Overview
Mana is looking for an Associate Advisor who enjoys the work of financial planning: digging into the details, meeting clients where they are, understanding what they want from their lives, and helping build a financial plan around it. In this fully virtual role, you’ll work closely with our lead advisory team to build and maintain comprehensive financial plans, prepare for client meetings, develop recommendations, and make sure the details and follow-through don’t get lost along the way. We’re looking for someone who has built a strong foundation in financial planning and wants to keep growing.
That could mean eventually taking ownership of client relationships, or it could mean becoming an exceptional planner who loves supporting clients and advisors from behind the scenes.
We believe both are meaningful career paths. Most importantly, we’re looking for someone who cares about the work and the people on the other side of it. Someone curious enough to ask good questions, detail-oriented enough to catch what others might miss, and dependable enough to close the loop.
What You’ll Do
Support the advisory team with day-to-day client service: scheduling, follow-up, preparing client reports, and administrative client requests
Maintain accurate client records and workflows in the CRM
Build working proficiency across Mana’s core technology stack (Google Suite, Airtable, Redtail, and ShareFile) and internal processes
Process ShareFile uploads and manage portal connections to gather client data for plans, respond to emails efficiently, and keep documents centrally stored and searchable
Opportunity to participate in client meetings in a planning support capacity, to build familiarity with Mana’s planning process and client communication style, with growing responsibility over time
Develop investment and planning recommendations for advisor review
Support day-to-day portfolio management and trading activities, including account maintenance, cash management, rebalancing, trade execution, and coordination with custodians to ensure accurate and timely implementation of investment strategies.
Coordinate with external partners (CPAs, attorneys) on implementation, including populating and delivering client tax letters in Holistiplan ahead of tax filing season
Build client financial plans across cash flow, retirement, tax, estate, and risk management
Monitor and update existing client plans to track progress toward goals
What We’re Looking For
Required
CFP® strongly preferred. Candidates who have completed coursework and the exam but are still accruing the experience hours required for the credential are welcome to apply.
1–5 years of industry experience. Prior experience in financial planning or client service work
Strong written/verbal communication, self-direction, ability to manage multiple client cases at once
Close attention to detail and follow-through.
Ownership mindset. You don’t wait to be chased; you close the loop
Comfortable working independently in a fully remote environment
Intermediate spreadsheet skills (Google Sheets or Excel formulas, pivot tables, and data organization)
Desirable
Bachelor’s degree
Familiarity with financial planning software (eMoney) or CRM tools (Redtail)
Comfort with ambiguity in a fast-growing, small-firm environment where responsibilities shift as the firm scales
Proficiency with Google Workspace & Experience with automations and AI tools
Benefits & Perks
$70,000 – $100,000 commensurate with experience. After your first year, you’ll also become eligible for Mana’s revenue sharing program, giving you the opportunity to share directly in the firm’s success as we grow together.
Remote work with a flexible 9am-5pm schedule within your time zone
QSEHRA Benefits effective immediately with health reimbursements of up to $500/month
401k with 4% match, beginning 90 days after start date
Employer-paid disability insurance (ST & LT), AD&D ($15,000), and life insurance ($15,000).
Cell phone reimbursement of $85/month
Paid sick days and paid family medical leave
Charitable matching of $250/year to a charity of your choice
Annual education reimbursement (subject to approval) of $2,000
Office setup reimbursement of up to $500, in addition to a laptop computer
Travel to Los Angeles for in-person team collaboration at least once per year
Paid time off of 32+ days/year, including:
15 vacation days. An additional 1 vacation day per year is added until 20 days are reached.
Birthday off
12 holidays
4 team mental health days per year
Limited hours between Christmas and New Years
Next Steps: How to Apply
We believe the little things matter. Taking care of clients starts with being thoughtful, paying attention, and following through. We’d love to get a glimpse of how you approach those things. If this role sounds like a fit, here’s how to apply:
Submit your resume as a PDF.
In your cover letter, briefly answer (3–5 sentences): What drew you to financial planning, and what about Mana’s approach resonates with you?
Include a link to a short video (3 minutes or less) using Loom or a similar tool, answering these three questions:
What does a really satisfying day at work look like for you?
When you’re juggling several clients and open items at once, how do you make sure nothing slips? Walk us through your actual system.
What’s a moment in your work that made you feel like, ‘This is why I do what I do’?
We look forward to getting to know you!
Who is Mana?
Mana Financial Life Design is an SEC-registered, fee-only financial life planning firm based in Los Angeles, founded by Cristina Livadary, CFP®, RLP®, and Stephanie Bucko, CFA®, CPA, in 2018. We believe good financial planning starts with a person's life, not their net worth. We take the time to deeply understand what matters to our clients, how they think and feel about money, and what they want their lives to look like. That understanding shapes our financial life planning recommendations.
We work with founders & early employees, multigenerational families, and retirees navigating complex financial lives and meaningful decisions. Our work spans investment management, tax strategy, estate planning, equity compensation, retirement, and the many financial questions that come as life changes. We're a team of people who care about helping and serving others, and we take a lot of pride in doing excellent work for our clients.
We have ambitious goals for Mana, but growth will never come at the expense of the care and quality our clients receive. We're looking for people who feel the same way, who want to do great work because the work matters and the people on the other side of it matter too.