business owners. We can help you think through timing, tax implications, and what a more diversified picture could look like. For clients with more complex situations, we have access to a dedicated HNW planning team, subject to eligibility.

Do I need $1 million to work with you?

Trifecta Wealth Management typically works with clients who have $1 million or more in investable assets. This is about maintaining a practice where every client receives real attention, not exclusivity for its own sake. If you are close to that threshold, we are happy to have a conversation.

I'm retired or getting close. How do you manage the risk of a downturn early in retirement?

This is called sequence-of-returns risk, the potential for early losses to have an outsized effect on a portfolio you are already drawing from. We address it directly as part of the planning process.

Are you a fiduciary?

In our fee-based advisory relationships, yes. We are required to act as a fiduciary, meaning we are legally obligated to act in your best interest. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional, Chad Waters is also held to a fiduciary standard under the CFP Board's Code of Ethics.

Got questions?

Apply for a Second Opinion call with our team to get all your questions answered.

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Let's review your current portfolio and see how it fits into the rest of your financial picture.

Get a Second Opinion
It is complimentary, with no obligation. If we are not the right fit, we will tell you honestly.
Prefer to call?
+1 858-703-6033

Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy will achieve its objectives. Diversification does not protect against market risk or guarantee a profit. Rebalancing may cause investors to incur tax liabilities and does not assure a profit or protect against a loss.