Meet the People

Anjulina Desai, Co-Founder

Like so many of you, as Anji gets older, she spends more time worrying about her finances and facing the tough questions. Are we saving enough? Have we thought of everything? Have we taken full advantage of opportunities? Are we getting the best deals or the best returns? As a mom with two small children, she not only has worry about her own wellbeing but that of whole family, and she has to plan intelligently for the future. Anji has worked in Financial Services for over 15 years in one capacity or another. That certainly gives her an advantage when it comes to making financial decisions, but she knows first hand how difficult some of those decisions can be. How much should we fund the kids' 529 accounts? How much life insurance do we need? Who's going to be our children's guardian in the event something should happen to us? Can I retire early? They say that women in general are more concerned with financial security than men, and, while that may or may not be universally true, Anji certainly fits that stereotype. Her hope is that this Web site will be a valuable resource for those of you who are intimidated by finances, who are looking for simple, easy-to-understand explanations, or who have simply put off thinking about all of this.

Most recently, Anji was a consultant at the Public Library of Sciences (www.plos.org) for new products. Prior to that she was a Senior Web Product Manager for all lending sites at World Savings Bank (now Wells Fargo). Prior to World Savings, she was a Strategy Management Consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), where she focused on financial services. While at PwC, she also prepared private companies for IPO and SEC accounting issues. She's held a variety of positions, from working in commercial lending to launching Web sites. Anji is a licensed CPA, and she holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin with a focus on Information Management. She also has a degree in Finance from Boston University.

Ketan Desai, Co-Founder

If you're speculating that Ketan may be related to Finomical's other co–founder, you're right. He and Anji have been married for over 13 years, and they have two small children. With both of them involved in some capacity or another in the Financial Services you can imagine what their dinner table conversations are like. They hope to be able to share some of those conversations with all of you-and to take advantage of the combined knowledge they have—to help you work through your financial plans and to make financial decisions that are right for you and your family. Like Anji, Ketan believes strongly that good financial advice should be easy to get and shouldn't cost an arm and a leg.

Ketan is currently responsible for business development at a bank in the San Francisco Bay Area for their Wealth Management Group. He has spent over 15 years providing investment and financial planning for executives and high-net-worth individuals. Prior to his current role, he was an Investment and Trust Consultant at City National Bank and a Relationship Manager in Merrill Lynch's Family Office Group and Private Client Services Group. The Family Office practice consisted of working with clients' investments and estate and tax planning for individuals with a net worth of $10 million and above. Prior to that, he did comprehensive financial planning for corporate executives, with Ernst & Young and Ayco. Ketan is a licensed CPA and holds a MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University. He has an Accounting degree from Southern Methodist University.

Thomas Wanket, Financial Guru

A family man himself, with two daughters who keep him quite busy, Tom has logged over 17 years working with wealth management forfamilies and individuals. Tom started out working in a small CPA firm catering to the needs of individuals, families, and small businesses. Tom recognized early on the necessity of focusing his energy and education on the vast, broad financial and wealth management needs of clients. He has carried that knowledge and experience over to his own firm, Thomas J. Wanket, CPA.

Before he established his own company, Tom managed numerous client relationships for the Merrill Lynch Family Office Group in San Francisco. He also provided Quality Assurance for tax and accounting services within the group. The Family Office Group catered to Merrill Lynch's "ultra-high" net worth clients by offering tax, financial planning, cash flow planning, asset management, estate and philanthropy planning, and lifestyle services. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Tom served as tax manager for Deloitte and Touche LLP's Financial Counseling Services group in San Francisco.

Jeffrey Whaley, Advisory Board Member

Jeff Whaley knows wealth management. He is President and CEO of Union Square Investment Company, in San Francisco, a private wealth firm established in 1981. Before that, Jeff was Managing Director of the Quellos Group's Financial Advisory Services Division. Prior to joining Quellos, Jeff served as Senior Vice President and Director of Merrill Lynch's San Francisco Family Office Services Group, which provided tax and estate planning and wealth management for families with a net worth in excess of $100 million. Before joining Merrill Lynch, Jeff spent 17 years with two of the "Big Eight" accounting firms, where he specialized in individual tax, personal financial planning, investment advisory services, and compensation and benefits consulting.

Jeff has completed the Graduate Certificate Program in Private Wealth Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MAS in Taxation from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BA in Accounting from Whitworth University. Jeff is a CPA, a Certified Financial planner, an AICPA-accredited Personal Financial Specialist, and a member of several professional associations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the California Society of CPAs, the Financial Planning Association, and the National Futures Association. He is registered with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), the state of California, as a Registered Investment Adviser Representative, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as an Associated Person.