Growing up in Chinatown Los Angeles, Alvin remembers the long lines that wrapped around the block at the local Bank of America office. Each month he would stand and wait with his grandparents who cashed their checks, to put food on their table. This experience shaped Alvin’s perspective on the value of money and the fundamental role it plays in people’s lives.

Today, Alvin works closely with business owners, physicians and couples accumulating wealth including members of the LGBTQ community, and generations of families. Given that his brother has special needs, Alvin also knows first-hand the specific challenges facing special needs families. While clients are diverse in their backgrounds and experience, Alvin finds that their care and consideration for others is a common characteristic.

“I enjoy assisting clients with a blue-collar work ethic who’ve sacrificed and saved,” Alvin says. “From personal experience, I know where they’re coming from. And by listening carefully, I can appreciate where they want to go. Most want a comfortable retirement with key milestones achieved along the way. My role is to formulate a real-world, tax-efficient strategies they can understand and follow.”

Speaking Mandarin, Cantonese and English, Alvin also has a deep appreciation for the cultures of clients and encourages meetings with both spouses or partners, whenever possible. In addition to asking about their “realistic and aspirational” goals, he reminds clients that wealth creation demands more than solid portfolio performance. It requires ongoing dialog between client and advisor, so that new challenges can be met with thoughtful consideration, before decisions need to be made.

When it comes to investments, Alvin uses the firm’s Chief Investment Office portfolio models for overall strategic guidance and typically crafts customized portfolios for clients that may include alternative investments*, equities and bonds. He is a Senior Portfolio Advisor who can help clients pursue their objectives by managing on a discretionary basis custom investment strategies, selecting from a wide range of Merrill model portfolios and third-party investment strategies.

Alvin also helps business owners with their 401(k) and other defined benefit plans. Through in-depth discussions and multiple meetings, he introduces investment choices to plan participants while taking into account their overall financial picture. In addition, his team can provide access to fiduciary services through Merrill’s Investment Advisory Program.

Alvin believes that being a trusted steward of clients’ wealth and wishes demands that he focus on both sides of clients’ balance sheets – assets and liabilities. He offers access to Bank of America, N.A. for residential and securities-based lending, custom lending solutions for commercial properties, and practice solutions for physicians. In addition, he helps align tax-minimization and estate planning strategies in coordination with third-party administrators and clients’ CPAs and attorneys.

Alvin joined Merrill in 2016 after spending more than four years at JPMorgan Securities as a private client banker and attending California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. True to his personal mission, Alvin uses his energy and experience in support of underserved communities – recently serving as the external vice president of a local Asian-American organization and as a member of the South Pasadena Royal Lions Club. Alvin resides in Monrovia where his interests include golf, gaming, and Formula One racing.

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*The Chief Investment Office (CIO) provides thought leadership on wealth management, investment strategy and global markets; portfolio management solutions; due diligence; and solutions oversight and data analytics. CIO viewpoints are developed for Bank of America Private Bank, a division of Bank of America, N.A., (“Bank of America”) and Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“MLPF&S” or “Merrill”), a registered broker-dealer, registered investment adviser and a wholly owned subsidiary of BofA Corp. This information should not be construed as investment advice and is subject to change. It is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to be either a specific offer by Bank of America, Merrill or any affiliate to sell or provide, or a specific invitation for a consumer to apply for, any particular retail financial product or service that may be available.

*Some or all alternative investment programs may not be in the best interest of certain investors. No assurance can be given that any alternative investment’s investment objectives will be achieved.