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“Our relationship with money is intertwined with our life goals. My mission is to partner with my clients and empower them with knowledge to make educated financial and life decisions with confidence.”

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Maili Bergman

Financial Life Advisor    |    RFC®
CA Insurance License #4154185


(310)-643-7472 maili@cradvisors.com

Maili Bergman understands that juggling a career, a life, and complex financial decisions can be tough, because she’s done it.

“After 25 years in different industries across corporate America, I realized just how many ways women leave money on the table. While I loved helping companies succeed, I found more satisfaction helping individuals take control of their finances. So, I became a financial planner. Whether you’re kicking butt at a startup in flip flops or making deals in stilettos on Wall Street, I’ve walked a mile in your shoes. And when women work together, it sparks something. Suddenly the slog up the corporate ladder feels more like a hill we’re on together."

Maili chose to work with California Retirement Advisors because she saw the value in how collaborative the group is as a team. “You’re getting decades of experience” she says, “and I trust in the extremely high standards we hold for one another, providing the highest level of service and expertise.”

Who Maili Serves

Maili specializes in helping professional women navigate life’s transitions. In complex situations like divorce, marriage, or a major career change, women often neglect to keep their financial interests a priority.

“I left corporate America to become a financial advisor because I am passionate about empowering professionals with financial knowledge and that gives them the confidence they need to achieve their life goals. Like many individuals, I did not have the benefit of a strong financial education that often comes from family to guide me through important financial and career decisions.

My mission is to share my expertise and provide the guidance I wish I had received earlier in my own life. By helping women make informed decisions about their finances and careers, I believe I can help to create a community of empowered and financially independent women who can confidently navigate the challenges of today's complex world.

I am dedicated to providing personalized and holistic financial planning that supports my clients' unique aspirations and priorities. Through collaboration and education, I aim to help women make the best possible choices for themselves and their families, while creating a strong and secure financial foundation for their future.

As a financial advisor, I am driven by a desire to help others achieve their full potential and create a life of purpose, fulfillment, and financial freedom.”

She is an expert in managing and strategizing for equity compensation and building tax-efficient, long-term wealth strategies. As a woman who has often been the only woman in the room, she is passionate about empowering her clients to achieve financial confidence and independence.

Her Perspective

Maili had a global view instilled in her at a very young age. Being born and raised in Hawaii where she enjoyed being barefoot the majority of the first 18 years of her life. Beginning in junior high, when her father moved to Malaysia, she spent the summers visiting him in Malaysia and had the opportunity to travel throughout Asia. Having been exposed to different cultures at a young age, she developed a deep rooted passion for travel and she thrives on new experiences, meeting new people and being exposed to new cultures. When it came time to go to university she chose to move to California to attend the University of Southern California. Over the course of the next 25 years of her career as a corporate executive she lived in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City but ultimately ended up back in Manhattan Beach, California.

“I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to learn how to connect with people from diverse backgrounds early in life. I believe that this opened my perception of the world around me. My career has exposed me to many unique challenges but I have stayed grounded in my roots. I am equally comfortable walking into a boardroom in heels or enjoying a concert in high tops.”

Her unique childhood was formative. At age nine, Maili’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given a year and a half to live. She saw her mother survive—she is alive and thriving today.

"I understand the roadblocks that happen in life,” she says. “You’ve got to take care of yourself and those around you." It’s her strength and this unique perspective that drive her.

When she’s not crunching numbers and working on financial strategy, you can find her on the slopes, dominating on the tennis courts, or scuba diving in tropical locations. When she has a few minutes of quiet time, she’s passionate about well-researched historical fiction.

Maili’s Clients

Maili coaches her clients holistically taking a broad view that with their retirement and career holistically: whether negotiating employment agreements, equity comp, or benefits, she is both a mentor and a partner. She’s not intimidated to recommend smart, bold strategic decisions about a career move, negotiation, or a financial opportunity if it is right for her clients.

“One of the things I love about this job is the connections I build with my clients,” she says. “This job is so personal – that’s what attracted me to make a career shift to this industry.”

Maili’s expertise allows her to maneuver through the constantly shifting financial terrain so that her clients optimize their wealth. She’s a strategist first and foremost: she looks holistically at lifestyle, options, goals, and tax opportunities. She works collaboratively to help clients understand their money, make it work for them, and make the most of it.

Maili’s clients trust her as a private wealth manager, career counselor, financial planner, and sounding board for all of life’s major decisions, because let’s face it, they all impact our financial life.

Schedule a meeting with Maili

Maili



Areas of Expertise

Financial Planning

The foundation to a confident and successful retirement begins with a customized financial plan-design based on your unique situation, values, wants, needs, dreams, and resources.

Investment Advice

Because your goals are unique, I believe your investment portfolio should be, too. You and I will engage in a collaborative process that takes the guesswork out of investing.

Tax Reduction

I proactively minimize taxable events before they occur and position your money to be as tax-advantaged as possible based on your unique situation. It’s not about what you make, it’s what you keep.

Retirement Guidance

Start preparing for the best years of your life. If you are too busy and don’t have the time, knowledge, or interest to confidently plan for your own retirement, I will help you do it.

IRA & 401(K) Rollovers

From early, required, in-service and charitable distribution planning, to Roth conversions and legacy planning, to avoid complicated tax traps for your heirs, I will help navigate this complex and constantly evolving landscape with care and precision.

Insurance Management

From long-term care, to annuities, life insurance and more, I can help you understand, plan for and implement appropriate insurance strategies.

Income Distribution & Planning

How you take your money out matters! I will help you design an income plan that mitigates tax risks, provides flexibility, and maximizes your net income.

Inheritance & Estate Planning

From maintaining current designated beneficiary forms and titling on your accounts, to organizing essential financial and legal documents, to working with estate planning attorneys to implement legal work to ensure your wishes are seamlessly carried out—I aim to address all these considerations as part of a comprehensive approach.


Testimonials

Clients providing testimonials or endorsement on this webpage are neither remunerated in cash nor compensated with non-cash benefits for their testimonial or endorsements.

It is so refreshing to work with a financial adviser who is truly interested in our needs, circumstances and preferences. Particularly reassuring is our feeling of certainty in the absolute integrity of your dealings with us. I gladly recommend her services.

- Judith Binder

Maili Bergman came into my life at a time when everything was in chaos.  Her no-nonsense, fact based approach to finances, combined with heart, was exactly what I needed.  A smart saver, I knew that there was more to know about finances and her guidance, follow through, empathy and support has been an immense help for me, during one of the biggest life transitions I have ever experienced.  I am grateful to have Maili's knowledge, spirit and energy on my side and I know that I will come out of this time with my finances intact, for the future of myself and my young daughter.

- Jenny Callaghan


My Team

L to R - Michelle Gosner, Nguyen Le, Sherri Delaine, Ricky Ackerman Noah Fratello, Chris Cordoba, Anthony Fratello,
Arcadia Berjonneau & Maili Bergman

C O M M U N I T Y


Maili is proud to volunteer

Bike MS

Vistas for Children

Next Steps

Once we agree to meet, here is what is next on the journey.

We'll create your asset map from a discovery questionnaire

This will allow us to have a productive conversation and you'll receive a visual summary we can build on together. 

Meet With Me

Share your story and your financial goals. I will ask and answer questions to learn how I can best help you achieve your goals.

Are We a Good Fit?

This is a no-pressure relationship! We each consider if I am a good fit to realistically help you meet your financial goals. If so, we can discus how to begin working together.

Review Service Offerings

You'll learn our planning philosophy, process, service options and costs.  

Engage on Your Terms

You'll receive our financial planning agreement based upon the service you select to begin.