Newport Beach, CA
Sam Saleh
Hi, I’m Sam, a wealth manager in Newport Beach, California. I’m passionate about helping individuals, families, and business owners with their investment, retirement, tax, estate, and small business succession planning. As a fiduciary Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®), I hold myself to the highest standard of excellence in financial planning and guidance for my clients.
Sam
’s team
Savvy Investment Team
Parker Howard
Parker, born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, now lives in Buckeye, AZ. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance & Economics from Grand Canyon University and holds Series 7, 63, and 65 certifications. As a Client Service Associate, he brings a strong foundation in finance and client service expertise.
With five years of broker-dealer experience, Parker has honed skills in relationship building, advisor support, and client service. Since joining Savvy, Parker has focused on exceptional client service and streamlining new business onboarding.
His professional approach centers on proactive problem-solving, clear communication, and precise execution. Outside work, Parker values family, faith, and cheering for Arizona sports teams.
To effectively help clients achieve their financial goals, I believe it’s essential to deploy a combination of strategic financial, investment, and tax planning methods tailored to their unique needs.
Meet with
Sam
Featured in:
No items found.
Our team
How can I help?
DREAMS INTO ACTIONABLE PLANS
Retirement Planning
Transition into your golden years with confidence. Our goal is to see to it that you’re prepared for the unpredictable. Let us turn your retirement dreams into actionable plans.
PRESERVATION OF YOUR LEGACY
Estate & Trust Planning
We specialize in making the often complex and emotionally charged process of trust and estate planning as seamless as possible ensuring the security and preservation of a client's legacy for future generations.
ESTABLISH YOUR BUSINESS SUCCESSION PLAN
Succession Planning
Building a successful business is an incredible feat, but what happens to your hard-earned legacy when you're ready to step down? We build strategic blueprints to help ensure the continued growth and success of your enterprise.
Published Content
Sam
’s published work
No items found.
Sam
’s resources
Get to know
Sam
Sam Saleh is an experienced financial advisor, wealth manager, and seasoned entrepreneur with a diverse career spanning the financial services, construction, interiors and luxury furniture sectors. Currently, Sam leverages his extensive experience to provide comprehensive financial planning and wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals and families.Before transitioning into the financial advisory space, Sam was the CEO of a leading interior fit-out company, overseeing business growth, strategic direction, and operational management. He also founded a luxury interior & furniture company, gaining significant experience in funding, scaling, and exiting businesses.
Sam began his career with wirehouse & insurance firms like Merrill Lynch and New York Life, where he developed specialized skills in financial and risk management planning. During his tenure at these firms, Sam honed his expertise in investment strategies, insurance solutions, and wealth preservation for high-net-worth clients. His work in these areas laid the foundation for his current role as a trusted financial advisor and wealth manager.
Sam holds an MBA from California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC®) certification from the American College of Financial Services. His diverse education, combined with his broad business and financial experience, enables him to take a holistic approach to wealth management, focusing not only on financial growth, but also risk mitigation and long-term asset preservation.
With a passion for empowering clients to achieve financial security and success, Sam works closely with each client to develop tailored strategies that address their unique goals and challenges.
Connect with
Sam
:
How did you become a financial advisor?
With a diverse background spanning the construction industry and entrepreneurship, I have built a solid foundation in leadership and business management. After earning my MBA from Cal Poly, I was presented with global opportunities that led me to work overseas in various C-suite roles, including founding and successfully growing two business ventures over 13 years. My passion for the financial services industry eventually drew me to wirehouse firms. Still, it was upon returning to Southern California with my family that I chose to pivot into financial services.
At New York Life Securities, I honed my risk management and financial planning experience, providing clients with strategic solutions aimed at helping them safeguard their wealth. To further deepen my knowledge and refine my investment strategies, I joined Merrill Lynch, where I expanded my capabilities and built a robust client base. Today, as a Wealth Manager at Savvy, I leverage my unique blend of business acumen and financial expertise to deliver tailored, comprehensive wealth management solutions that help clients achieve their financial goals and build a lasting legacy.
What types of clients do you work with?
I specialize in working with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, including C-suite executives, family offices, foundations and endowments, startup founders, and small business owners. My focus is on delivering highly personalized financial planning and investment strategies designed to address the distinct needs of each client. By offering tailored solutions, I help optimize wealth management, enhance asset protection, and ensure seamless wealth transfer across generations.
What areas of expertise do you have?
As a financial planner and wealth manager, my experience spans a wide range of specialized areas tailored to meet the unique needs of high-net-worth (HNW) and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals.
These include:
Comprehensive Wealth Management: Crafting personalized financial strategies that integrate investment management, tax efficiency, and asset protection to target asset preservation and growth across generations.
Retirement and Income Planning: Designing customized retirement solutions that ensure long-term financial security, with a focus on income optimization and risk mitigation for a sustainable lifestyle.
Estate and Legacy Planning: Developing strategic estate plans endeavoring to preserve family wealth, minimize estate taxes, and ensure a seamless wealth transfer to future generations, while addressing both philanthropic goals and family dynamics.
My other areas of expertise include tax optimization strategies, investment management, business succession and exit planning, and more.
My goal is to provide a holistic and personalized approach to wealth management that addresses the complexities of HNW and UHNW clients, ensuring financial success both today and for future generations.
I also hold a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) from the American College of Financial Services.
What kinds of strategies do you help clients with?
To help clients achieve their financial goals, I employ a comprehensive approach that integrates strategic financial, investment, and tax planning tailored to each individual’s unique circumstances and objectives.
Through goal-based financial planning, I work with clients to clearly define their objectives, understand their risks and prioritize savings and investments accordingly. I then recommend a range of investment strategies based on their investment profile—such as strategic/tactical asset allocation models, dollar-cost averaging, direct indexing, alternative investments, options hedging, equity buffering, and bond laddering strategies to optimize growth, income and manage risk.
Given the increasing importance of tax efficiency, I utilize a variety of sophisticated strategies to help minimize the tax impact on investment gains. These include tax-bracket management, tax-deferred accounts, tax-loss harvesting, capital gains planning, and Roth conversions, all designed to maximize after-tax net returns, where appropriate.
In addition, I focus on estate planning and wealth transfer strategies, including the use of trusts, life insurance, gift tax exclusions, and charitable giving. These tools allow clients to transfer wealth to heirs and philanthropic causes while minimizing tax liabilities.
By combining these strategies, my goal is to grow and preserve wealth, minimize taxes, and ensure financial security at every stage of life. Customizing these solutions to align with each client’s specific situation, risk tolerance, and long-term goals is key to delivering sustained financial outputs.
What is your favorite part of working with clients?
My favorite part about working with clients is the opportunity to truly make a difference in their lives by helping them achieve their financial goals and secure their future. It's incredibly rewarding to build long-term relationships based on trust, and to know that the strategies we implement together are helping them navigate life’s transitions—whether it’s preparing for retirement, growing their wealth, or creating a lasting legacy for future generations.
What I find especially fulfilling is the opportunity to customize solutions for each client’s unique needs, values, and aspirations. Every conversation is an opportunity to better understand their vision, and to craft a plan that not only helps them achieve their financial goals but also aligns with their personal story. The collaborative nature of the relationship allows me to continuously evolve and adapt strategies, which keeps the work dynamic and impactful.
At the end of the day, it’s about building a partnership where clients feel confident, informed, and empowered to make decisions that support their long-term success—whether that’s through smart investment strategies, tax planning, or wealth transfer solutions. That’s what drives me every day.
What is it like partnering with Savvy?
Savvy is a fintech industry disruptor that brings AI-powered platforms to the wealth management ecosystem, giving advisors and clients a seamless engagement experience on the front and back end. In my opinion, superior customer service is a hallmark that sets Savvy apart from the noise in the financial services market.
I like that Savvy is a fintech start-up founded by an entrepreneur who had two successful start-up exits under his belt, backed-up by heavy-weight VC firms.I always wanted to be part of a startup and contribute to the growth and success story. Working for a startup means having close contact with leadership and therefore more pulse on the business direction and developing family knit relationships. Less bureaucracy and silos culture means more room for innovation, collaboration and inspiration.
Connect with
Sam
Neither Savvy Wealth, nor Savvy Advisors compensates directly for testimonials or endorsements provided herein, by advisers. However advisors may have an indirect financial incentive to provide testimonials.