Dan was born into an aviation family and by age sixteen had a full-time job as a mechanic working on the jetliners his father flew for a charter airline based in Oakland, CA (Trans International Airlines, later Transamerica Airlines). Intending to follow his dad into the world of airline flying, by his mid-twenties he attained a commercial pilot’s license with instrument rating and started building flight experience. He also introduced his future wife, Lory, into that world at the age of twenty-two. She flew as a flight attendant for five years with the same airline.

Today he flies an advanced Boeing 737 jet on his desktop simulator and has bypassed the turmoil, layoffs, the bad food, missed family holidays and the exhausting lifestyle of a career of airline flying. And he sleeps in his own bed every night!

Beginning about age thirty he began to reassess career options and viability in aviation and decided that a career in professional financial services would be more suited to his evolving sense of purpose in life and at age thirty-two enrolled at College for Financial Planning – Certified Financial Planner™ program with classes offered through the Golden Gate University Center for Professional Development In San Francisco.

In 1984 he earned CFP certificate #3633 (According to the CFP Board as of 8-31-19, there are now over 85,000 certificants authorized to use the CFP marks). Shortly thereafter he earned NASD (now FINRA) Series 7, and 63 Securities Registrations with University Securities and Danville Financial Group, and CA Insurance Lic. 0644268.

In 1985, he joined Great Western Financial Securities (VP Investments) a division of Great Western Bank that later became Washington Mutual Bank. Working on the SF Peninsula down to San Jose over four years he built a wealth of experience working with clients of the bank, developing retirement strategies and building investment portfolios.

In 1989 he went on to a higher level of responsibility with another regional bank, opening new branches and training teller platform staff in the marketing of investments. In 1990 he returned to the world of independent advisors and worked with a small financial planning group in Walnut Creek. In 1996, he opened his own “Office of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJ) branch of Associated Securities, (ASC) -an esteemed west coast independent broker-dealer firm, in Walnut Creek, CA where he was a Registered Principal (FINRA Series 24).

In 2006, Dan founded Hawley Advisors, investment advisory firm and it became an active entity in 2009 when (after the sale of ASC) he affiliated with Foothill Securities as “dually registered person”. In late 2016, Foothill Securities ceased operations and having done little to no broker-dealer type business since 2000, surrendered his securities licenses in lieu of conducting fee-only investment advisory services. He continues to maintain a Life, Health & Disability California Insurance Lice. 0644268

With over 36 years of experience working with clients and their families he has gained many valuable insights about people’s fears, hopes and aspirations around money, wealth and what possibilities it can open in their lives.

He has witnessed the evolution of financial products and strategies with a mere 500 mutual funds available to retail investors in 1982 to the mind-boggling cornucopia of both retail and institutional level investment types and strategies available today, numbering 20,000 plus.

Acutely aware of the need to act as client’s “buyer-representative” in this maze of complexity he focuses on gaining a deep understanding and knowledge of client’s overall objectives, time horizon (for things like college education and retirement planning) and most importantly client ability to bear risk and uncertainty in this very uncertain world of complex economics and market conditions. He continually strives to educate clients on the investment process and current economic conditions and market dynamics that impact client’s wealth accumulation. 

“Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. We expect some minor turbulence ahead and we ask that you return to your seats with your seatbelts loosely fastened. Otherwise we expect to arrive at your destination on time”.   

With the help of highly trained associates with advanced credentials, skill and knowledge in the investment process, Dan has (since 1998) developed a dynamic model portfolio system using the principle of “risk-adjusted return investing” wherein clients can select the level of expected risk they can tolerate in their pursuit of gaining good wealth building investment results. At present he manages over $46MM for 56 client households.

With much knowledge in personal financial planning he knows how to uncover some of the hidden pitfalls the unaware can face, having the wrong type of insurance to faulty planning for wealth transmission to succeeding generations. Our integrated wealth management process takes into account a client’s need for current and future cash flows, their current and future expected tax brackets and again, their risk tolerance to build a highly individualized investment plan that coordinates with their financial planning.

Finally, we treat all clients (regardless of assets) as valued members of our family, to serve and guide over a lifetime, making sure that we are aware of and responsive to their needs. We work for you and value the relationship. Our service policy is to respond to all client service requests within 24 hours. That means we continue to respond, even if we haven’t solved your original issue. This is the lifeblood of our firm and what distinguishes us from a large impersonal firm. We have access to all the same institutional resources they do, but we aim to be highly responsive, highly personal, and highly accountable to you, our clients.