Institutional rigor. Independent judgment.
Senior advisors who work alongside your leadership, counsel, and CPAs, from strategy through implementation.
Who we are
Our team brings Wall Street transaction experience, together with deep expertise in retirement plans, executive compensation, risk management, and tax-aware structuring.
Our founder's transaction experience comes from Wall Street investment banking at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney. We work with your CFO, general counsel, CPA, trustees, and board as an extension of your leadership team.
For governments and development institutions, we work alongside ministries, program boards, and the technical partners who deliver.
Advice and execution, from the same team.
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Integrated, not siloed
Corporate finance, benefits, risk, and tax strategy are planned together, so one decision doesn't undermine another.
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Senior-led
You work directly with experienced advisors, not a rotating bench of junior analysts.
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Built around implementation
We deliver a roadmap and then help you execute it, alongside your existing attorneys and CPAs.
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Aligned with your outcomes
Our work is judged by what changes in your organization, not by the length of the report.
The people behind the advice.
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David Adefeso
Founder, Chairman & CEO
David Adefeso is the founder, Chairman, and CEO of Pacific Advisory Group, the Los Angeles wealth management and strategic advisory firm he has built over more than two decades. He is also the founder and CEO of Sootchy, a financial technology platform that helps employees save early for their children's higher education through employer-sponsored college savings plans.
He began his career as a public accountant, then worked as an investment banker at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney. There he executed billions of dollars in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate finance transactions for large companies in healthcare, consumer goods, and transportation.
Through the Sootchy Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit he founded, David supports scholarships, grants, and financial education for underserved and underrepresented children.
- Education
- MBA, Harvard Business School
- Earlier career
- Public accounting; investment banking at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney
- Affiliations
- Leadership Council, Brookings Institution Center for Universal Education. Former member, Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee, Export-Import Bank of the United States
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Nick Waggoner
Vice President
Nick Waggoner is Vice President of Pacific Advisory Group and has worked alongside David Adefeso since 2013. He works across the firm's services, including asset management, business consulting, financial analysis, retirement planning, investment products, and asset protection.
Outside the firm, Nick mentors teens and young adults, takes part in charitable work and fundraising, and plays in competitive sports leagues.
- Education
- Business Administration, University of Southern California, with a focus on Financial Analysis & Valuation and Entrepreneurship
- With the firm
- Since 2013
Experience you can verify.
- Wall Street foundationInvestment banking at Wasserstein Perella & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney, and a start in public accounting.
- Years and clientsYears in business and clients served across all three practices.
- CredentialsCFP®, CFA®, ChFC®, CAP®, and other designations.
- Public-policy perspectiveBrookings Institution Center for Universal Education Leadership Council; formerly EXIM's Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee.
Let’s Talk About What’s Next
Start with a confidential conversation. We’ll review where you are, show you your options, and you decide what comes next.