Team Name: SageMint Wealth
Firm: LPL Financial
Senior Members: Anh Tran, Ray Pai, Darcey Young
Location: Irvine, CA
Team Custodied Assets: $350 million
Background: Anh Tran grew up in California and originally became a lawyer after attending the University of Southern California Irvine. Her first job out of school was as an attorney at Goldman Sachs’ personal financial planning arm, with a focus on corporate executives. She enjoyed working with clients and eventually became an advisor at the firm before deciding in 2010 to go independent, working at several different firms until 2016, when she joined independent advisor platform LPL Financial. She started SageMint Wealth as a women and minority-led team shortly after. Today there are seven people on the team servicing roughly 185 households; Over half of their clients identify as LGBTQ and 75% are women. A good number have also owned companies that have gone through IPOs, another area of specialization for the team. Tran says that because of her law background, her team places a special emphasis on financial and tax planning, with her husband running in-house estate planning services.
Firm Philosophy: “Our motto is live well, do good,” says Tran. “That’s everywhere in what we do, especially in helping clients create a life they want to live but also helping them give back or focus on the community.” Many clients are involved in doing so, whether that’s through philanthropy or a focus on ESG investing, she adds.
Investment Approach: Like other firms, SageMint creates customized portfolios for clients. On the equities side, that means using various funds and ETFs in combination with individual stocks, while fixed income is slightly less important for clients who are focused on growth and keeping up with inflation. “Structured products are good bond replacements as they provide downside protection and enhance upside for clients,” she says. “Given where bonds have been in the last decade, we have tried to explore other avenues to create some downside protection and reduce volatility through structured notes.” While the team does use alternative investments like private credit or real estate in some cases, it is only for a small percentage of clients.
Investment Outlook: “We’ve had two really great years in the market, so we’re looking at this year as one with a lot more volatility and we probably can’t expect another all time high every year,” says Tran. “Now that the Fed is slowing down—plus the new administration and potential tariffs are coming into play—that could affect corporate returns.” With potentially more muted public market returns on the horizon, Tran says her outlook is certainly not as rosy as in previous years but she continues to remind clients to stay the course and follow asset allocation models. “Overall the economy is still doing well thanks to positive data like earnings and retail sales, but we are telling clients to manage expectations going forward.”
Best Advice: “Data doesn’t lie—being a consistent investor will always work in your favor,” says Tran. “There are always headline news and market risks but being invested long term will continue to do well.”