Headquarters:
2121 Ave of the Stars #1600, Los Angeles, CA 90067
Year founded:
1997
Number of employees:
263
Phone:
602 319 3437
Email:
fromourteam@valleynationalgroup.com
Website:
seia.com
LinkedIn:
linkedin.com/company/signature-estate-&-investment-advisors-llc
Team Holmes – Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, LLC
Brian D. Holmes, MS, CFP®, AIF®
Chief Executive Officer
Chad Bates, CFP®
Partner
Jared Chase, CFP®, MSF
Financial Advisor
Leadership
Brian D. Holmes is the CEO and co-founder of SEIA, with more than four decades of experience in investment management and financial planning. Since founding the firm in 1997, he has guided its growth into a national wealth management platform while maintaining a focus on long-term client relationships and fiduciary responsibility. Holmes has helped shape SEIA’s team-based structure and disciplined approach to advice, ensuring continuity across generations of advisors and clients. He remains actively involved in strategic direction, reinforcing a culture built on trust, consistency, and long-term thinking.
Chief Executive Officer
Brian D. Holmes, MS, CFP®, AIF®
Chad E. Bates, CFP®, is a Partner at SEIA, where he has worked in the securities and insurance industry since joining the firm in 2003. He works closely with SEIA’s CEO, Brian D. Holmes, providing strategic financial planning and investment guidance to high-net-worth individuals and families.
Based in Durham, Chad enjoys spending free time with his daughter. He is an active sportsman and has been a competitive ice hockey player since he was 10 years old.
Chad earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Boulder and became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional in 2006 after completing the CFP® education program through the College for Financial Planning. He is also a licensed insurance agent (CA Insurance License #0E38602).
Partner
Chad Bates, CFP®
Jared L. Chase, CFP®, MSF, is a Financial Advisor at SEIA, specializing in investment management, retirement planning, and estate planning strategies for affluent individuals, families, and corporations.
He has worked in the financial services industry since 2007. Prior to joining SEIA, Jared held client-facing and institutional roles at Charles Schwab for 11 years and Fidelity Investments for five years. His insights have been featured in Worth Magazine, a publication for high-net-worth individuals and their advisors.
Jared is also committed to giving back, having served as a Big Brother with the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization. He currently resides in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with his wife and two children.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Arizona in 2005 and a Master of Science in Finance from the College for Financial Planning in 2013. Jared became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional in 2011 after completing the CFP Board’s certification process. He is also fluent in Spanish, which helps him connect more personally with a broader range of clients.
Financial Advisor
Jared Chase, CFP®, MSF
Calvin Tseng, CFP®, EA
Financial Advisor
Calvin Tseng, CFP®, EA, is a Financial Advisor at SEIA, where he has been an integral part of the team since 2019. Collaborating closely with SEIA’s CEO, Brian D. Holmes, Calvin provides comprehensive wealth management services to high-net-worth individuals, with a strong emphasis on retirement planning, estate strategies, and tax-efficient planning.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and became a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professional in 2019. He later earned the Enrolled Agent (EA) designation in 2022 and was recognized in 2021 as one of Financial Planning’s Rising Stars.
In addition to his CFP® and EA credentials, Calvin holds Series 7 and Series 66 licenses, along with a Life & Health Insurance license (CA Insurance License #4245924). Bilingual in English and conversational Chinese, Calvin offers tailored financial solutions to meet the unique needs of a diverse range of clients.
Financial Advisor
Calvin Tseng, CFP®, EA
Josh Woodard, CFA®, CFP®
Advisor
Josh Woodard is an associate advisor with SEIA, having spent 10 years at the firm in various roles starting on the Investment Research Team. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he attended Cal State Northridge and is both a CFA and CFP®. Josh is married with two children and resides in Burbank, California.
Advisor
Josh Woodard, CFA®, CFP®
Signature Estate and Investment Advisors (SEIA) has taken a deliberate path – one built on teams, continuity, and the quiet confidence of clients who keep coming back.
Clients entrust firms with their financial futures, and yet the common model is often built around a single person who may retire, move, or simply have a bad year. SEIA has spent years quietly dismantling that logic, a shift reflected in its recognition as one of InvestmentNews’ 5-Star Wealth Management Teams 2026.
The firm’s philosophy is built around a team. Clients at SEIA are served by a coordinated group of advisors and support professionals designed to help maintain continuity in the event of a departure, however senior. “We are not built around individual advisors; we are built around teams,” says Brian Holmes.
That structure provides benefits beyond stability. Clients receive multiple perspectives on their financial situations, and planning conversations go well beyond portfolio construction – touching on life transitions, decision-making under uncertainty, and the kind of long-term clarity that tends to get lost in transactional relationships.
“Expectations are high, as is support. There is a shared understanding that we are building something meant to last, both for clients and within the firm”
Jared Chase, Team Holmes – Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, LLC
Carlos Sanabria, CFA®
Associate Advisor
Ryan Mulhearn, CIMA®
Vice President/Financial Advisor
Michael Warch
Vice President/Financial Advisor
Simon Williams
Chief Strategy & Distribution Officer, Arch Insurance International
and Active Underwriter, Syndicate 1955
Carlos F. Sanabria, CFA® is an Associate Advisor at SEIA. Prior to joining the firm, Carlos worked for Payden & Rygel Investment Management as a Client Portfolio Manager within the Los Angeles Institutional PM team. He previously worked within PNC Wealth Management’s Investment Advisor Research division, providing oversight and ongoing due diligence of fixed income strategies. Carlos began his career within Prudential Investment Management’s (PGIM) manager research department.
He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a focus in Finance from American University’s Kogod School of Business, as well as a Bachelor of Arts: Political Science with a focus in Political Theory from American University’s School of Public Affairs.
Carlos speaks English and Spanish. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, and is a member of the CFA Society of Los Angeles. Originally from the Philadelphia area, he is based out of the Fort Lauderdale office.
Associate Advisor
Carlos Sanabria, CFA®
Ryan Mulhearn serves as vice president and financial advisor. When he joined Valley National Financial Advisors in 2017, he brought with him four years of industry experience in retirement planning, portfolio administration, investment analysis, and client service. As a Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®) and a Licensed Insurance Agent in Pennsylvania, he assists clients with comprehensive financial planning, wealth management, insurance planning, and tax optimization. Mulhearn is dedicated to lifelong learning, continuing to enhance his skill set to better serve clients, and staying ahead in an ever-changing world as technology and innovation change the way we live, interact, and invest.
Vice President/Financial Advisor
Ryan Mulhearn, CIMA®
Michael Warch is the vice president and financial planner at Valley National Financial Advisors, joining in 2018 with six years of experience. He is pursuing his Certified Financial Planner® designation to stay ahead in the industry. Warch’s “life-based” financial planning philosophy involves understanding clients’ present situations and future goals. With a sincere dedication to understanding his client’s aspirations and concerns, he emphasizes the importance of establishing a personal connection beyond just financial matters, recognizing the significance of building trust and understanding in guiding clients toward their financial goals.
Vice President/Financial Advisor
Michael Warch
Kimi leads the Estate Planning and Wealth Protection team and is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners. She understands the complex and delicate nature of family estate planning, the technical requirements around probate and estate administration, and the importance of preserving wealth for future generations. Her advice is accurate, commercial, strategic and tailored to each situation.
Partner
Kimi Shah
maintaining an in-house team of more than 20 programmers to facilitate fast improvements
direct bill options to streamline the payment process for the agent and the insured
providing IVANS policy downloads that enable up to 30 percent labor savings to independent agencies
delivering online capabilities including rating, policy documents, payments, and claims reporting
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InvestmentNews’ 2026 5-Star Wealth Management Teams award was awarded in May 2026 and recognized US-based firms for client growth and retention over the preceding 12 months. A total of 772 firms were nominated, and 97 were recognized following the IN editorial team’s qualitative and quantitative review. No fees were paid for consideration or receipt, and clients were not involved in the process. Some recipients, including the advisor, paid post-award fees for optional promotional materials, which did not influence the award process. Third-party rankings and recognitions serve as benchmarks but do not guarantee future investment success or represent individual client evaluations. For details on the professional designations displayed herein, including descriptions, minimum requirements, and ongoing education requirements, as well as full details on third-party rankings, awards, and accolades, please visit the similarly named section at seia.com/disclosures. Alternative investments may not be suitable for all investors. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, LLC (SEIA) is an SEC-registered investment adviser; however, such registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training, and no inference to the contrary should be made. Securities offered through Signature Estate Securities, LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through SEIA, 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1600, Los Angeles, CA 90067, (310) 712-2323.
Many new clients arrive through referrals – from existing clients and professional partners – reflecting relationships built over time.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of SEIA’s recognition is what it says about the firm’s approach to client relationships at their most human moments. When markets grow turbulent and anxiety rises, the firm’s advisors are trained not simply to reassure but to slow decisions down, provide context, and gently reinforce the long-term plans when they are needed most.
In an era when wealth management is under pressure to automate, commoditize, and digitize, SEIA’s positioning within the wealth management landscape rests on something more analog: the steady presence of people who know their clients well, show up consistently, and take the responsibility of guiding others seriously.
Jared Chase adds, “Expectations are high, as is support. There is a shared understanding that we are building something meant to last, both for clients and within the firm.”
The firm’s investment approach, while secondary to its broader wealth management mandate, remains a key component of its process. In the past year across 2025, SEIA deployed structured notes; employed concentrated stock solutions, including long-short strategies and option collars; and leaned into conviction-driven individual stock selection through its internal investment management team – a combination utilized by the firm during a volatile market environment.
What further distinguishes SEIA from many of its peers is not only a structural choice but also a cultural one. A significant portion of the firm’s advisors began their careers at SEIA itself, advancing through a formal development track that emphasizes mentorship and shared responsibility. Long tenures are common, and turnover is relatively low.
Leadership at the firm has reinforced this culture through deliberate decision-making, consistently prioritizing infrastructure, governance, and people over rapid expansion. The result is an organization that has man aged to scale while maintaining a consistent, coherent client experience.
“We are not built around individual advisors; we are built around teams”
Brian Holmes, Team Holmes – Signature Estate & Investment Advisors, LLC
