Our Wealth Management Leadership

Curtis Hill, Certified Financial Planner, CFP, Investor Advisor Representative, IAR, Fiduciary Financial Advisor, Insurance Agent, and Author providing Wealth Management and Retirement Planning

Founder

As a financial advisor specializing in wealth management, Curtis’s passion is helping people plan their happy “next chapter.” Mr. Hill has more than thirty years of experience in the financial industry. After guiding people through multiple economic and financial storms, he makes sure his clients have a plan for any surprise they might encounter in retirement.

Curtis Hill is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, CFP, wealth manager, financial advisor, retirement planner, insurance agent, and Investment Advisor Representative. Mr. Hill provides a holistic approach to retirement planning, putting together every piece of the retirement puzzle: financial planning, wealth management income planning, and legacy planning. Curtis provides fiduciary financial advice.

After earning his two bachelor’s degrees from North Carolina State University (1978) and a Master’s Degree from Southern Methodist University (1981), Curtis worked in corporate management for fifteen years. Although successful, Curtis missed the personal connection with people and making a real difference in their lives. That’s why he pursued his passion of providing wealth management and retirement planning, where he can combine his strategic mindset, financial experience, and desire to improve people’s well-being.

Raised in North Carolina, Curtis moved to Dallas in his twenties. He moved to Los Angeles in his thirties where his lives now with his wife of 26+ years, Irina and their dog Lucy.

Curtis’s Client’s Favorites on YouTube

Irina Hill, CPA, MBA, Investor Advisor Representative, IAR, Fiduciary Financial Advisor, Insurance Agent, Realtor, and Author providing Wealth Management and Retirement Planning.

Co-Founder

Irina always dreamed about changing the world and making it a happier place. She started her professional life as a Professor of English. After moving to the United States in 1999, Irina transitioned into the financial industry. After a successful 18-year-long CPA career, Irina realized that Serenity Wealth Management is the place where she can connect with people as a wealth manager and financial advisor, making a real difference in their lives.

The key is in combining Irina’s creativity, extensive financial knowledge, and desire to educate with her dreams of a happy world. At Serenity Wealth Management, she can make a true impact on each individual’s financial well-being. Irina is a fee-only fiduciary financial advisor.

As a CPA, MBA, Realator, finanacial advisor, and wealth manager Irina brings her extensive tax planning, wealth management and retirement planning expertize to the table. Focused on giving clients the smoothest transition into retirement, Irina extended her expertise into real estate. As a Realtor, she helps clients plan their real estate planning needs in retirement.

With Irina’s background in finance, investments, planning, and real estate, she makes sure Serenity Wealth Management is setting up for the clients a well-rounded, all-inclusive financial path to a better future and financial serenity.

When Irina is not taking care of her clients, she is in the gym, exploring the world with her husband Curtis, or playing with their dog Lucy. Both Curtis and Irina are dogoholics.

Irina’s Client’s Favorites on YouTube

Lucy, Chief Dog Officer (CDO)

The real “Boss”

Lucy loves chicken and is passionate about sleeping and hugs.

Before joining Serenity Wealth Management, Lucy had 4 terrible years of dog life. After Curtis and Irina rescued Lucy, she taught her new “parents” what miracles love and patience can do, transforming a scared wild creature into a loving, affectionate, and bossy dog.

Throughout her career at Serenity Wealth Management, Lucy excelled at grabbing people’s attention and getting what she wants.

What is the difference between IAR and RIA?

What is the difference between IAR and RIA? A RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) is the firm that provides investment advice for a fee, while an IAR (Investment Advisor Representative) is the individual who works for that RIA and delivers the advice to clients. RIAs are legal entities, like a financial advisory firm, that are registered with state or federal authorities (like the SEC), and they are held to a fiduciary standard. IARs are the professionals within that firm who meet regulatory requirements and are also held to that fiduciary standard, putting their clients’ best interests first. Togther they are financial advisors providing wealth management and retirement planning.

Curtis Hill and Irina Hill are Investment Advisor Representatives, IARs, offering investment advisory services through, Portfolio Medics, LLC, assures that such investments will only be held in custodianship at major financial firms such as Axos and similar nationally known firms. Portfolio Medics, LLC, is a SEC registered investment advisor. Serenity Wealth Management and Portfolio Medics, LLC are not affiliated. Having an independent firm reporting your positions and account value is an important safeguard and security feature. Curtis Hill, Irina Hill, or Portfolio Medics do not directly hold or accept any client funds.

Our Wealth Management Process

The wealth management process has several important steps we call our “Roadmap to Serenity”

Wealth Management Discovery:

This initial step involves getting to know your goals and concerns. We do a lot of listening during this step while also asking some probing questions attempting to stimulate your thought process. We have discovered that often clients have not fully though out their retirement goals. Couples may have conflicting goals that need consideration. Understanding your values are crucial for tailoring wealth management strategies to meet your needs. We also need to learn your feelings about investment volatility, risks tolerance, long-term care concerns, and legacy goals. Currents assets and investments should also be discussed regarding how these assets may accomplish future goals.

Wealth Management Analysis Review:

In this step we examine how current assets and investments are capable of meeting your cash flow and retirement needs. During this analysis it is important to realize how faulty future economic assumptions can dramatically affect your expectations. Assuming the economy to remain as it currently is will cause many plans to fail.  We address these uncertainties by assessing various risks such as much higher future tax rates, rising inflation, increasing volatility, sequence of returns, longevity, and long-term care risks. Implementing wealth management methods to mitigate these risks is essential to protect the client’s financial future and ensure peace of mind.

Wealth Management Plan Review/Implementation:

In this step we describe how to accomplish your goals. We also review how to mitigate various risks are according to your risk concerns priorities. Next, we will discuss how to implement the plan over time and what assets to involve. We ensure that the plan structure meets your expectations and ensures clarity and alignment between the advisor and you. In this step the cost of the plan will be discussed. Developing comprehensive plans for retirement, tax, social security, long-term care, and legacy is vital for addressing future needs and safeguarding assets. Expectations set during this stage provide the groundwork for measuring future outcomes.

Client Experience and Onboarding:

This step focuses on executing the agreed-upon strategies, whether it’s constructing an advanced retirement plan or implementing protection plans for investment, taxes, social security, and legacy. Regularly engaging the client and reviewing accounts, statements, and progress helps maintain transparency and trust. It ensures the advisor remains aligned with your evolving goals and market changes. 

Each step plays a significant role in fostering a successful advisor-client relationship. Discovery and analysis establish a strong foundation, while regular reviews and advanced planning ensure ongoing adaptability and trust.

Our Services

Investment Solutions for All Stages of Life

Asset Protection

​Retirement doesn’t mean that it’s time to stop growing.  Same holds true for your money.  It should mean, however, that it’s time to stop taking unnecessary risk. This is an important issue for wealth management and retirement planning.

We specialize in helping retirees protect their retirement assets while continuing to move forward.

Family Legacy Planning

Many of our clients want to leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren. Whit the right planning they can double, even triple their heir inheritance – TAX-FREE AND GUARANTEED!

We also work with our clients and help them embrace their own mortality and prepare for the loss of a spouse and the income burdens this can often create.          

529 Plans and Preparing for College Expanse

529 plans may not be your best method for paying for college expenses. In fact, such plans may substantially increase your cost of college. Read more about the effects of 529 on your expected family contribution for college expenses.

Pension Election Dilemma (Spousal and Lum Sum Options)

If you are lucky enough to have a pension from your current or previous job, you are probably going to need to make an election whether the pension should be for the employee’s life or for the employee’s plus spouses life. This is an important decision that is not as obvious as it appears. Please read more about this topic in the pension section of this website

We have likely been encouraged to delay taxes by using tax-deferred investments like IRA, 401(k)s and similar investments. However, what is often ignored or dismissed is the large tax liability you are creating for your retirement years–the retirement tax bomb your are creating. Let’s examine who really benefits from you delaying your taxes.

Zero Taxes in Retirement

Many retirees are exclusively depending on their pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s and other tax-deferred plans to pay retirement expenses. But they may not have realized how high the taxes would be on these now fully taxable withdrawals. Even Social Security payments are taxed for most people. There are plans that allow for tax-free cash flow in retirement. Learn how to diversify your taxes in retirement.

Long-Term Care/Extended Care Solutions

Long-term care/extended care costs have gone up substantially in the last 10 years.  Unfortunately, the statistics are not in your favor. A plan to address these costs should be included in every retirement strategy.

The good news is we work with hybrid insurance plans that leverage your dollar in case you need it for extended care, but remain accessible for withdrawal if you don’t.    

Retirement Income (Annuities for Growth & Income)

You are likely to spend 30 years or more living in retirement without earned income. Creating an income plan to last throughout retirement is perhaps the single most important challenge retirees face. 

We create a customized retirement income plan, encompassing all sources of income, for each one of our clients. No two plans are exactly alike. If properly structured, Principal Protection Plans can provide protected growth, not affected by stock market declines. This may provide another source of retirement planning and protected income. Let us get to work on a plan for you.

Alternative Investments

We help our clients understand the need for investments that avoid the frequent volatility of the stock market. We focus on investment that attempt to avoid follow a different path. It is important to have some of you assets isolated from market risks. You need a place to withdrawal money from when your other market related investmenst are down, thus giving them time to recover. Alternative investments may sometimes be suitable for this purpose.

Investment markets have three possible directions, up, down and sideways. Most marker investment only perform well in up markets. However, multidirectional investments are designed to do well regardless of the market’s general direction. Do you have multidirectional investments?

Life Insurance

We can provide a whole range of life insurance options for our customers, including:

• Low-cost term life insurance
• Guarantee Universal Life
• Cash Accumulating for Retirement
• Whole life
• Index Universal life

We can provide a whole range of life insurance options for our customers. This includes Low Cost Term Life Insurance, Guarantee Universal Life, Cash Accumulating Life, Whole Life, and Index Universal Life.

Specialty Life Insurance

Special circumstances require a special touch. We have sources of life insurance solutions for people who: 

• are HIV positive
• smoke cigars
• are cannabis users
• are living abroad
• are foreign nationals

Our Books

Confidence Through Education

At Serenity Wealth Management, we believe that an educated client is a confident client.

Curtis and Irina teach complimentary financial education classes about retirement tax planning and protecting hard-earned savings from stock market down-turns. Curtis Hill, CFP, IAR and Irina Hill, CPA, IAR, provide fee-only fiduciary financial advisors providing wealth management, investment advice, retirement planning, and life insurance in the Long Beach, Lakewood, Carson, Bixby Hills, Signal Hill, Beverly Hills, and the greater Los Angeles areas of California.

Additionally, they have written two books that challenge the traditional advice backed by Wall Street. These books are “The Wealth Conspiracy, Avoid the Dark Side of Wall Street” and “The Financial Blind Side, How Your Investment Advisor’s Bias Limits Your Wealth.” 

The Wealth Conspiracy: Avoid the Dark Side of Wall Street

Buy It on Amazon

The Financial Blind Side:

How Your Investment Advisor Bias Limits Your Wealth

Buy It on Amazon