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Eric Hunt CPA

16133 Ventura Blvd, Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436
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Serving Individuals and Businesses Since 1999

Financial Advisor in Los Angeles

When you earn well in California, the biggest number you can actually control is usually tax, not which fund you own. A good financial advisor in Los Angeles should start there and build everything else around it.

Eric M Hunt, CPA, holds a Master of Science in Taxation and has worked in accounting and taxation across Southern California since 1999. He leads with the tax picture, then aligns your investments, retirement, and estate plan to it, so the pieces pull in the same direction.

Years of Experience

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Satisfied Clients

100 +

Referral Rate

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Team Members

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The Full Picture

What a Financial Advisor in Los Angeles Should Do for a High Earner

For a professional, executive, or business owner, real financial advice covers more than a portfolio.

Year-Round Tax Strategy

A plan that runs all year, not a scramble every April.

Investment Planning

Built around your goals, your timeline, and the tax treatment of each account.

Retirement Funding

Using every account and contribution limit available to you.

Equity Compensation

Planning for RSUs, options, and concentrated stock positions.

Business Owner Planning

From entity structure to an eventual sale or succession.

Estate and Legacy

Keeping assets under your control and out of probate.

One Point of Contact

Coordinating with your attorney and investment custodian.

Direct CPA Access

You work with the CPA, not a junior you never meet.
Why Tax Leads

Why Tax Comes First in a High-Tax State

California carries one of the highest top marginal income tax rates in the country at 13.3 percent, and that sits on top of federal tax. For a high earner, the combined rate on the next dollar can pass 45 percent.

That single fact changes which decisions matter most. The order you sell investments in, the type of account you hold them in, the timing of a bonus or a business sale, and how much you shelter in retirement accounts can move more money than a slightly better fund ever will. You can confirm the current brackets on the California tax rates page.

A portfolio-only advisor is not paid to look at your tax return, and often does not ask for it. A CPA who plans your finances starts with it. For someone paying California rates, that difference is where the real savings live.

A Real Example

A Real Example of Tax-First Planning

A married couple in Los Angeles, both 54, running a design studio and earning about $450,000 a year. Numbers below are illustrative.

2026 401(k) deferral limit

$ 0

Catch-up at age 50 and up

$ 0

CA top marginal rate

0 %

A portfolio review misses

0 Moves

Their investments sit at a national brokerage, where an advisor rebalances once a year and tells them they are on track. On paper they are. What nobody has looked at is the tax drag.

A tax-first review finds three things. First, they fund a SEP, but pairing a solo 401(k) with the catch-up contribution would shelter more income, and every dollar sheltered is worth more in a 13.3 percent state. Second, their bond funds sit in the taxable brokerage while their Roth holds slow-growing cash; moving the tax-inefficient holdings into the retirement accounts lowers the yearly tax bill without changing the overall mix. Third, a large client payout is due next year, and timing it alongside bunched charitable gifts softens the rate it lands at.

None of these moves are exotic. They are the ordinary checks a tax-led advisor runs and a portfolio-only advisor often skips. The right answer always depends on the full return, but the pattern holds: for high earners, the plan that ignores tax leaves the most on the table.

Our Services

Our Financial Advisory Services

Eric works with individuals, families, and businesses across Los Angeles, with deep experience in a few areas.

Investment Strategy and Portfolio Guidance

We help you set an asset allocation that fits your goals and risk tolerance, then make it tax-efficient through smart account placement and sell-order planning. When you already work with an investment manager or custodian, we coordinate with them so your portfolio and your tax plan point the same way.

Retirement Planning

How much to save, which accounts to use, and how to turn savings into reliable income later. The deeper mechanics are on our retirement planning page.

Tax Planning

The center of the work: the deductions, timing moves, and account strategies that lower what you owe, with the same CPA handling your tax preparation. Full service on our year-round tax planning page.

Estate and Legacy Planning

After 2026 the federal exemption is $15 million per person and California has no estate tax, so for most families this is about control, step-up basis, and avoiding probate rather than a tax bill. Documents on our estate planning page.

Business Owner Planning

Your company and your personal finances are one system. We work on entity structure, owner compensation, owner-favored retirement plans, and the tax side of a sale or succession.
Ages 45 to 65

Planning for the Years Before Retirement

The decade from 45 to 65 is when financial decisions carry the most weight. Income is usually at its peak, there is still time for choices to compound, and the window to lower a lifetime tax bill is open in a way it will not be later.

Three moves matter in these years. Max out the accounts that lower your taxable income now, using the catch-up contributions that open at 50 and grow again at 60. Decide whether converting some traditional retirement savings to Roth makes sense while you can still control the rate. And start sequencing which accounts you will draw from first. Here is how the 2026 contribution limits look:

Account and age 2026 base limit 2026 catch-up
401(k), under 50 $24,500 Not applicable
401(k), age 50 to 59 $24,500 $8,000
401(k), age 60 to 63 $24,500 $11,250
IRA, under 50 $7,500 Not applicable
IRA, age 50 and older $7,500 $1,100

Those are the 2026 figures from the IRS. Self-employed owners can often shelter far more through a solo 401(k) or SEP, which is one reason business owners benefit most from planning these years deliberately.

Secondary Specialty

A Specialty in Entertainment and Variable Income

Alongside the work with professionals and business owners, the practice has a long history in the entertainment industry, going back to 1999. Income there behaves differently, arriving in bursts from projects, residuals, and royalties, with one job creating tax in several states at once. For established actors, musicians, writers, producers, and directors, that calls for a loan-out corporation where the income supports one, retirement plans funded in the strong years, and careful tracking of earnings across contracts. Our entertainment accounting service covers the ongoing side.

There is a detail general advisors miss. For performers on union contracts, health coverage depends on hitting a minimum level of covered earnings in a base earnings period, which the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan sets and raises periodically, with a new threshold taking effect on January 1, 2027. It works as a hard cutoff: clear the line and coverage holds for the next period, fall short and it does not. The current figure is published on the plan page.

Tracking that line through the year is part of what a specialist does and a portfolio manager never sees. You can read more in our guide for accountants for actors.

Choosing an Advisor

How to Choose a Financial Advisor in Los Angeles

Whether or not you work with this firm, a few questions separate a real advisor from a salesperson. Ask them of anyone you interview.

Start with the standard they are held to. Registered investment advisers owe clients a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act, which covers a duty of care and a duty of loyalty and applies throughout the relationship. Broker-dealers who recommend products to retail customers work under Regulation Best Interest, which applies at the point of a recommendation rather than continuously. Titles alone will not tell you which one applies, so verify it. Look the firm up on the SEC adviser disclosure site and read Form ADV Part 2, check the individual on FINRA BrokerCheck, and ask for Form CRS.

Then ask the plain questions. How are you paid, in writing. Do you earn commissions on anything you recommend. Will you look at my full tax return, or only my portfolio. And who does the actual work on my account, because at large firms your file often moves to a junior you never meet.

Type of professional Standard that applies Where to verify
Registered investment adviser Fiduciary duty under the Advisers Act, applied throughout the relationship Form ADV at adviserinfo.sec.gov
Broker-dealer representative Regulation Best Interest, applied at the point of a recommendation FINRA BrokerCheck
CPA State licensing, continuing education, and professional conduct rules California Board of Accountancy
Unlicensed planner or salesperson No ongoing best-interest obligation Often nowhere, which tells you something
Eric M Hunt, CPA, tax preparation in Los Angeles
Who You Work With

Why Work With a CPA-Led Advisor

Most advisors reach for a tax specialist after a decision is already made. When the person planning your finances is also the person who understands the return, the tax consequence gets weighed while the decision is still open. For a high earner in California, where the timing and structure of a single move can change what you owe by a large margin, that order is the whole point.

Eric M Hunt is a licensed Certified Public Accountant with a Master of Science in Taxation, which carries state licensing, continuing education, specialist tax training, and the standing to represent you before the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board. He has spent more than 20 years in the field, and he works with clients directly rather than passing them to a junior.

Service Area

Serving Los Angeles From Our Encino Office

The office sits at 16133 Ventura Blvd, Suite 700, Encino, CA 91436, in the San Fernando Valley and a short drive from the 101. We work with clients across Los Angeles, including Hollywood, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, Woodland Hills, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Santa Monica, Glendale, and Pasadena.

Much of the work happens by phone, video, and secure file sharing, so you do not need to come to the office to get help. If you want to see the range of clients the firm works with, the industries we serve page has more.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Fees depend on complexity and are quoted in writing before any work starts. A one-time planning engagement for a straightforward situation sits at the low end. Ongoing work for a business owner or a household with equity compensation, multi-state income, and estate planning costs more, and is usually billed as a flat annual or quarterly fee rather than as a percentage of your assets. The first call is free either way.
A fiduciary is held to act in your best interest, with a duty of care and loyalty that applies throughout the relationship, a standard that registered investment advisers owe under the Investment Advisers Act. To verify anyone, read their Form ADV Part 2 on the SEC adviser disclosure site, check the individual on FINRA BrokerCheck, and ask for Form CRS and a written statement of how they are paid.
A wealth manager is usually paid to manage a portfolio, so the advice tends to start and end there. A CPA-led practice starts with your tax return and your full financial picture, which for most high earners is where the larger numbers sit. The two approaches are not in conflict, and we coordinate with your investment manager when you already have one you like.
Yes. Many clients are both, since an owner return and a personal return usually need to be planned together. We handle entity structure, owner compensation, retirement plans that favor the owner, and the tax side of a sale or succession, alongside the household plan.
That window is the best time to start. Income is usually at its peak, catch-up contributions are available, and there is still time to lower a lifetime tax bill through account choices and Roth conversions. Waiting until you are a year or two out closes most of those doors.
Most families will not. The federal exemption is $15 million per person, or $30 million for a married couple, and California has no estate tax of its own. For the large majority of high earners, estate planning is about control and a smooth transfer to heirs rather than avoiding a tax bill. We flag the rarer case where an estate is large enough for the federal tax to apply.
Yes, and that is the point of the arrangement. One licensed CPA sees your full picture all year, so the strategy carries straight through to the filed return instead of passing between two firms that never speak to each other.

Talk to a Tax-First Advisor About Your Next Move

If you want a financial advisor in Los Angeles who starts with your tax picture and builds the rest of the plan around it, book a free call with Eric M Hunt, CPA.

Book Your Free Call Call 213-753-1219