Jeff Kim, CFP®

Jeff J. Kim, CFP®, is the Corporate Retirement Plan Specialist and quarterback to GK’s financial advisory team when it comes to designing, implementing, and meeting the fiduciary responsibilities embedded within company retirement programs.

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Born in S. Korea and growing up in Southern California, Jeff took an obsessive interest in music and sports. Following his passions, he graduated from UC Santa Barbara with concentrations in Music and Sport Management. After graduating from UCSB, he started his professional career in athletics as the Assistant Marketing Director for UCSB Athletics and later with the Los Angeles Angels as an interpreter.

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Combining his deep interest in finance and desire to stay close to friends and family, Jeff decided to change directions and enter the world of financial planning. He began learning the industry with a Fortune 100 Company but quickly realized that there was a huge conflict of interest between the firm and his clients. Rather than starting the conversation with the company’s propriety products that get implemented in every financial plan, Jeff believed that a personalized financial plan that reflects each client’s specific needs should be the core principle of every client/advisor relationship.

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Jeff knew that in order to make a difference, he had to take matters into his own hands. So he obtained his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification and started his own firm in 2011 with an emphasis on putting clients’ interests first. As he grew his firm, Jeff discovered that corporate retirement plans were the foundation of many Americans’ retirement strategies and started to focus more on 401(k) and corporate retirement plans. While working with small and mid-sized businesses, Jeff soon realized that although they are the backbone of our economy, small businesses were an extremely underserved market within the 401(k) arena. Thus, he set forth a new mission to simplify the 401(k) plan and empower business owners to understand their role as plan providers to their employees. Jeff is a believer in educating his clients (and any business owner sponsoring a retirement program) to reduce unnecessary fiduciary liabilities and make sure that their plans are in full compliance.  

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While his firm caught significant momentum, when Jeff was exposed to Gerber Kawasaki, he instantly knew that he would thrive within the GK ecosystem. GK’s eccentric but balanced leadership team and unparalleled client service model that acts as a fiduciary to its clients encouraged Jeff to reach out and eventually join the team. As GK’s Corporate Retirement Plan Specialist, Jeff plays a key role in structuring the corporate retirement plan division while developing a streamlined process that will ultimately benefit GK’s existing and future clients. 

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Jeff lives in Manhattan Beach with his loving wife Stephanie and his son Jun(Bug). Jeff enjoys jumping in the ocean, snowboarding, hiking, and petting all the neighborhood dogs with Jun and Stephanie.

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Designation Disclaimers

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Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Center for Financial Planning, Inc. owns and licenses the certification marks CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and CFP® (with plaque design) in the United States to Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc., which authorizes individuals who successfully complete the organization’s initial and ongoing certification requirements to use the certification marks.

For more than 30 years, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification has been the standard of excellence for financial planners. CFP® professionals have met extensive training and experience requirements, and commit to CFP Board's ethical standards that require them to put their clients' interests first.

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Candidates for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification must have a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an accredited college or university and three years of full-time personal financial planning experience or the equivalent part-time experience (2,000 hours equals one year full-time). Designation training requirements for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® certification include completion of a CFP-board registered program, or hold one of the following: Certified Public Accountant (CPA); Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC); Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU); Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA); Ph.D. in financial planning, finance, business administration or economics; Doctor of Business Administration; or attorney's license. Following completion of the course requirements, applicants must complete a proctored final certification exam and continuing education of 30 hours every two years.

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https://www.finra.org/investors/professional-designations/cfp