Connect
To Top

Meet David Rae of DRM Wealth Management in West Hollywood

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Rae.

David, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had been working as a financial planner since 2003. The financial services industry changed a lot over that time shifting from commissioned product sales to a more robust offering of financial planning. DRM Wealth Management was launched in 2017 to continue to offer the best advice to help people live the life they wanted while still staying on track for Financial Freedom. As an independent Registered Invest Advisor we are able to eliminate many of the conflict that plague advice from other firms.

We also knew would could only provide top notch service and advice to a limited number of clients directly. So we’ve added a blog www.financialplannerla.com to our columns for Investopedia and HuffPo to help people better understand their financial choices.

We specialize in helping small business owner and friends of the LGBT community make smarter financial decisions over time. The financial services industry tends to be more conservative than the population as a whole. We’ve many Women, minorities and LGBT people have trouble getting proper financial advice. We strive to bridge that gap, by offering a more open and accepting environment to help out client live their best financial lives.

I grew up with semi-retired parents. My father Mike Rae played in the NFL (Raiders, Redskins and Bucaneer) he was retired by the time I entered first grade. My mother is a successful article. So while we technically had money, it was more of a finite. I was taught from a young age how to maximize money, and really stretch a dollar. I was also exposed to the consequences of not handling money well, literally seeing someone have their Range Rover repossessed. I also that someone driving a Ferrari may be less wealthy than someone driving a used Honda Accord.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Launching our own firm has been life changing. The response from our existing clients has been amazing, and we have record numbers of people reaching out have us help them get on track for their financial goals.

The road has been fairly smooth, but I will admit I was caught off guard with the onslaught of people requesting meeting this summer. Great problem to have, we have our ideal clients calling us- which is really a dream for most financial advisors.

Launching a financial firm, hiring staff, setting up new software is a lot of work, time and energy. Much of this is a front pain in the butt, and once everything is set up, you can really focus on staying at the cutting edge of financial planning advice. At this point we are over the hurdle.

To keep up with the rapid growth of the business my husband Ryne Meadors left his position in fundraising at the Pasadena Humane Society. It is exciting to be working together and take our business to the next level. Working with a spouse can be challenging and rewarding. It is working for us, but I know it doesn’t work for everyone.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with DRM Wealth Management – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are a Wealth Management Firm that specialized in working with the LGBT community, Entertainment Industry and small business owners and entrepreneurs. It’s not what you make but what you keep, and there are some many strategies that can help self-employed people slash their tax bills. A bit of tax planning may be there difference between a business losing money, or making a healthy profit.

What really sets us apart that we make the process fun. We get the pain points for our clients, and we have solutions to help them minimize this pain and let them focus on what is important to them.

As a firm we are known for providing comprehensive financial guidance. Whatever your goal is we can help you get on track for it. As the President of the firm I am known as the leading LGBT Financial Planner in the US- writing for the Advocate Magazine and HuffPo Queer Voices.

I regularly speak to groups of people looking to improve their financial lives. I also regularly appear on ABC News, CBS News, KTLA News as a financial expert.

I’m proud that we are able to offer fiduciary advice to our clients, and through media encourage more people to take control of their finances. Our whole process is based on what our clients are looking to achieve. Some people are looking for guidance on how to travel the world. Other want to retire as soon as possible. Some just want to feel more secure in handling their finances and have a little encouragement to make smarter financial decisions over time.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our future is looking bright. We will be helping more people here in LA reach their financial goals. A book on Financial Freedom is in the works. We are planning on bringing on more financial planner to be able to be able to help even more household.

We can’t possibly hand the amount of people requesting meetings at this time, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

A TV pilot has been shot for a major network so who knows- maybe a TV show. Either way will continue to speak across the country, and appear as a guest on TV shows from BRAVO to Nightline, I’ve even done Fox and Friends a few times.

We continue to look for ways to make financial planning as fun as humanly possible.

Most people would prefer a root canal to anything financial- and I assure your Financial Freedom is way better than pretty teeth. Not that you have to choose one or the other.

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in